- £35 million Forces in Mind Trust for veterans launches
- £3.1 million from dormant bank accounts invested in Big Society projects
- £300,000 Christmas box for Blyth group
- Community Sustainable Energy Programme – another round of funding open
- More WW2 veterans visit places they saw service
- Communities Living Sustainably – closing date reminder
- BIG Building Capabilties discussion paper/survey
North East region update
January/February
£35 million Forces in Mind Trust for veterans launches
The Lottery-funded Forces in Mind Trust (FIMT) has launched, with the backing of The Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry.
Over the next 20 years, the Forces in Mind Trust will provide UK-wide long term support for Service personnel and Veterans to make a successful transition to civilian life. The focus will be on addressing a range of problems that some ex-service personnel and their families can experience back in civilian life, such as poor mental health, family breakdown and alcohol-related problems.
The Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry was set up by the Princes in 2009, and they share the priority of the Forces in Mind Trust to support personnel and their families through the challenges of returning to civilian life. The Foundation will back the Trust with its own grants over a three-year programme.
Peter Ainsworth, UK Chair of Big lottery Fund, said: “By investing this £35 million, the Big Lottery Fund is supporting a ground-breaking programme of expertly designed interventions and activities, offering essential assistance, which will not only improve the lives of people directly, but will inform national policy and practice more widely.”
The Chairman of the Forces in Mind Trust, Air Vice-Marshal Tony Stables said: “As a first step, the Forces in Mind Trust will undertake a comprehensive review of the transition process from military service to civilian life for all service men and women, and their families.”
A pilot project at Catterick in Yorkshire will provide 12 months of enhanced support and guidance on employment, accommodation, educational needs, and mental health issues for approximately 1000 early service leavers from across the UK.
The Trust’s work will also include commissioning research to improve knowledge of the issues affecting veterans and their families, which will help shape new services and inform national policy. The Trust will also undertake awareness raising campaigns, and provide peer advice and support, particularly to those veterans who are most vulnerable.
The Trust continues BIG’s long-standing legacy of support for veterans across the UK. Since 2004, the Fund has given more than £88 million to programmes supporting veterans. The Fund’s Heroes Return initiative has enabled over 51 000 Second World War Veterans, widows, spouses and carers to journey back to the places where they served and fought or where their loved ones died.
Read the full press release and details of organisations involved
£3.1 million from dormant bank accounts invested in Big Society projects
The Big Society Investment Fund was set up by the Big Lottery Fund under the Dormant Accounts Act to make early investments prior to the establishment of Big Society Capital (previously known as Big Society Bank.)
The Big Society Investment Fund has agreed in principle to invest £3.1 million in four projects, including: money to help the long-term unemployed set up their own businesses; support for vulnerable young people to get into employment; a community energy project; and the creation of the first ever social stock exchange.
This announcement follows the first in-principle investment, in July 2011, of up to £1m in a social investment fund run by the Private Equity Foundation to help disadvantaged young people into employment, education or training.
The Big Society Investment Fund will consider more proposals at its Investment Committee in February, where it hopes to make further investments. It is envisaged that this will be the final meeting of the Investment Committee as Big Society Capital is on target to be fully operational by the end of the first quarter of 2012.
Minister for Civil Society Nick Hurd said:
“This is about putting money that has been lying around dormant in bank accounts for years to good use in projects that will benefit our local communities and social entrepreneurs.
“These investments will bring real changes to people’s lives. They will help young people into jobs and give the long-term unemployed the opportunity to set up their own businesses.
“The Big Society Investment Fund, under the auspices of the Big Lottery Fund, is doing a fantastic job forging the way. Already, their investment decisions show the range of exciting projects that just need financial backing to get going.”
The four organisations benefiting from the money are:
- FranchisingWorks will receive a £1 million investment, which will help long-term unemployed people to set up their own franchise business;
- Triodos Bank will set up a new payment by results initiative using its £500,000 investment to improve educational, training and work outcomes for vulnerable young people in Merseyside;
- Community Generation Fund, run by Finance South East will receive £750,000 to set up an initiative to create community owned social enterprises within deprived communities which offer affordable, green energy and reinvest profits in the neighbourhood; and
- The Social Stock Exchange will use its £850,000 investment to set up the world’s first stock exchange for social enterprises, to be located in London and improve access to capital for social entrepreneurs.
