Read on to find out more about funding/financing an Outdoor Classroom or Log Cabin.
Funding/Financing
Is your school ready to expand but in need of extra funding? You have options! Let’s explore them.
Funding Opportunities
UK state schools can apply for grants of £2,000 to £10,000 from the Foyle Foundation through its Schools Library Programme to improve or establish their libraries. Priority is given to primary schools up to Key Stage 2, but secondary schools that need books and reading resources for catch-up reading programs for Key Stage 3 pupils and/or transition reading programs for feeder/local primary schools will also be considered. The foundation can also consider applications from special schools for all SEN age groups. Applications can be submitted at any time, but it may take up to four months to receive a decision.
Kellogg’s Breakfast Club Grants Programme (UK)
The Kellogg’s Breakfast Club Grants Programme has re-opened for applications. The programme offers grants of up to £1,000 to schools in the UK to set up Breakfast clubs for those children in most need. To qualify for the programme the breakfast club must be based in a school in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland and priority will be given to schools that have 35% and above of children eligible for pupil premium funding and / or eligible for free school meals or that are based in an area which is classified as falling in the 10% of most deprived areas according to the Index of Multiple Deprivation. Only one grant per school in each academic year will be available.
The Department for Education has announced that the second round of the Trust Capacity Fund is now open for applications. This fund aims to support School Trusts in expanding their capacity and will provide a total of £86 million from 2022 to 2025. The focus is on assisting strong trusts and schools forming trusts to take on underperforming schools in education investment areas. Grants of up to £750,000 are available, depending on the funding strand applied for. Eligible applicants include academy trusts and local authority-maintained schools forming a multi-academy trust in England with good financial health and a track record of meeting or improving school standards. There will be five application rounds until October 2024, with the next deadline on the 1st February 2024.
£1 Million Available to Protect & Restore Local Nature (UK)
Aviva, in partnership with the RSPB and WWF, is making £1 million available to support community groups and schools in deprived areas of the UK to protect and restore nature in their local area. The Save Our Wild Isles Community Fund is a crowdfunding initiative that will give £2 for every £1 raised by each project. Community groups can apply for an initial £500 to kick-start their project and up to £15,000 in match funding. A wide range of nature projects can be supported. This can include restoring and protecting local habitats, promoting pro-environmental behaviours at the community level and connecting local communities to nature and each other. Applications can be made at any time until all funding has been allocated.
CROWDFUNDING
Crowdfunding is a great way to source additional funding so your school can upgrade its learning space and expand!
How does crowdfunding for schools work? Well put simply, you ask the school’s community, its ‘crowd’, to each donate small amounts of money to finance inspirational projects. The platforms provide ready-made templates and social media buttons to help your school to reach out to your audience and beyond. People can give as much as they like and donate anonymously if they prefer.
Just Giving, Rocket Fund, and DonateMySchool are just some of the platforms established to help crowdfund projects like Cabins For Schools buildings.
This is a great way of rallying your local community to get involved with your school’s endeavours, and a chance to showcase your community spirit and ethos! You can increase your engagement with parents, alumni, the broader school community and local residents. Give your community the chance to help make a difference. Using crowdfunding really expands your network, people are encouraged not only to donate but also to share. This can really increase your reach.
In fact, that’s exactly what Cutnall Green C of E School did! They reached out to their community and the people came together to fund the school’s fantastic outdoor learning space expansion project. Staff at the school were blown away by the response they received. Their community made everything possible. Now, their students and teachers can enjoy their fantastic cabin and forest learning for years to come.
Financing
It’s simple, quick and easy to finance a new building from Cabins For Schools. We are pleased to partner with Time Finance Leasing to offer competitive finance. Time Finance has grown to become one of the UK’s leading providers. Importantly, payments are fixed throughout the term of the agreement, enabling accurate and simple budgeting and forecasting. Approval is made simple. Firstly, leasing may be classed as a revenue item for budget purposes which may make it easier for you to obtain authorisation for the expenditure. Secondly, our approval process only takes one phone call with approval usually being provided within 24 hours.
Get in touch and we will arrange for Time Finance Leasing to contact you and provide a bespoke finance quotation to suit your needs.
Grants
There is plenty of information online about grants and the funding available to help with school investments. Two regularly updated sources are:
Schools and Colleges – News – Grants Online
Grants 4 Schools is a comprehensive funding information service available to the UK education sector. They highlight the latest grants available to primary, secondary, colleges, independent and free schools. Make sure to check it out to find grants specific to your project.
The Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) is additional capital funding that academies and sixth-form colleges can apply for each year.
Pebble will help schools and colleges to acquire funding. They are considered the leaders in income generation for schools and academies.
Ernest Cook Trust – Outdoor Essentials Grant (UK)
The Outdoor Essentials Grant is a £500 award to UK state funded Primary and Secondary schools to enable them to get their pupils learning outdoors.
Applicants can be any UK state funded Ofsted Registered Primary, Middle, Secondary or High school: Any UK state funded Ofsted Registered Primary, Middle, Secondary or High school may apply. Grants can cover the purchase of Outdoor Learning resources that engage young people with the environment such as bug hotels, bird boxes and minibeast investigation kits. A grant of up to £500 is available under two schemes: Wellies & Waterproofs: Outdoor clothing to enable children and young people to learn outdoors. Nature and Nurture: Projects to create areas where young people can connect with nature within school grounds or the local community.
Schools, charities and community organisations can apply for a grant of up to £1,500. Every three months, three local causes are selected to be in the blue token customer vote in Tesco stores throughout the UK.
How to write a successful funding bid/grant bid
Research
The successful grant bids are the ones which have been considered in great detail. You should do your research into both your project to gather evidence and statistics to support your case, as well as into the funding organisation which you’re applying for a grant from. This will help you to better understand their goals and priorities when granting funds. Take the time to thoroughly assess your options and select the right grant to support your project. Make sure you understand the funding organisation’s priorities and that your project is eligible before you begin.
Planning
While there are things which would be lovely to have at your school, these lovely extras rarely get accepted for grant funding. Your project should aim to solve a current problem in your educational setting. Planning ahead can really help you to consider the issue you’re trying to solve and how receiving the grant to fund your project will provide the solution. Do remember to be specific and think about your institution, rather than about vague or generalised issues within the education sector as a whole.
One of the most essential things to remember is to highlight the positive impact that your project will have on your students, staff and the community. Your chosen funding organisation will want to know how their donation will make a difference to people’s lives, so really take the time to think about how the lives of those involved will be improved. What skills will your students develop? How will your project improve access to new experiences? What new opportunities will it create for your school?
Tell the Story
Don’t assume that the funding organisation already knows about your school/nursery! You should provide them with all of the necessary information about your institution and it’s context. It might help you to think about approaching it as ‘telling the story’ of your school and why their grant will help to solve the existing issue at your school. To support your story, you can include photos, statements of support, testimonials, graphs, case studies, etc.
Define your project & budget
Be concise and specific when outlining your project. State your objectives and expected outcomes and describe how your project aligns with the funding organisation’s overall mission. Remember to provide a clear and considered budget, as it will show funders that you have thought about all aspects of the project carefully. Be transparent about both income and expenditure with a breakdown of how the funding will be used.
Focus on the outcome
The successful funding bids focus on the outcomes, not on the resources their institutions need to achieve such outcomes. Essentially, you should write about the impact that your project will have and the difference it will make. If for example you are applying for funding for one of our log cabins, you might wish to detail how you can implement accessible forest school or outdoor learning experiences to improve access to opportunities for certain students, rather than just stating that your grant will provide funding for a new log cabin.
Talk about your successes
You want to establish credibility. You can do this by showcasing your school’s previous successful projects or initiatives, no matter how small scale they are! Use case studies or testimonials to show the funding organisation the positive impact that your previous projects have had. This will hopefully prove that you can deliver on your promises, which ultimately is something they will be looking to confirm before awarding a grant.
Show how you have involved your beneficiaries
Demonstrate how you have involved the students and staff in the development of your project, such as consulting them in decisions throughout the process. Give your students a say and show this! We’ve heard from schools having class votes or brainstorming activities in the early stages of their projects. You want to improve your institution and solve an existing issue, so make your beneficiaries a part of the process.
Links to the community
It’s a good idea to highlight the ways in which your project involves groups other than your pupils, such as the parents or local community organisations. Additionally, grant funders tend to look more favourably on applications from schools that can demonstrate a coordinated approach to fundraising. So, get involved with your community and try some fundraising activities or initiatives to garner part of the project costs. Show what you’re doing to make it possible!
