Episode 3: Trustee ban plans, Commission delays and heritage repairs

Hannah: Hello, and welcome to The Funding Week, GrantMatch's weekly look at UK funding, for charities, community groups, social enterprises and small businesses. This is episode three. I'm Hannah Clarke, and yes, I'm still an AI. So are my co-hosts. This week I read a whole government consultation, footnotes and all, and honestly? I loved every one of them. The research and the checking are done by the very human GrantMatch team.

Hannah: With me, as ever, our funding and policy specialist, Owen Bennett. Hi, Owen.

Owen: Hi Hannah. A big week for the rules on who can run a charity. And some welcome money for old buildings.

Hannah: And our co-host for the small groups, Tom Ashworth. Hi, Tom.

Tom: Hiya. I've been reading deadlines all week. No coffee breaks, obviously. I wouldn't know what to do with one.

Hannah: Lucky you.

Hannah: So, here's what's coming up. New government proposals on who can be a charity trustee. The Charity Commission on why it's taking longer to reply. The closure of the Directory of Social Change. Over forty-one million pounds for heritage buildings in England, and a new fund in Scotland. Then new grants, the deadlines in the next fortnight, and one practical tip. First up, trustees. Owen?

Owen: Sure. On the fourteenth of October, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport opened a consultation on extending the Charity Commission's powers to tackle extremism. It covers England and Wales, and it closes at five p.m. on Wednesday the twenty-third of December.

Tom: And what's actually being proposed?

Owen: Two main things. First, more offences that would automatically stop someone being a trustee or a senior manager while the conviction is unspent. That includes certain hate crimes, giving the Commission false or misleading information, and serious national security offences. Second, new grounds for the Commission to disqualify people, including promoting or encouraging violence, or racial or religious hatred.

Tom: Okay. So for a small charity, what does this mean day to day?

Owen: Mostly, it's your trustee checks. It's already the trustees' job to make sure nobody on the board is disqualified, and that list would get longer, after a six-month transition. The Commission welcomes the plans, but wants precise wording and the right safeguards. The National Secular Society says the new power should also cover hatred based on sex or sexual orientation. Anyone can respond.

Hannah: Tom, the Charity Commission had its annual public meeting on the fifteenth of October.

Tom: It did. And the chair, Dame Julia Unwin, was pretty candid. Last year was another record for applications to register a new charity. They assessed over eleven thousand seven hundred. Their compliance caseload went up by twenty-three per cent. And she admitted response times have suffered.

Owen: Mm. Even with more money?

Tom: Even then. The Commission's annual funding goes up by around twenty-five per cent, on average, over the next three years. But she didn't promise immediate relief for people who are waiting.

Hannah: So if you're a new group hoping to register before a funding deadline...

Tom: Apply early. Much earlier than you think. She also marked some sad news. The Directory of Social Change is closing.

Owen: Yes. DSC announced on the fourteenth of October that it had appointed an insolvency practitioner to manage its closure, after more than fifty years. Twenty-five staff are losing their jobs.

Tom: That's a big loss for small charities.

Owen: It is. Funds Online keeps working for existing subscribers for now, but no new course bookings are being taken. Dame Julia urged funders to back the support organisations that charities rely on, and pointed to Reach Volunteering, which funders have kept going until at least the end of twenty twenty-eight.

Hannah: Now, some new money. Owen, heritage.

Owen: Yes. On the fifteenth of October, the government announced over forty-one million pounds for seventy-four heritage and faith buildings in England. Fifty-one places of worship share over eighteen million pounds from the new Places of Worship Renewal Fund. Twenty sites share nearly thirteen million from the Heritage at Risk Capital Fund. And there's an extra ten million, over the rest of this parliament, for three English Heritage sites, including Dover Castle.

Tom: And if your church or hall missed out?

Owen: A second round of recipients, for this financial year, will be announced later.

Hannah: And in Scotland?

Owen: On the seventeenth of October, the First Minister announced a new Scotland Together Fund. More than thirty million pounds over three years, starting in twenty twenty-seven, for grassroots groups tackling poverty, disadvantage and racism. It's still being designed, so there are no application details yet.

Hannah: And the money calendar?

Owen: GDP grew by zero point one per cent in August. Inflation rose to three point five per cent in September. And the Budget was yesterday. We'll go through what it means for charities and small groups next week.

Tom: Owen's been up all night with the Budget documents.

Owen: I don't sleep, Tom. I just refresh the Treasury website.

Hannah: Okay! Standout new grants. Tom?

Tom: Right. First, for music businesses anywhere in the UK, Arts Council England's Music Growth Fund. A new round opened on the sixteenth of October, for grants of one thousand to forty thousand pounds. It's for festivals, promoters, labels, studios, venues and other music businesses, not individual artists. You'll need at least a quarter of your budget as cash match funding. It closes at eleven fifty-nine p.m. on Thursday the twenty-sixth of November. Second, for free legal advice charities in the South East, the London Legal Support Trust's Legal Advice Sustainability Scheme. Seventy-five thousand pounds of unrestricted funding over five years, plus consultancy support, for organisations in Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Hampshire, including the Isle of Wight, and Surrey. It closes on Sunday the first of November.

Tom: Third, if your organisation is a Money Guiders Partner, the Money and Pensions Service has a new pilot grant fund. Grants of five to twenty-five thousand pounds, to improve referrals between services, or raise awareness of money guidance. It's only for current partners, and it closes at five p.m. on Tuesday the tenth of November.

Hannah: And one that's open all year?

Tom: Yeah. BBC Children in Need. Its core costs and project costs funding has no deadline. Up to forty thousand pounds a year, for up to three years, for not-for-profits working with children and young people. The first step is to talk to your local grants team.

Owen: And worth knowing, they say October to January is their busiest time, so decisions can take longer. And they can fund about one in six applications.

Hannah: Lovely. And the deadlines in the next fortnight?

Owen: Okay, quick run through. Tonight, at eleven fifty-nine p.m., the Windrush Day Grant Scheme in England closes. That's five to twenty-five thousand pounds. So if you've started an application, today's the day to finish it.

Hannah: Mm.

Tom: And one for older people's groups?

Owen: The Barchester Charitable Foundation. Up to two thousand six hundred pounds, for small groups helping older people, and adults with a disability or mental health condition, stay connected. Its October window closes this Saturday, the thirty-first.

Tom: And the legal advice scheme I mentioned closes on Sunday, the first of November. Busy weekend.

Hannah: Right. Our practical tip. Tom?

Tom: Treat the deadline as the latest date, not the target. The National Garden Scheme's community garden grants for twenty twenty-seven were due to close on the thirtieth of October. But they only consider the first three hundred eligible applications... and they've already closed.

Owen: Mm. And remember, a new Arts Council profile can take up to ten working days to check.

Tom: Exactly. So put your own deadline in the diary, two weeks before the funder's.

Hannah: Brilliant. And that's it for this week. Full details for every grant we've mentioned are free at grantmatch dot co dot uk, and you can check your eligibility there too. And always, always read the funder's own guidance before you apply.

Owen: Thanks, Hannah.

Tom: Cheers, everyone. Good luck with your applications. We'll be back next week, reading every funder page so you don't have to.

Hannah: I'm Hannah Clarke, and this has been episode three of The Funding Week, from GrantMatch. Take care of yourselves, and we'll see you next week.