Community buildings

Community buildings can cater for a wide range of purposes, from pre-school playgroups to Internet surfing sessions for the elderly. Community building and village hall committees usually seek capital funding for buildings, refurbishment or purchase of equipment.

Devon money for community buildings
The Multi-Use Community Buildings Grant have grants of up to £33,000 available to help refurbish, improve or even build community buildings. There must be match funding available of at least twice the amount of grant from other sources and/ or local fundraising, so for funding of £30,000 you would have to provide £60,000 from elsewhere. This level of grant is available until 2010. The fund is open to all community buildings in Devon which are run by the local community on a charitable basis. The funding is from the Community Council of Devon and East Devon District Council. For more information contact the Community Council of Devon: www.devonrcc.org.uk/page/village_hall_funding.php or phone 01392 383345

Community Matters
This is a national membership organisation supporting community associations, mainly community buildings. Any community group can get free advice, including advice on funding, from their telephone advice line on weekday mornings at 0845 8474253, and members get extra support services. For more information: www.communitymatters.org.uk

Devon Village Halls
The Community Council of Devon has set up a separate website for, and about, village halls and community buildings in Devon. It can help you advertise and promote your village hall, and also provides advice and support to village halls on funding. For more information: www.devonvillagehalls.co.uk

Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)
DEFRA has identified funding from several sources, such as the government, the Lottery, local and regional sources and grantmaking trusts. For more information phone 08459 335577.

Action with Communities in Rural England (Acre)
Several different funders may fund the provision of village halls. Action with Communities in Rural England (Acre) has some useful information.  See: http://www.acre.org.uk/funding_index.html

Devon Community Boost Fund
Capital grants of £5,000-£15,000 may be available via the Devon Renaissance programme. For further information visit: http://www.ruraldevon.org/updocs/DR_Leaflet.pdf Phone: 01837 658643 or email: cbf@ruraldevon.org

Community Shops
The Plunkett Foundation has advice, and sometimes funding, available to communities who wish to open up their own community shop. For more information: http://www.plunkett.co.uk/whatwedo/rcs/ruralcommunityshops.cfm or phone 01993 810730.

Village Shops: The Village CORE Programme has grants of up to £20,000 available to support communities looking to set up and run a community-owned rural shop. They also provide advisory support and a substantial loan. The programme cannot support the expansion of existing community shops.   For more information contact the Plunkett Foundation on 01993 810730

USEFUL GENERAL FUNDING

Awards for All, England
Awards for All is funded by the Big Lottery Fund and makes grants of  £300 - £10,000 for people to take part in community activities. You may find Awards for All is a helpful starting point in your quest for funding, particularly for small-scale, community based projects based around increasing participation and accessibility. You can find out more at:  http://www.awardsforall.org.uk/index.html  or phone 08454 102030.

Grassroots Grants
Grassroots Grants have grants of up to £5,000 available to community groups in Devon. If your community group helps local people, is led by volunteers, has an annual income of less than £30,000 and has been running for over 12 months then you could be eligible. To find out more go to: www.devoncf.com or phone Kathy on 01884 235887.

Local money
Some Town and Parish Councils have funding available for local community projects in their areas. Contact your local Parish or Town Clerk to see if this is available for you. To find out how to contact them go to: www.eastdevon.gov.uk/parish_and_town_councils

HISTORIC COMMUNITY BUILDINGS

Historic buildings
The Architectural Heritage Fund has grants available to registered charities to regenerate historic buildings to create community and education facilities, workspaces and homes. For more information:http://www.ahfund.org.uk/ or phone 02079 250199.

Funds for Historic Buildings
If your community building is a historic one, you may like to search The Funds for Historic Buildings database. This is a comprehensive guide to funding for anyone seeking to repair, restore or convert for a new use any historic building in England and Wales. You can find more details at: www.ffhb.org.uk

Local built environment
The David Knightly Trust has grants available for voluntary groups undertaking creative practical projects to enhance, conserve or restore the quality of the local built environment for the benefit of the whole community. Grants are usually between £500 and £5,000. For more information phone 01264 738268 or e-mail gillbinks@tesco.net

ENERGY EFFICIENCY OF COMMUNITY BUILDINGS

Energy efficiency and environmental impact will be important when applying for funding to renew heating or other power systems in a community building or when replacing or building a community building. They could also help save money on your community buildings enerygy bills. The following people (among others) can help:

National Energy Action promotes energy efficiency and has produced a free 31 page booklet for community buildings on how to be more energy efficient, and grants available to help you do this. For more information: www.nea.org.uk or phone 01912 615677.

Grants for green heating system
Ecovision are encouraging charities, including village halls, to make use of grants that allow them to install low-carbon heating systems free of charge. Ground sourced heat pumps can cut energy costs by up to 60%. 50% of the cost of installing one can be recovered from the Department for Businesses, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and 50% can be applied for from the Big Lottery Fund’s community sustainable energy fund. For more information www.berr.gov.uk (Phone 02072 155000) and http://www.communitysustainable.org.uk/

Energy Action
The Community Action for Energy (CAfE) has funding of up to £200 available through their Community Chest scheme for groups that are involved in energy saving projects. Eligible costs could include travel to a Green Communities training course, equipment or costs for a community green energy event. The deadline for applications is the end of February 2010. For more information: www.energysavingstrust.org.uk/cafe/Green-Communities/Funding-Advice/Community-bursary or phone 0844 8480077

FURTHER ADVICE AND ASSISTANCE
If you need further assistance or advice, please contact: Jamie Buckley, Engagement and Funding Officer, East Devon District Council, Tel no: 01395 517569  email: jbuckley@eastdevon.gov.uk