The Baily Thomas Charitable Fund is a registered charity which was established to aid research into learning disability and the care and relief of those affected by learning disability. Applications will only be considered from organisations which are registered charities or associated with a registered charity.http://www.bailythomas.org.uk

They give financial grants of between £100 and £10,000 pounds to projects concerning older people and people with learning difficulties. They focus on small local projects that have a very practical outcome.

The Trust makes grants of between £1,000 and £10,000 to smaller charities throughout the UK, especially those working at grassroots and local level. Grants are one-off.

The next deadline for applications to Children in Need is 30th March and 30th November.

The BBC is inviting nominations for the Sports Unsung Hero Award, part of the Sports Personality of the Year Awards. The award is given to a volunteer who has made a difference to their community through sport. Closing date is 31 October. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportsunsunghero

The Beacon Prize, which recognises individuals who have made a significant contribution in giving time, money or skills to specific causes, is open for nominations until 1 May.

To widen its doors to community groups and to help allocate its funds more effectively, Biffaward has teamed up with a variety of partners including the Countryside Agency and Rural Community Councils. The partnership will enable individual communities to take action to improve villages, towns and cities and receive help in applying for Biffaward funding to do it.

Big Give website where major donors can find your charity
The Big Give is a free website that helps major donors find high level charity projects in their field of interest. The Big Give is free to users, and any registered UK charity may register and post their projects on the site. More information can be found at www.thebiggive.org.uk.

The Big Give is a free website that helps major donors find high level charity projects in their field of interest. The Big Give is free to users, and any registered UK charity may register and post their projects on the site. More information can be found at www.thebiggive.org.uk

The Big Green Challenge at NESTA is offering innovative organisations doing their bit to tackle climate change the chance to win £1 million. You now have until 11:59pm, 3 March 2008 to enter the first stage of applications.

Grants of £300-£10,000 are available for projects for people to take part in art, sport, heritage and community activities, as well as projects that promote education, the environment and health in the local community. Not-for-profit groups, town or parish councils, schools or health bodies can apply at any time. You will be told whether you are successful within eight weeks.

Closing date: 29 August 2008
Minimum grant: £10,000 Maximum grant: £500,000
Family Learning will help parents to understand more about how their children learn. Applications can come from the voluntary and community sector, the public and private sectors. However the public and private sectors have to work in partnership with an organisation from the voluntary and community sector.

Minimum grant: £10,000 Maximum grant: £500,000
Reaching Communities, is a demand led England wide programme that will provide funding to help improve local communities and the lives of people most in need. Projects can be funded up to five years. It is a two-stage application process. Open to voluntary and community groups, statutory bodies, including schools and social enterprises.

The Big Lottery Fund's Breathing Places programme is a UK-wide small grants programme developed in partnership with the BBC. The programme has two aims: to increase participation and access to local 'breathing places' by encouraging people to become actively involved in them, and by supporting activities that are open and accessible to everyone; To make a lasting improvement to the local environment by supporting activities that develop existing breathing places or help create and sustain new ones.

Funding for small organisations: The Office of the Third Sector will launch an £80m fund to provide small grants to small, community-based third sector organisations. The fund will award the £80m over four years, using local distributors with relevant community knowledge to award specific grants. Futurebuilders programme: The Futurebuilders programme will expand its funding criteria to cover any area of public service delivery. Currently, third sector organisations are only eligible for funding from this programme to deliver services in just five areas (crime, community cohesion, education and learning, health and social care, support for children and young people).

See NCVO's Budget summary, <http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/?id=4498>. Volunteering England response: <http://digbig.com/4sbrq> or <http://www.volunteering.org.uk>