The Asda Foundation has three grant programmes currently open to application, all with a deadline of Friday 24th May 2024. The Foundation’s Cost-of-Living Grant programme is covered in this article, while details of the following funds can also be found on its website:
o Empowering Local Communities Grants – which offers grants of between £500 and £2,000 for local projects across the UK that enable people to lead more active lives, improve mental health and wellbeing and bring people together for events that celebrate their community.
o Under-18 Better Start Grants – which offers grants of between £500 and £2,000 for local community organisations across the UK to support activities for children and young people aged 18 and under that will improve their lives and their community, and
o Local Community Emergency Donations – the Foundation can provide assistance to community groups during times of emergency. This can include community-wide disasters such as floods and fires. To enquire about an emergency grant, please contact your local Asda store who will work with the Asda Foundation to provide support.
Please note that Cost-of-Living, Under-18 Better Start and Empowering Local Communities Grants may all close earlier than the scheduled deadline of Friday 24th May 2024 if they become over-subscribed. Early application is therefore advised.
During the year ended 31st December 2022, the Foundation awarded 7,119 grants totalling over £4.3 million across the UK. Details of how the Foundation's grants were distributed in 2022 can be viewed on pages 8 and 9 of its Annual Report, which provides an excellent overview of the Foundation's grant-making.
The Cost-of-Living programme offers grants to local community organisations across the UK. The programme has two main priorities:
1. Funding to cover rent and utility costs, especially where this relates to 'Warm Banks' where groups are aiming to keep their facilities open for longer to provide local people with a warm, safe place to be rather than heating their homes or living in a cold property (for example, drop in and day centres), and
2. Funding food for community cafes, food parcels, delivered meals, soup kitchens, etc.
UK-based local not-for-profit community groups may apply for a grant of between £500 and £2,000, providing they meet the following criteria:
o Beneficiaries must be groups of people in a local community.
o The applying organisations must have a presence in the local community, and
o The applying organisation must provide services that benefit the local community.
Please note that new groups can apply to the Fund: the Foundation has not stated a minimum or maximum amount of time a group must have been active in order to be eligible to apply.
Funding is not available for:
o Buying alcohol.
o Day trips, excursions or travel/transport.
o Groups based outside the UK.
o Groups whose main purpose is to benefit animals.
o Individuals.
o Insurances.
o Membership schemes.
o Ongoing salary costs.
o Promotional work.
o Raffle prizes.
o Restaurant meals.
o Storage costs.
o Third party grant-making organisations.
o Transport costs.
o Volunteer-only celebration events, or
o Voucher schemes.
The programme is being managed by the Community Champion in each ASDA store (scroll down to the heading "Who are the Community Champions?"). The Community Champion should be contacted for an application form. A store locator is available on the ASDA website.
Further information and guidance about the Cost-of-Living and other currently available grant programmes is available on the Foundation’s website.
Applications should be submitted at least 6 weeks before activities are due to begin to give enough processing time and should include:
o Bank statement/paying in slip.
o Confirmation that the group is a not-for-profit organisation, particularly if they’re not a registered charity.
o Digital signature declaration (for applicants not proving a handwritten signature), and
o Group documents (for example, constitution, rules, etc).
The deadline for applications is Friday 24th May 2024.
