Capacity Building

Arts Council England's new Small Capital Grants scheme is designed to benefit arts initiatives taking place in England, helping to make these projects more sustainable and resilient. The scheme forms part of a range of measures intended to help create a more sustainable, resilient and innovative arts sector.

Over £10m available to community groups looking to take over local services using the new rights
Community groups can apply for funding to help them use the new Community Right to Challenge in the Localism Act. The Right came into force on 27 June and will empower local community organisations to take over a local service that they can run more effectively.

We are pleased to announce recent improvements to our funding search facility which makes it easier to find potential funding for your group or project.

Following feedback from users of the previous system GrantNet, the new funding portal offers more control to the user and allows you to identify and select only funding schemes and awards that are appropriate for your project from over 5,000 sources including government, lottery and trust funds.

The Cabinet Office have produced a stocktake on progress in making it easier to run a civil society organisation, such as a charity, social enterprise or voluntary organisation.

In the last two years, the Cabinet Office have undertaken a comprehensive review of the regulation that affects the sector. The Cabinet Office are also investing more than £39 million in the infrastructure that exists to help civil society do more.

The BBC TV's The One Show is looking for community projects across the UK that need a helping hand. It wants to use its influence to galvanise volunteer efforts in different schemes for a new weekly feature on the programme in the coming months.

The National Youth Agency, funded by the Local Government Association, is working with VCS groups in Manchester and Manchester City Council to: Support the youth sector in Manchester to build constructive and productive relationships with business.

Apprenticeships are changing. With over 200 different types of Apprenticeships across many industry sectors, there are more opportunities than ever before to undertake an Apprenticeship and earn whilst you learn. From finance to law, engineering to science, retail to healthcare, there is an Apprenticeship out there for you.

What are Apprenticeships?
Apprenticeships are real jobs and real careers with training. As paid employees, apprentices earn a wage and learn on the job whilst also attending college and working towards nationally recognised qualifications.

As part of the Greener Journeys initiative, three grants of £5,000 are up for grabs for Greater Manchester-based community organisations, clubs and charities to promote bus travel to their members or supporters. Working alongside local bus company Stagecoach and other major bus operators, Greener Journeys hopes to find local groups with the influence and credibility to encourage people in their communities to leave their cars behind and try the bus instead.