Laughology Limited, a consultancy specialising in the science of happiness, launched “The Happiness Fund” earlier this year, from which 4 small grants are given annually to grassroots, neighbourhood-based local community projects in the UK which improve:
o Inclusion.
o Learning.
o Mental health and wellbeing, and
o Skills development.
The Fund is designed to support the setting up of new groups and activities, but to be successful, applicants will need to indicate how the activity/group can become self-sustainable or able to attract funding from other sources over the longer term.
The Fund will award a single one-off grant of £2,500 per quarter, allowing up to four different projects per year to receive a grant. Each project/organisation can only apply once each funding year.
To apply for the Fund projects must be:
o Based in a local community.
o Focused on longevity
o Non-political, and
o Not-for-profit
Funding is not available for:
o Large national charities.
o One-off events such as Christmas meals or day trips.
o Paying salaries, accommodation or rent, or
o Public Sector organisations.
The remaining application deadlines for 2022 are:
o Friday 16th September (the application window opened on Friday 1st July. The successful applicant is expected to be announced in early October 2022, and
o Friday 16th December 2022 (the application window will open on Saturday 1st October. The successful applicant is expected to be announced in early January 2023.
Please note that the application window will close once the first 50 applications have been
received.
Further information, guidance and an online application form is available on the Laughology website.