• Young people to have a 'myplace' to call their own
• West Midlands regional team vacancy - Regional policy & partnerships officer
• BIG events in the West Midlands
• And finally.......Extra news in brief

It’s the final countdown…

Time is running out for communities who want a £50,000 slice of the Big Lottery Fund’s People’s Millions. Groups in the West Midlands have just one month left to put in their bid to enter this year’s People’s Millions contest which has £250,000 in good cause cash to award across the region.

Among last years winners was The Weoley Castle Community Project Ltd which used their People’s Millions winnings to refurbish their much-loved but run-down community centre.

Across the West Midlands the Big Lottery Fund has five awards of up to £50,000 up for grabs. Projects will go head to head on TV to win the public’s support and share in up to £250,000 of Lottery good cause money.

Organisations have until 15 May 2008 to enter the contest. The finalists will be screened on ITV Central West evening news programme later in the year when viewers will be able to cast their vote for the projects they want to win the Lottery good cause cash.   Past experience of People Millions has shown that even if groups don’t win the £50,000, the exposure they get on local television highlights their work to a wide audience is a real boost to their organisation.

Application packs for People’s Millions are available by calling the hotline: 08450 10 11 12 or by visiting www.peoplesmillions.org.uk.

Opportunities for funding

The Family Learning programme remains open for one to five year projects involving parents and children learning together.

Projects should be enjoyable and non-qualification based and be for £10,000 up to £500,000. Competition for funding is likely to increase as we approach the August deadline - do don't delay if you have a good idea!

To see some of the grants awarded under this programme, why not have a look at our Grants Search. Simply select 'England Wide', 'List All Funding Programmes' and 'Family Learning', or call Oliver Nicholls on 0121 345 7906 to discuss your idea.

Changing Spaces

Our Changing Spaces programmes aim to give a greater sense of community ownership of local environments, improve green spaces, increase social and environmental sustainability.  We are working with five award partners to run targeted funding programmes. The five programmes are:

Local Food – promoting locally-grown food to strengthen local communities. Small grants from £2,000. Main grants £10,001 to £300,000. Beacon grants up to £500,000.  Award partner: Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts. Details: www.localfoodgrants.org

Community Spaces – helping communities improve or create green spaces to improve quality of live in their neighbourhood. Most grants will be between £10,000 and £50,000. There will be a small number of Large and Flagship grants. Award partner: Groundwork UK. Details: www.community-spaces.org.uk

Access to Nature – helping people from all backgrounds to understand, access and enjoy the natural environment. Grant size: £50,000 - £500,000 (some match funding required). Award partner: English Nature. Details: www.naturalengland.org.uk/accesstonature  

Community Sustainable Energy – grants for community organisations for feasibility or installation of renewable energy systems.  Grant size: up to £50,000 for installation, up to £5,000 for project development.  Award partner: Building Research Establishment. Details: www.communitysustainable.org.uk

Ecominds – tackling stigma by providing opportunities for mental health service users to get involved in environment projects. Grant size: £20,000 to £150,000, with a small number of Flagship grants of up to £250,000. Award partner: MIND. Details: www.ecominds.org.uk

For more information visit the Changing Spaces pages on our website.

Young people to have a 'myplace' to call their own

Beverley Hughes, Minister for Children, Young People and Families recently launched myplace - a multi million pound government programme to deliver world-class places for young people to go.  Channelled through the Big Lottery Fund, myplace will invest £190 million over the next three years in ambitious projects driven by the active participation of young people. This will support the Government's Children's Plan pledge to provide exciting safe places for all young people to go to, and where people can engage in a wide range of positive activities such as sport, dance and music.  The Government knows that giving young people access to positive activities is an important tool in helping communities tackle antisocial behaviour, as well as helping young people to re-engage in their communities.  For more information on this innovative new programme visit the myplace pages on our website.

West Midlands regional team vacancy - Regional policy & partnerships officer

Do you want to help us make a real difference to people's lives through Lottery funding?  Our regional teams are key to ensuring that Lottery funding is spent as effectively as possible. You will be responsible for gathering information to inform our committees, developing links with local voluntary and statutory organisations and providing an essential outreach role to make sure that people know about our funding.

The Regional Policy and Partnerships Officer is a varied role and one that requires an understanding of the policy context within which the voluntary, community and public sectors work in the West Midlands. You'll need excellent communication skills, experience of research, collating and presenting information and an ability to make good relationships with colleagues inside and outside the organisation.

For further information and to apply for this role, visit www.biglotteryfund.org.uk and complete an online application form.

Ref: BIG 07/042.

Closing date: 12 noon, Monday 28 April 2008.

Interview date: Friday, 9 May 2008.

BIG events in the West Midlands

The Big Lottery Fund will have a presence at a number of events in March across the West Midlands region.

These include

• 17 April 2008  Wolverhampton city-wide BME Council funding event
• 8 May 2008     myplace launch event

Find out more about these and many other events taking place in the West Midlands on our events pages.

And finally.......Extra news in brief

BIG in the West Midlands

We are pleased to announce the dates of our Spring BIG Briefings in the West Midlands.  BIG Briefings are events targeted at helper agencies who give funding advice to voluntary and community groups.  The events give an update on the latest news and information on applying for funding from the Big Lottery Fund.

The next dates are as follows;

13 May 2008 - Birmingham

21 May 2008 - Walsall

If you would like more information on the BIG Briefings or to register your interest please contact us by e-mailing events.wm@biglotteryfund.org.uk.   Please note, BIG Briefings are for helper agencies and are not intended for indivudual groups seeking advice on funding.  Other events taking places specifically for individual groups can be found on our events page.