Following Prince Charles’ ascension to the throne, the Prince’s Countryside Fund has been rebranded as the Royal Countryside Fund. The Fund will shortly be inviting applications to its Autumn 2023 Supporting Rural Communities round for grants of up to £25,000 over two years for projects that have a lasting impact in rural communities across the UK. Applications are particularly welcomed from groups and organisations in hamlets, villages and small market towns.
The UK government uses the Rural Urban Classification to distinguish between rural and urban areas. The classification defines areas as rural if they have a resident population of under 10,000.
Funding is available for community-led projects that are pursuing innovative and strategic solutions to the challenges facing their rural area and which will improve the long-term viability and resilience of their community. Successful projects will achieve one or more of the following:
o Build rural community resilience.
o Create a self-sufficient rural community fit for the future.
o Develop innovative and replicable projects.
o Enable leadership and community planning.
o Improve the economic or social resilience of a rural community.
o Reduce isolation for people living in rural areas through improving service provision, and/or
o Support people to resolve existing and emerging community issues, circumstances, and priorities in their locality.
Beneficiaries must be from a rural area and applicants must be able to demonstrate demand for the project from within the local community.
In general, the Royal Countryside Fund is a revenue grant programme which has a small capital element. In the past grants have been awarded for initiatives that tackle issues in rural communities around:
o Developing village amenities, such as shops and key services.
o Financial hardship.
o Improving digital connections.
o Mental health needs.
o Physical health, and
o Social isolation.
UK not-for-profit organisations (see eligible list above) may apply for a grant of up to £25,000 over 2 years. The average grant tends to be for £17,000. There is usually a matched funding requirement for the Fund, as applicants are expected to have raised some funding from other sources prior to applying.
Priority is given to communities:
o In remote rural areas, specifically areas of Locality Related Deprivation.
o With an ageing population or with a limited number of working age people in the area, and
o With a population of under 3,000 residents, with a drive time of over 30 minutes to a settlement of 10,000 or more.
Funding is not available for:
o Care farms, community farms, or similar projects where the beneficiaries are drawn from a larger are than just the local community.
o Food and the purchase of food.
o Hospitals.
o Individuals.
o Local Authorities, including Town/Parish Councils.
o Planning permission or building regulations, or building projects where planning permission is not in place.
o Private companies.
o Projects for which there are other, more appropriate funders.
o Projects that promote a particular religion.
o Projects where the Fund's contribution makes up less than 10% of the total cost of the project.
o Purchase of land or buildings.
o Schools.
o Statutory obligations.
o Technical energy projects where a specialist funder might be more appropriate, or
o Youth Clubs.
Further information, guidance, an eligibility quiz, frequently asked questions (FAQs) and an application form can be found on the Royal Countryside Fund website.
The Autumn 2023 round of the Royal Countryside Fund is scheduled to open to applications on Friday 8th September 2023, with a deadline for applications of midday (12 noon) on Friday 20th October 2023.
