School funding and grants

Some Local Funding Ideas Which You Might Find Useful For Your School

Public Funding

  1. Surrey Music Hub Local Schools Network Funds: Grants of up to £2000 available to groups of schools for projects. Applcation deadline normally in February.
  2. Reigate & Banstead Borough Council Grants: Find information on all the difference types of grants that the Council offers, from capital funding to Councillor Community Awards.
  3. Reigate & Banstead Local Committee: This committee consists of 10 county councillors who meet four times a year. Each County Councillor can provide funding to local projects and initiatives that make a difference in their community.

Community Fundraising

  1. Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs): I appreciate this isn’t straightforward because each school has it’s own PTA, but as your project benefits a network of schools could the idea of representatives from the different PTAs working together to fundraise for school partnership projects not be explored?
  2. Parents of participants, both for fundraising initiatives: e.g. coffee mornings, organising a raffles at concerts or interval drinks, quiz nights etc as well as for local contacts for possible sponsorship, e.g. do any parents work for local estate agents or large companies (e.g. Canon UK which has it’s HQ in Reigate).

Local Trusts & Foundations

  1. Humphrey Richardson Taylor Trust
  2. Community Foundation for Surrey
  3. RVW Trust
  4. Reigate & Banstead Arts Council: A local volunteer-led charity that supports arts in the Borough. Cash grants of between £100 and £500.

Further Fundraising Advice and Support

  1. Reigate & Banstead Voluntary Service for further advice on local fundraising.
  2. Funding Central grant finder database.
  3. EMI Music Sound Foundation: Funding for Schools to Purchase Musical Equipment (UK). Schools in the UK, that wish to purchase musical instruments and equipment can apply for funding of up to £2,000. The closing date for applications is the 8th February 2016.

There are obviously the national lottery funders too (Arts Council England, Awards for All, Youth Music) but unless you’re working on quite a large arts/music project I would avoid these as they’re not easy forms to complete and are very competitive as I know you’re aware! Many organisations appoint professional fundraisers just to work on completing these types of applications!