People’s Postcode Lottery opens applications for a share of £4m funding

The lottery is offering money to grassroots sports and arts projects, wildlife projects and those which promote human rights

Three funding pots totalling more than £4m are available for charities and community groups from the People’s Postcode Lottery for projects tacking poverty or supporting human rights, wildlife or recreation.

Projects can apply for grants of between £500 and £20,000 between now and 28 August.

The money will be allocated through three separate trusts: the People’s Postcode Trust, which is seeking to fund projects that focus on preventing poverty, promoting human rights and conflict resolution for vulnerable groups; the Postcode Local Trust which is looking to fund projects supporting wildlife, sustainability, play areas and green spaces; and the Postcode Community Trust, which focuses on grass-roots sports, arts, recreation and healthy living programmes.

Clara Govier, head of charities at People’s Postcode Lottery, said: “More than £4m injected into grass roots projects across Great Britain will have a tremendous impact in local communities.

“Between the three trusts, a very wide range of causes are supported, so I’d urge groups to have a look at the websites to see where their project fits – no matter how big or small – and get applying.”

More than 400 projects, including sports clubs, mental health groups and wildlife conservation charities were awarded with grants in the lottery’s last funding round.

In a statement the People’s Postcode Lottery said its players had raised more than £221.2m for more than 3,000 good causes since it started in 2005.

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Applications open for free leadership training programme

Organised by the King’s Fund, Comic Relief and the Big Lottery Fund, Cascading Leadership will match each successful applicant with a charity leader

A new programme that will provide free leadership training to people who work for health and wellbeing charities has opened for applications today.

The King’s Fund, Comic Relief and the Big Lottery Fund have designed and launched the new £250,000 programme, which is called Cascading Leadership.

The scheme will match each successful applicant with another charity leader, and both will receive training from the King’s Fund.

Each participant will take part in a two-day training and development programme on leadership skills, receive individual supervision from leadership experts, take part in three face-to-face consulting sessions with the other charity leader and take part in peer learning sessions.

The programme lasts six months, is free to attend and 80 places are initially available.

Only charities that can show how their work improves health and wellbeing will be considered for the programme, a spokesman for the King’s Fund said.

The programme is funded by Comic Relief, which is investing £75,000, and the Big Lottery Fund, which is investing £175,000. It will be delivered by the King’s Fund.

The programme is based on a pilot run by the King’s Fund and Comic Relief last year, which a report from the King’s Fund says helped participants to “develop professional skills, alongside deeper strategic leadership”.

The deadline for applications is 20 July, with successful applicants notified in August. The first programme will run in November, the spokesman said.

Lisa Weaks, head of third sector at the King’s Fund, said: “Cascading Leadership recognises that there are many charity leaders with hugely valuable skills and experience. The programme harnesses their excellent leadership and enables them to support other charity leaders while developing their own capabilities even further.”

Gilly Green, head of UK grants at Comic Relief, said: “With increasing demands on services, challenges in the funding landscape and more complex relationships to nurture and negotiate, being a charity leader can be a lonely as well as an exciting place.

“Cascading Leadership takes as its starting point the principle of sharing knowledge and building the sector’s capacity from within. And it is this understanding, and sharing of experience from others within the sector, alongside time to reflect and plan away from the everyday pressures of the workplace, that participants report valuing so much.”

For more information and to apply, click here.

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