PRINCE'S COUNTRYSIDE FUND

The Prince's Countryside Fund supports the sustainability and protection of farms and rural communities throughout the United Kingdom.

Through its grant funding, the Fund aims to have a long-term positive impact on rural communities, helping those that live and work there sustain the countryside by tackling key rural issues.

The programmes has previously funded community-run village stores, countryside classrooms, farm and pub diversificaction projects, rural transport schemes and agricultural apprenticeship opportunities.

Projects must focus on at least one of the following three areas:

1. Improving the prospects of viability for family farm businesses.

Projects should focus on developing stronger, more sustainable farm businesses and other rural enterprises with the aim of halting the decline of the rural economy. These projects should focus on: 

o Providing business support and advice for rural businesses including supporting farmers in financial hardship to help them improve their efficiency and/or add value to their business through the provision of on-farm business advice. Groups that are considering applying under this theme should contact the Fund's Grant Manager (details below) to discuss their proposed activity in more detail and to ensure that there is no overlap with the Prince's Farm Resilience Programme;
o Facilitating the transfer of knowledge for continuous improvement of agricultural businesses in poor rural areas and providing opportunities for the continuing education of farmers;
o Supporting farmer led initiatives, including cooperatives and producer groups aimed at adding value, reducing costs, sharing information and shortening supply chains in farming/rural areas experiencing financial hardship; and/or
o Providing training opportunities and apprenticeship schemes for those seeking a career in agriculture.

2. Sustaining Rural Communities and driving Economic Vibrancy.

Projects should provide innovative solutions to deliver assets and services that keep rural communities together and develop a more sustainable rural economy. These projects will focus on:

o Supporting village service provision including pubs, shops and transport.
o Encouraging rural enterprise through facilitating business support and advice and the creation of business hubs and enterprise areas.
o Providing training opportunities such as rural career apprenticeships, bursaries and vouchers to access training and qualifications. and/or
o Providing advice and training to people searching for local jobs.

3. Supporting Aid Delivery in Emergency and Building Resilience.

Projects should support farm businesses, rural businesses and communities to plan for and recover from natural disasters such as flooding or animal disease. Groups that are considering applying under this theme should contact the Fund's Grant Manager (contact details below) to discuss their proposed activity in more detail.

Grants of up to a maximum of £50,000 over a 3 year period are available. 

Applications for project and resource funding will be considered.

Applications for capital funding will be accepted but only for the purchase of equipment and for refurbishment. Funding requests for the purchase of buildings or land will not be accepted.

Applications from support organisations that do not provide direct service delivery to clients will also be received. However, they must be for specific projects with tangible and deliverable outcomes.

Applicants can be made by a range of organisations, including:

o Charities;
o Community Benefit Societies;
o Community Interest Companies;
o Companies limited by guarantee;
o Not for profit organisations;
o Social enterprises; or
o Unincorporated associations.

Applicants are expected to be able to demonstrate significant public benefit arising from their project. They should be able to show the support of the community which will benefit from the project and show evidence of consulting the community.

Applicants that can demonstrate a track record of successful project management will also be favoured.

The following are not eligible for funding:

o Individuals;
o Statutory bodies, such as local authorities and NHS bodies, or work where there is a statutory responsibility to provide funding (schools will be funded where the project falls outside of statutory obligations);
o Religious bodies where the funding will be for religious purposes;
o Political organisations where the funding will be used for political purposes;
o Projects where the work has begun and money spent in anticipation of receiving funding;
o Projects where the funding would displace existing funding streams, such as agri-environment schemes;
o Projects which do not demonstrate sufficient public benefit and in which private benefit is more than incidental;
o Projects which are aimed at generating commercial benefits beyond the relief of financial hardship in farming/rural areas;
o Projects wholly dependent on funding for over three years;
o Projects that would damage the name or reputation of the Fund;
o Projects where the objective is to ‘reconnect people with the countryside’;
o Private enterprises (PLEASE NOTE - there are two exceptions to this: Community Interest Companies and Companies Limited by Guarantee);
o Purchase of buildings or land;
o Feasibility studies where the outcome is unknown.

The Autumn 2017 round will open for applications on Monday 4 September and close at 7 17.00 on Thursday 5 October 2017.

Applicants are expected to supply a clear business plan which outlines their intended activities and projected financial situation over the duration of the project.

Further information and guidelines are available on the Prince's Countryside Fund website(registration is required, but you won't be able to register until the scheme opens on 4 September).

Incidentally, the results of the Prince's Countryside Fund Land Rover Bursary scheme, which we featured in a previous bulletin, have recently been announced and can be found via this link to the Fund's website. We're delighted to see that one of the winners is based in the South West.  

Contact details for the Fund are:

The Prince's Countryside Fund Team
Prince's Countryside Fund
137 Shepherdess Walk
London
N1 7RQ
Tel: 020 7566 6615 
(The Prince’s Countryside Fund doesn’t provide an email address.)  

(Source: GRIN)