While there is no shortage of grants and awards schemes in the UK, more funding is needed than ever before in the early years sector. As a result of this increase in demand, many of the grant providers have placed further restrictions and limitations on their schemes, making finding the right grant for the right project more difficult.
Take the time to do it right
If you want free money, reconcile yourself to the fact that you will need to dedicate a certain amount of time to source funders and go through the application process. Picking grant programmes carefully, and tailoring your applications, will be a better investment of your time than sending out a standard application to a large amount of providers. Remember that grant-making organisations will be receiving many applications and you will not be doing yourself any favours if your application is incomplete, badly put together or simply irrelevant.
If one member of staff in your nursery has a keen interest in searching and applying for grants, then let him or her take the lead, as passion and dedication are proven assets when it comes to securing funding. Ensure he or she is adequately supported in this endeavour and, unless you are only interested in funding a single one-off project, it may be useful to plan a regular time slot for fundraising.
Stand out
Direct and non-competitive grants are rare and, while there are a few open to settings (e.g. the Edina Trust’s Science Grant Scheme), it is likely that you will have to face intense competition for funding. Therefore, it is crucial that your initiative stands out. Putting together a creative and imaginative project will give you a clear advantage over more generic applications. But, do ensure that it fits the grant criteria.
Go big
Don’t be afraid to try to secure funding for an ambitious scheme, and don’t hesitate to team up with other early years providers, local schools, charities and/or your local community. Improving facilities and education is in everyone’s interest and making a good case for the importance of the early years should not be difficult. You will also widen the scope of grants you are able to apply for.
Working on ambitious projects may mean that you will be able to secure several grants from multiple providers (particularly those that only offer match funding) and it may also make you more likely to fit the criteria of large national funding programmes, such as Awards for All from the BIG Lottery Fund.
Demonstrate a need
Ensuring your application clearly demonstrates an existing need in your setting or community will improve your chances. Explain how your proposal will help address this need, highlighting the main potential benefits. Include data and evidence to support this. People who assess your application need to be reassured that your project is well-researched, well-planned and worthwhile. Remember to remain succinct and relevant. It can be tempting to overdo it – but providing an excess of irrelevant information is not likely to impress.
Some large companies have charitable trusts that run community programmes – most banks and supermarkets, for example (e.g. WHSmith, https://blog.whsmith.co.uk/community-grants-application).
While you can apply to some of these directly, others require a recommendation from one of their staff members. If you know any parents working for these companies, it might be worth asking if they would consider nominating your project for a grant.
SCHEMES
Disadvantage
BBC Children in Need (main and small grants programmes, www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1N4ddmFHns8VPKjyp3PMYwn/apply-for-a-grant) or a relevant scheme from the BIG Lottery Fund (https://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk).
The Zurich Community Trust runs a local grant programme aimed at helping disadvantaged people (https://www.zurich.co.uk/zurichcommunitytrust/looking-for-funds/what%20we%20fund.htm).
Special educational needs and disabilities
Variety, the children’s charity, offers grants to support the purchase of items such as medical devices and mobility or sensory equipment. Visit https://www.variety.org.uk/what-we-do/equipment-grants.
The DM Thomas Foundation for Young People’s grants programme provides funding for projects, led by organisations operating on a not-for-profit basis, that support children with disabilities (https://dmthomasfoundation.org).
Some foundations have a particular interest in specific types of special educational needs and disabilities. The Ulverscroft Foundation, for example, focuses on supporting the visually impaired with its funding scheme (www.foundation.ulverscroft.com/guidelinescolour.htm).
Don’t forget about the recently launched Disability Access Fund (DAF), designed to make it easier for disabled three- and four-year-olds to access their free childcare place; and the SEN Inclusion Fund, for three- and four-year-olds with lower-level or emerging SEN. The following link also has details of other support, particularly to enable 30 hours expansion, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-business-sustainability-guides-for-providers/extra-sources-of-income-for-early-years-providers.
Safeguarding, health and well-being
Occasionally more unusual grants surface, which may help you develop projects or deliver training you may not have thought of or had access to otherwise. For example, the Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse has recently launched an evaluation fund for not-for-profit organisations to help evaluate child sexual abuse/exploitation interventions (www.csacentre.org.uk/about-us/evaluation-fund). These unusual grants may have short deadlines for applications and, as mentioned earlier, regularly setting time aside to search and apply for these can be a worthwhile exercise.
If your nursery has charitable status, then you can apply for a Heart Research UK and Subway Healthy Heart grant of up to £10,000 for a project aiming to promote heart health and reduce the risk of heart disease (https://heartresearch.org.uk/community-grants/heart-research-uk-and-subway%C2%AE-healthy-heart-grant).
The Foresters’ Fund for Children is particularly interested in providing grants for projects aiming to help prevent abuse, deprivation, bullying and neglect of children in the UK and Ireland (www.fffc.org.uk/you-need-help.html).
Outdoor area
There are lots of grants for this, particularly if environmental considerations are at the heart of your project.
The Naturesave Trust offers grants for projects that specifically address the promotion and implementation of sustainable development, environmental and/or conservationist improvement and general ‘green’ issues (www.naturesave.co.uk/the-naturesave-trust/funding-guidelines).
If you would like to set up a garden scheme, start a Forest School or just make your outdoor area greener, try:
The Woodland Trust for packs of free trees, https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/plant-trees/free-trees.
The Tree Council for tree-planting projects costing between £100 and £700, www.treecouncil.org.uk/Grants.
If you are interested in purchasing equipment or making substantial changes to your outdoor facilities, the BIG Lottery Fund’s grant programme and Awards for All programmes are available in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and can provide grants of between £300 and £10,000 that can be used for projects including the purchase of new equipment and materials (https://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/funding/Awards-For-All).
STEM projects
The Edina Trust runs a non-competitive Science Grant Scheme which offers one-off grants of £350 to nurseries in designated educational areas (which change every three years) in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland (www.edinatrust.org.uk/ScienceGrantScheme#apply).
Some organisations have a special interest in specific STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) themes and areas and look to fund projects that promote engagement in these.
If your project fits their objectives then you may be able to apply for small outreach grants, generally under £2,000; for example, the funds available from the Royal Society of Chemistry (www.rsc.org/awards-funding/funding/outreach-fund) and the British Ecological Society (www.britishecologicalsociety.org/funding/outreach-grants).
Staff training
Obtaining funding for staff training can be very challenging; however, some foundations and trusts do offer grant schemes aimed at improving the welfare and education of young children and families through training.
One such organisation is the Lady Allen of Hurtwood Memorial Trust, which offers grants of around £1,000 to candidates with a scheduled project in mind, which will help them gain specific knowledge and experience to enhance the quality and nature of their work with young children and their families, particularly those with disabilities or that are disadvantaged (http://ladyallentrust.org.uk).
Local
Don’t forget to check what funding opportunities are available locally. Your local authority may be able to provide information on relevant schemes.
Also, try your nearest community foundation (www.ukcommunityfoundations.org).
You can search for local grants via a grants database, such as Funding Central (https://www.fundingcentral.org.uk), which charges a small fee for organisations with a profit of more than £100,000 per year.
