The format of the People Postcode’s Trust Small Grants programme is due to change in 2016.

Now, there will be two funding rounds each year, open to organisations throughout all of England, Scotland and Wales. The first round is due to open on 1 May 2016 with a deadline of 31 May 2016, and the second round will open on 1 September 2016 with a deadline of 30 September 2016.

Grants of between £500 and £20,000 are available for projects in Scotland and England lasting up to 12 months, while applicants in Wales can apply for grants of between £500 and £20,000. However, applicants that are not formally registered as a charity with the OSCR or the Charity Commission can only apply for up to £2,000.

As the People’s Postcode Trust’s mission is to try to make the world a better place, applications will now only be invited for projects that focus on the following themes:

  • Prevention of poverty.
  • Healthy living initiatives.
  • Upholding human rights.
  • Facilitating reconciliation projects which help disadvantaged or at-risk groups.

Examples of projects which may fit within the Trust’s new criteria include:

  • Training programmes to boost skills and opportunities for disadvantaged people, including volunteer training programmes aimed at providing skills to the long-term unemployed.
  • Projects that tackle the root causes of anti-social behaviour and homelessness, including projects aimed at at-risk young people or young people leaving care.
  • Projects that support at-risk families, providing and early intervention to help tackle family breakdown.
  • Programmes that improve the physical and mental health of disadvantaged groups, enabling them to live more fulfilling lives.
  • Programmes that promote human rights and empower disadvantaged groups enabling them to create a better life for themselves.
  • Provision of services around domestic violence centres or refugee advice centres.
  • Projects that bring different groups of people together in a way that promotes understanding of differences and promotes justice, including programmes that promote migrant rights and help groups integrate into new environments.

Full details of the changes, including revised guidelines, can be found on the People’s Postcode Trust