Spirit of 2012 has recently announced a ‘Moments to Connect’ Fund, which is available for project proposals that explore how the major national events and moments of 2023 can connect individuals and communities and build common ground across social divides. The Moments to Connect Fund has a total budget of £200,000.
The overarching aims of the Fund is to:
o Build social connections between individuals and communities.
o Learn about the role that major events can play in bringing people together across social divides, and
o Share this learning with event organisers to help them be better able to use major events to increase social cohesion.
The following grants, which can cover project and staffing costs, as well as overheads, are available:
1. Evidence into Practice Grants - a maximum of 3 grants will be awarded for research projects up to £30,000 for research organisations to explore the topic of social cohesion and events in more detail, and
2. Test and Learn Grants - a maximum of 2 grants will be awarded for participatory projects up to £60,000 to delivery organisations seeking to bring together people from different backgrounds as part of one of the major events taking place in 2023, including (please note that this is not an exclusive list):
o The 25th Anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement on Monday 10th April 2023.
o The Coronation of King Charles III on Saturday 6th May 2023.
o The Eurovision Song contest on Saturday 13th May 2023.
o The 75th Anniversary of Windrush on Thursday 22th June 2023, and
o The 75th Anniversary of the NHS on Wednesday 5th July 2023.
The Visit Britain website lists a number of other major events scheduled for 2023.
Funding is not available for:
o Animal welfare projects.
o Contributions to reserves or the payment of debts.
o Elements of work that duplicate funding provided by another body.
o Individuals.
o Political campaigns.
o Projects or activities outside the UK.
o Promotion of religion.
o Provision of services that are the responsibility of statutory organisations or the UK government, or
o Retrospective costs.
Further information, guidance and details of the 2-stage application process is available on the Spirit of 2012 website.
The deadlines for Expressions of Interest and the submission of full applications are:
1. Expressions of Interest: 5pm on Monday 28th November 2022.
2. Full Applications: 5pm on Monday 16th January 2023.
The Spirit of 2012 have scheduled an Information Session on the Moments to Connect Fund for Thursday 17th November 2022. This is a drop-in session whereby interested organisations can book a 30-minute slot to discuss a proposal or learn more about the Fund. Further details are available on the Charity’s website (scroll down to the bottom of the page for the link).