£300 000 Christmas box for Blyth group
Blyth Valley Arts and Leisure aims to help 24,000 people across the south east of Northumberland – in particular the most deprived pockets of Blyth, Cramlington, Ashington, Newbiggin, Bedlington, Lynemouth, Chevington and Stobhill.
The grant was handed over by Clare Cruddas of Big Lottery Fund. Ronnie Campbell, MP for Blyth Valley, attended the presentation.
James Turner, Head of region for the North East, said: “This vitally important project will help people get on the right track towards academic achievement and a decent career. Those who are held back by issues like cost, child care or poor social skills will be supported so they have the skills and confidence to live more fulfilled lives.”
A programme of community based education, leadership qualifications, and placements will be available in sports development, health & fitness and catering to help local people into employment.
Support will also be offered to disabled people. Women and girls will be helped by programmes to educate about body image and lifestyle issues to improve self esteem. Community activities will also be developed to encourage young and old to mix together including Olympic themed events, festivals, family and outdoor days.
Community Sustainable Energy programme – another round of funding open
Community Sustainable Energy Programme is an open grants programme run by BRE as an award partner of the BIG Lottery Fund. BRE carries out research, consultancy, training and testing to help create better buildings and communities.
Applications will be accepted for heat generating technologies and energy efficiency measures only.
The Community Sustainable Energy Programme has to date awarded £8.5 million to community-based organisations for the installation of microgeneration technologies, such as solar panels or biomass boilers and energy efficiency measures including loft and cavity wall insulation. It has provided £1 million for project development grants that have helped community organisations decide if they could benefit from a microgeneration and energy efficiency installation. The programme aims to achieve the following outcomes:
- Reduction in CO2 emissions
- Increased community awareness of climate change and how changes to our behaviour can reduce it
- Increased skills base of local trades (for example, local builders and building-service subcontractors working on renewable energy projects for the first time)
- Reduction in energy bills
- Reduction in reliance on imported energy and increased independence from commercial energy suppliers
- Stronger partnerships within local communities with lasting social benefits
- Growth of local enterprise in new technologies.
Deadline for the receipt of completed applications is 5pm Friday 29 February 2012.
Capital grants will be awarded on a competitive basis. Details of all aspects of the grant application process, installers and technologies are available on the BRE website
More WW2 veterans visit places they saw service
Lt Bruce McIntosh, of Longbenton, recently made the journey back to the borders of Afghanistan where, as an 18-year-old soldier, he joined the Mahar Regiment to serve his country.
The 85-year-old, who dodged bullets as a member of the Indian army for three years, was invited to attend a reunion of his old regiment and, thanks to a grant from the Big Lottery Fund’s Heroes Return 2 programme, he was able to visit his former comrades.
Communities Living Sustainably – closing date reminder
Communities Living Sustainably will fund partnerships that bring together the public, private, voluntary and community sectors to build up to 10 sustainable and resilient communities to help deal with the potential impact of climate change.
We must receive your expression of interest by midday 31 January 2012.
Communities Living Sustainably will only be able to fund up to 10 projects and we expect to receive a high demand for funding. We ask you to complete a checklist to see if you are eligible to apply.
Read the expression of interest, guidance notes and use our eligibility checklist
BIG Building Capabilties discussion paper/survey
Big Lottery Fund is launching a nationwide discussion asking voluntary sector and social enterprise managers working in both frontline and infrastructure support and development organisations to tell us how they think we should best use our funding to develop support to VCS organisations and social enterprises.
The Big Lottery fund has invested spent more than £200 million on capacity building for VCS organisations and social enterprises over the last ten years; our nationwide discussion is intended to stimulate debate and thinking to shape, influence and inform our future thinking and investment.
To begin to gather ideas and responses, we have posted an online survey. We will also be organising discussion events in 2012. A paper setting out the principles behind our future investment plans and an on-line survey is available on the website.
The deadline for responding to this discussion paper is 15 March 2012.
We will then publish a revised paper which responds to and incorporates your comments. We look forward to having this discussion with you.
BIG advice line 0845 4 10 20 30
