Giles Watling, MP for Clacton, is promoting the Department for International Development’s Small Charities Challenge Fund (SCCF), which is an exciting funding opportunity for small charities in the Clacton constituency.
SCCF is the first fund designed specifically for small British charities. It provides grants for development organisations with an annual income of £250,000 or less working in priority countries to deliver the Global Goals. Grants of up to £50,000 are available for projects of two years or less.
95% of applicants have not received UK Aid Direct funding before, and successful organisations are based across the UK, with 75% outside London and the South East. Projects cover a range of policy areas including disability inclusion, education and livelihoods, and currently operate in 9 countries.
The SCCF welcomes applications for projects aimed at strengthening the capacity of grassroots development organisations by working with the poor, vulnerable and most marginalised to carry out work in priority countries towards achieving the Global Goals. It also particularly welcomes applications focused on securing better outcomes for widows.
To date, £2.7million has been committed to 55 small charities delivering a diverse range of projects. These include providing prosthetic limbs to amputees in the Gambia; supporting landless youth to start bee-keeping businesses in Ethiopia and transforming the lives of carers in Bangladesh.
The SCCF is a rolling funding opportunity – applications are reviewed on a 6-monthly basis – and the closing date for the next review of applications is Thursday 28th March 2019. More information, including an example application form, can be found online at www.ukaiddirect.org/apply/sccf/.
Speaking about the opportunity, Giles said:
“We have some fantastic charitable organisations operating in the Clacton constituency, including knife crime and one that works to alleviate poverty and promote education. This opportunity would let charities like these utilise their expertise in a new and rewarding way, and I hope that anyone who is interested will put themselves forward.”