[WiLT] Esmée Fairbairn Foundation launches new funding strands

[WiL Admin]

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation launches new funding strands

The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation is launching three exciting new
approaches to its funding: a new funding strand based on Food, a pilot
programme of work in Northern Ireland and a Finance Fund.
http://www.esmeefairbairn.org.uk/pr-template.html

Food: Aims to promote an understanding of the role of food in
enhancing quality of life.  We are interested in work that influences
policy and practice across a range of food-related areas, enabling as
many people in the UK as possible to access, prepare and eat
nutritious, sustainable food. The budget is £3million over the next
three years.

Northern Ireland Pilot:  Aims to support the development of a strong
and resilient voluntary sector in Northern Ireland and, in particular,
to encourage new thinking and a new generation of leaders. Year one
will be a pilot programme to road-test the design of the programme
with five or so organisations selected from an invited field; if
successful, a longer programme will be launched.  A budget of up to
£1million has been set for the pilot.  The strand is being run in
conjunction with The Henry Smith Charity.

Finance Fund:  Offers financing to projects or organisations that can
demonstrate the need for investment and the capacity to manage the
demands of non-grant funding.  Arrangements could include loans,
guarantees, equity or quasi-equity finance.  At this stage, the
programme will not be open to unsolicited applications.  Up to
£15million will be available for funding of this kind.

Fuller information on these and the main funding streams, guidelines
and application forms are available on their website.

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, 11 Park Place, London SW1A 1LP
Tel: 020 7297 4700
Fax: 020 7297 4701
Email: info at esmeefairbairn.org.uk
Website: http://www.esmeefairbairn.org.uk


Main Fund

Our Main Fund distributes about two-thirds of our funding. Responsive
to shifts in demand, it supports work that focuses on the UK's
cultural life, education, the natural environment and enabling people
who are disadvantaged to participate more fully in society.

Our primary interests are in the UK's cultural life, education, the
natural environment and enabling people who are disadvantaged to
participate more fully in society.
We welcome your suggestions about how we can help your organisation.
We are particularly interested in hearing about how the work you are
proposing:
- Addresses a significant gap in provision
- Develops or strengthens good practice
- Challenges convention or takes a risk in order to address a
difficult issue
- Tests out new ideas or practices
- Takes an enterprising approach to achieving your aims
- Sets out to influence policy or change behaviour more widely
We can only fund work that is legally charitable. You do not have to
be a registered charity to apply, but your constitution must allow you
to carry out the work you propose.

What type of funding do we offer?

At Esmée Fairbairn we are happy to consider requests to fund core
costs or project costs. These may include running costs such as staff
salaries and overheads but generally not equipment costs.

New and emerging organisations may apply and we are willing to help
finance the early stages of developing a convincing new idea in order
to test its feasibility and give it the best possible chance of
success.

We occasionally fund research where we consider it is likely to have a
practical impact.

If you ask for our assistance, you should tell us how much you need.
The average Esmée Fairbairn grant is worth about £50,000, but we are
happy to consider requests for less or more money.

You are welcome to submit an application at any time, since we make
funding decisions throughout the year. However, we will only deal with
one application per organisation at a time through the Main Fund.

Full details and downloads at
http://www.esmeefairbairn.org.uk/funding/main-applying.html


Strands

We will also allocate funds to specific strands of work. These will
change over time, but overall they express our desire to make a
contribution in particular areas of interest. There is a separate
application process for strands. We will also make a small number of
grants through time-limited, specialist funding Strands.

At the time of writing we have identified the following three topics
for more detailed attention. These will develop over time, and allow
us to make a more focused contribution in an area of interest. Others
may come on stream in the course of the year, so please check this
website.

Biodiversity - Supporting practical conservation action and the
science which underpins it. The strand will focus on species and
habitats that are uncharismatic or hard to fund and aims to support
the development of effective conservation approaches. Linking science
and practical action, it will prioritise partnership applications
involving research organisations, practical conservation charities and
voluntary nature societies.

Food - The aim of the Food Strand is to promote an understanding of
the role of food in enhancing quality of life. It will prioritise the
enjoyment and experience of food rather than its production and we
seek to enable as many people in the UK as possible to access, prepare
and eat nutritious, sustainable food. We are interested in work that
influences policy and practice across a range of food-related areas.
We expect to support a mix of practical projects that have wide
significance, and some research and policy based work.

Museum & Heritage Collections - This strand will focus on time-limited
collections work including research, documentation and conservation
that is outside the scope of an organisation's core resources. We will
prioritise proposals that are at an early stage of development where
it may be difficult to guarantee tangible outcomes. We will also
prioritise proposals that have the potential to share knowledge with
other organisations through partnership working or dissemination.

New approaches to learning - Devising, testing and disseminating new
approaches to teaching and learning that address current and future
challenges in state schools and pre-schools.

To read more about these strands or to check back for changes and
additions go to
http://www.esmeefairbairn.org.uk/funding/funding-strands.html