Grants available for community groups in former coalfield areas
Community groups in Kent’s former coalfields are invited to apply for grants to help a range of projects for the future.

Grants from £500 to £5,000 are available through the Coalfields Regeneration Trust’s ‘Bridging The Gap’ fund, which is being delivered by Dover District Council. Groups can apply for grants to support activities that improve health and well-being, develop education and skills, support access to opportunities, and promote volunteering.

Examples of projects that Bridging the Gap grants can help with include:

• Improvements to a community facility, or the establishment of a much needed new service or activity in a community
• A project that helps people into a job, or a training project that teaches people a new skill or enables them to get a qualification
• Setting up a new social enterprise, or an activity that gets people involved in physical activity or addresses a local health issue
• Setting up a small transport scheme that enables people to access opportunities difficult to access because of their location
• The provision of places for after school clubs, holiday play schemes, playgroups or nurseries, or activities that promote volunteering.

Successful projects will have to target the former coalfields wards of Aylesham, Barham Downs, Eastry, Eythorne and Shepherdswell, Little Stour and Ashstone, Middle Deal and Sholden, Mill Hill, North Deal and St Margaret’s-at-Cliffe.

Coalfields Regeneration Chair Peter McNestry said: “The Coalfields Regeneration Trust is happy to be able to continue its investment in Kent. The Trust is still committed to improving the quality of life in coalfield communities. We are striving to make our former coalfields sustainable, prosperous, viable and cohesive without support. We are investing in them to become better places to live, work and play.”
For more information, or if you would like to apply to this grant fund please contact Carol Davies at DDC on 01304 872081 or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Peter Harrison Foundation
Opportunities Through Sport – The trustees welcome grant applications from charities in the UK whose projects fall into the following categories:

• Provide a focus for skills development and confidence building through the medium of sport
• Have a strong training and/or educational theme within the sporting activity
• Provide sporting equipment or facilities for disabled or disadvantaged people
• Have a high degree of community involvement
• Help to engage children or young people at risk of crime, truancy or addiction

Special Needs and Care for Children and Young People – The trustees welcome grant applications from charities in Kent whose projects fall into the following categories:

• Work with or benefit disabled, chronically or terminally ill children and provide support for their parents and carers
• Help to engage children or young people at risk of crime, truancy or addiction
• Projects organized for young people at risk of homelessness or that provide new opportunities for homeless young people.

For further information including details of how to apply click here… There are no specific deadlines and trustees meet throughout the financial year to consider grant applications.

West Kent Leader - Grants of up to £50,000
Leader for Rural Communities - Capital Funding is available for the expansion of cultural and leisure activities including:

• Development of community buildings
• Community enterprises
• Renewable energy for community buildings

Capital grants are also available for small scale infrastructure projects that develop or enhance:

• Community buildings
• Village approaches
• Main streets
• Amenity spaces
• Work-spaces
• Village landscapes

Local community groups seeking to maintain, restore or upgrade local cultural heritage features can also apply.
Applicants must be constituted groups and individuals cannot apply. For further information and details of how to apply click here…

The Gibbons Family Trust
The Gibbons Family Trust supports charitable projects which provide care, support and education to children and young persons up to the age of 25 in residential and day care establishments within the Thanet area of Kent.
For further information and details on how to apply click here… Trustees meet every 3 months to assess grant applications

Fidelity UK Foundation
The Foundation primarily directs grants to UK registered charities in London, Kent & Surrey.
Charitable investments are mainly focused on projects in Arts & Culture, Community Development, Education & Health.
Investment is typically directed to specific projects in the following categories:

• Capital improvements such as new construction, renovations, expansions and equipment which are central to sustainability and the strategic vision of the organisation.
• High impact information technology upgrades which substantially increase an organisation's efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability.
• Organisational development projects which seek to establish a new, transformational strategic path. This can include helping charities to investigate and proceed with mergers.
• Planning initiatives, including those that use expert/external consultant

Grants will not normally cover the entire cost of a project. Applicants should aim to have significant funding in place prior to application. Grants are one-off investments; they will not normally be awarded for or across multiple years. Grants for applicants in London, Kent and Surrey are normally made towards projects with a total budget in excess of £50,000.
For further information and details of how to apply click here… Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.

Cleary Foundation Grant
The Cleary Foundation Grant is intended to support national charities and local organisations carrying out charitable projects in the UK but priority will be given to third sector organisations based in Kent.
Applicants are advised to apply directly to the trustees in writing.
Cleary Foundation, South Sands Lodge, Beach Road, St. Margaret's Bay, Kent CT15 6DZ
01304 851737

Kent Community Foundation - Potential Funding £1,000-£5,000
Kent Community Foundation manages funds on behalf of Kent philanthropists who want to strengthen their local communities. They are particularly interested in hearing from projects and groups making a positive and sustainable difference in the following areas:

• Working with offenders
• Women's groups
• Young people in the Herne Bay area
• Employability and NEETS projects in North Kent
• Activities that directly benefit disabled children
• Initiatives that support the spirit and well-being of the community

If you would like further information or a grant enquiry form please contact Kent Community Foundation on 01303 814500 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Small Grants for Young People
Southern Housing Group has £20,000 Youth Fund. This fund is specifically to support and develop youth provisions for SHG residents in your area. Click here to find Southern Housing Group regions or contact Ruhul Alam on 079 0320 2072 / 020 7515 6794 for more information.

Frognal Trust
Provides funding to support small registered charities that work in the following areas: Culture and heritage; Conservation projects; Community services; Parks; Hospices and nursing homes and Ophthalmological research.
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. For further information please contact: Frognal Trust c/o Charities Aid Foundation, King's Hill, West Malling, Kent ME19 4TA Tel: 01732 520 083

Kent Sport
Provides information on over 100 local and national funding streams. For more information click here....