Deadline: 14-Apr-23
Kusuma Trust has announced a call for proposals to provide grants to London-based charities working in the sectors of informal learning, special educational needs (SEN), green spaces, green learning and biodiversity.
Project Areas
- This call looks to fund new work in two project areas:
- Informal Education
- Helping young people, including those with SEN, to develop soft skills, knowledge, employment skills, and/or social capital outside of the formal learning spaces.
- Eligible projects will target young people aged 0-25 to:
- Broaden their horizons and gain new experiences;
- Obtain pathways to higher education, employment and/or training;
- Improve awareness of career prospects and raise aspirations;
- Develop life skills, including confidence, resilience and social capital;
- Gain access to cultural institutions, such as museums and galleries, and STEAM opportunities (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) in an informal setting.
- Green Grants
- Working to improve London’s green space provision and increase biodiversity
- Eligible charities will design, develop and deliver:
- Biodiversity and urban greening projects, for example (but not limited to) green roofs, tree planting, rewilding, and creation of wetlands. Green engagement projects improving access to green spaces or helping Londoners benefit from the natural environment, for example (but not limited to) community gardening, disabled access improvements, reuse and recycling initiatives and green social prescribing
- Environmental education programmes for young people and/or the local community.
- Informal Education
Types of work they will fund:
- They will take a particular interest in enterprising and innovative ideas, and work led by inspiring, visionary individuals and teams who are passionate about their work.
- Sustainable projects, i.e. projects that can continue once the grant period is over, or have lasting benefits
- Pilot projects
- Training
- Capital projects, with associated programming
- Feasibility studies, project evaluations and community consultations will be considered as part of wider programming.
Funding Information
- Informal Education
- Who can apply: For this project area, only charities with a turnover of more than £1M are eligible to apply for a grant of up to 10% of their last year’s turnover, with a maximum potential grant size of £200K. Charities with a turnover of less than £1M are already well-represented in their Informal Education portfolio and so not eligible for the Open Call at this time.
- Green Grants
- Who can apply: For this project area, charities with a turnover between £250K and £1M are eligible to apply for a grant of up to £25K, provided they are based in the following boroughs: Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea, Wandsworth, Hammersmith & Fulham, Brent, Camden, Islington, City of London, Lambeth and Southwark. Charities with a turnover of more than £1M are eligible to apply for a grant of up to 10% of their last year’s turnover, with a maximum potential grant size of £200K. These can operate anywhere within London.
Eligibility Criteria
- You must:
- Be a registered charity in England with a turnover of over £250K in your latest published accounts to apply for a green grant. Only organisations with a turnover greater than £1M are eligible for the informal education stream.
- The project being applied for must take place entirely within the 33 boroughs of London.
- Projects that only engage the community of one borough must be impacting in Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, Wandsworth, Hammersmith and Fulham, Brent, Camden, Islington, City of London, Lambeth, or Southwark
- Hold a valid UK registered bank account in the name of the organisation
- Have an active website
- Have governance and financial management systems appropriate to your overall work and the proposed programme
- Hold relevant DBS checks and safeguarding policies and procedures
- Have paid staff
- Organisational Exclusion Criteria:
- Schools, colleges,or nurseries, even if registered charities
- Places of worship, even if registered charities
- Political organisations, or those primarily concerned with policy influencing or advocacy
- Programmatic Exclusion Criteria:
- Campaigning programmes
- Funding for projects or programmes that are completed
- Funding for the practice of religion, or any activities that actively promote religion or particular belief systems
- Organisations that benefit only one or a small number of individuals (e.g under 10)
- Programmes of work that are primarily the responsibility of statutory authorities
- Mental health/emotional wellbeing work that is not part of wider programming
- Sports activities that are not part of wider programming
- Previous and current Kusuma grantees
- They are prioritising new applicants in this call, however, previous Kusuma Trust (KTUK) grantees will be considered. Current KTUK grantholders, please speak to us before applying. Organisations who have been declined a grant from KTUK in the past 12 months should also speak to us before applying.
For more information, visit Informal Education and Green Funding.