Relief in Need Grants - Organisations
Relief in need Grants are available for charities and community groups in our area of benefit, the Borough of Wokingham. We fund projects that provide innovative, sustainable and preventative solutions to issues in the Borough. We have a particular interest in supporting charities/projects that break the cycle of poverty and relieve financial hardship with a preventative aspect. This work may include but is not limited to, supporting access to employment and further training, money management and debt advice, mental health and wellbeing.
Who can apply
To be eligible the organisation must:
- be a UK registered charity, not for profit organisation, a voluntary or community group, a social enterprise or community interest company
- be able to provide up-to-date accounts
- have a bank account in the name of the organisation
- Provide evidence that the service/support takes place in our area of benefit or service users are predominantly residents of our area of benefit *
If you were granted funding the previous year, you will not be a priority this year but your application may still be considered.
We fund-
- Running Costs
- Salaries
- Projects
- Small capital expenditure
We do not fund-
- Replacement of statutory funding or curricular activities
- Sponsorship of fundraising events or activities
- Retrospective expenditure/funding
- Development of financial reserves of your group
- We do not fund projects that only support people of a single political, religious or ethnic persuasion
Please note this list is not exhaustive.
If you would like to apply for a grant, please click here.
Recent WUC Relief in need grants
Funding for 4 community gardens in Wokingham Borough with training for custodians.
Support for PACT’s Bounce Back 4 Kids domestic abuse recovery programme. Funding towards Wokingham residents at Alana House to help break the cycle of poverty.
Funding to contribute towards 4Es Employability programme with 1-2-1 support.
Financial support for the BWA’s Rebuilding Lives service.
Eyes On Our Future employability programme supporting visually impaired people with work.
Funding towards the Family Support Project enabling families to use facilities whilst supported.
Funding to support two courses: Financial Benefits to Health and Home Harmony.
Funding support for providing chemogiftbags to beneficiaries within Wokingham Borough.
Contribution towards renovation costs to transform the building for community use.
Financial support for extra training of youth counsellors.
Ongoing backing for Advice at Home and Mobile Advice Unit. Financial support for a full-time Initial Checker for 4 months to assist with living expenses.
Purchase 40 pairs of gloves for clients at the Acorn Centre in Wokingham.
Assistance with hospital transport costs when other options were exhausted.
Buying garden equipment for the Green 'n' Tidy initiative.
Funding to contribute towards a dedicated Citizens Advice Officer to assist their members. Funding to cover increase in costs for core and activities for four months.
Support and events for those affected by cancer provided by the Cancer Support Network.
Assistance with fundraising talent show costs. Assistance with purchasing bedding for 10 homeless people moving into temporary housing.
Reducing attendance costs for members and supporting additional running costs.
Assistance for extra running expenses.
Funding towards winter clothing essentials for clients in Wokingham Borough. Funding towards administration support during the referrals process (BCF). Funding for Christmas gifts and hampers for those in need.
£4k to cover transport costs for clients to attend support groups and £2k for core expenses. To send Christmas hampers to help those under financial pressure this Christmas.
Assistance for transport costs to run family support sessions.
The cost of hiring a van for six months to manage increased demand. The grant can be used for the Christmas Presence project expenses. Contribution towards cost of an additional Family Support Worker for the School Uniform project (BCF).
Funding to lower costs for members to attend sessions.
Funding for a Warm Space on Tuesday Afternoons
Funding needed for supplies to create a warm space.
Funding towards their supported housing services.
New services to support clients with cost-of-living crisis and increased costs.
Request for funding to support ongoing support and new referrals. Financial support to recruit and train volunteers to provide a home-visiting service.
Funding for a six-month Assessment Coordinator. Funding for Christmas Day lunch for members who would otherwise be alone.
Renovate outdoor area, add new play equipment, and create a sports area.
The grant award can cover the expenses of Christmas Dinner and gift hampers.
Funding towards the Christmas Lunch for Wokingham Borough residents.
The grant can be used for the Christmas Presence project expenses.
The grant can be used for the Christmas Presence project expenses.
The award can cover Christmas appeal expenses such as gifts and hampers.
Funding towards hosting two Christmas parties and purchasing Christmas gifts for members.
Assistance for Christmas appeal costs, such as gifts and hampers.
Young People with Dementia were awarded £10,000 to adapt their service to provide support for their clients during lockdown online and via the telephone. As restrictions were lifted, micro groups and one-on-one sessions were incorporated. This grant benefited 70 people directly and provided respite for their family members.
Berkshire Women’s Aid received £20,000, which was match funded by the Berkshire Community Foundation. There was a 9% increase in cases of domestic violence during Covid-19. The £40,000 total grant funded the re-opening of a refuge for one year that had previously been closed due to a lack of funding.
The Cowshed received £10,000 towards core costs. This included a contribution towards the salary of a referrals coordinator and funding for items that cannot be donated, such as underwear and duvets.
Citizens Advice Wokingham were successful in obtaining continuation funding for their Advice at Home project. This built on lessons learnt from the previous community outreach programme and aimed to reach those clients who may not be able to access the traditional service and who may have multiple issues and need additional support.
Berkshire Vision’s project was to provide activities for those with sight loss (which is rapidly rising and anticipated to double in Wokingham by 2030- RNIB) to prevent and relieve social isolation, a main issue identified by those living with sight loss. The activities, curling, acoustic shooting, seated exercise, tandem cycling, swimming, theatre trips included assistance with transport. The project will bring people together, improving social isolation, increase confidence and improve mental and physical health.
Camp Mohawk were awarded a grant for core costs to support salaries in running their multi-functional site for children with special needs and their families. Located just outside our area of benefit in Wargrave, 32% of their service users reside in our area of benefit; 162 families currently attend. They run four separate projects: family support, short-breaks scheme, shared play scheme, and open sessions.
Life Education: Harold and the Life Bus' project will deliver health, wellbeing, and drug prevention education workshops in schools. Life Education also provides staff training and parents and carers' workshops. ‘Harold’ the famous giraffe puppet, helps to explore children's attitudes and dilemmas, covering a variety of topics, building confidence and self-esteem, resilience to risk, tackling peer group pressure, and bullying.
Berkshire Lowland Search is a 100% volunteer-run search and rescue team, receiving no government funding. They are heavily used by the police for missing person searches and saw a huge increase in demand during the lockdown. BLSR received an emergency grant to cover the cost of 6 months’ rent as this cost is usually covered by fundraising activities which were cancelled due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Wokingham Foodbank received an emergency grant to purchase food items to enable the foodbank to continue running during the COVID-19 crisis, by providing food items to the vulnerable residents in the community. Usually, the generosity of local people’s donations would sustain the giving, but due to a 300% increase in demand and lockdown restrictions, donations were significantly reduced, leaving the foodbank short of essentials.
