Lego Foundation: UK Community Play Fund
Overview
Play is critical for children’s well-being and skills development and we can all play a role in building more playful communities. Supported by the LEGO Foundation, this £80,000 fund is dedicated to helping you create more playful experiences for children in your community, school or neighbourhood across the UK.
How it works
- Visit the website and register to get your project page
- Use your project page to complete the 30 Day Challenge
- Submit a photo and your action plan
- Once you're active let us know what impact you are having in your community
The steps to complete the 30 Day Challenge include:
- Scheduling a 15 min call with one of the ChangeX team
- Recruiting 4 people to join your team
- Hosting a casual kick-off meeting
- Sharing a team photo & a short action plan
Who can apply
- You want to start a ChangeX idea to improve your local community
- You're passionate about providing learning through play opportunities for children in your community
- You are an individual, an existing local group or a community organisation
The Challenge is open to existing groups and individuals (once they form a team) to start new projects in their community, from the portfolio of ideas on the ChangeX site.
Examples of eligible groups include schools, universities, colleges, daycares, churches or other faith-based organizations, hospitals and hospital rehabilitation centres, mental health facilities, community gardens, neighbourhood groups, senior centres, and community centres.
What you get
- Seed funding to start your selected idea
- Free starter resource pack, mentorship and technology tools to get started
- Additional impact funding, once you report back on the social impact of your active project
In addition to being awarded funding, every applicant that applies to start an idea in their community will receive a range of supports including:
- A 5 step starter guide for your chosen project
- Free tech tools & website to help get your project started and manage your group
- Advice & support via email and Zoom
Detailed Notes
What is the aim of the UK Community Play Fund?
The aim of the UK Community Play Fund, sponsored by LEGO Foundation, is to support existing groups and individuals (once they form a team) in UK to start new projects that improve community wellbeing, ultimately improving the quality of life for community members. Communities choose the project they want to start based on their community’s needs, from a portfolio of ideas on the ChangeX site.
Once the applicant has demonstrated their commitment and ability to start the community project by successfully completing a 30 Day Challenge on the ChangeX website, ChangeX will provide funding, information guides and support to give the applicant the best chance of success. In addition, once the applicant has demonstrated the impact the new project is having in their community, they will receive a further installment of funding to support the maintenance of the project. All projects should be managed in an inclusive and welcoming manner and any events organised as part of your project should comply with any relevant public health guidance.
Criteria
The following criteria must be met by all applicants:
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Projects must take place in the United Kingdom (including Northern Ireland)
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If applying for a grant greater than £5,000, the applicant must be a registered charity in the UK.
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Applicants must be at least 18 years old or have the permission of a guardian to apply for funding.
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Applicants must provide a certificate of clean criminal record or equivalent or in the case of organizations, registration of the legal entity.
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Applicants must not be political figures or organisations.
Who can apply?
The UK Community Play Fund is open to existing groups and individuals (once they form a team) in the UK to start new projects in their community, from the portfolio of ideas on the ChangeX site (https://www.changex.org/gb/funds/community-play-fund-uk), that improve community wellbeing. Examples of eligible groups include schools, universities, colleges, daycares, churches or other faith-based organizations, hospitals and hospital rehabilitation centres, mental health facilities, community gardens, neighbourhood groups, senior centres, and community centres.
Political figures and/or political organisations are not eligible to apply.
Religious figures and/or religious organisations are eligible to apply as long as projects are inclusive of all community members regardless of religious beliefs or lack thereof.
What can the funding be used for?
The UK Community Play Fund is for new projects and can be used to cover direct costs relating to the set-up or maintenance of the new project. For example, funds can be used for play materials, building materials, space rental, insurance fees, seeds and planting materials, tools, training fees; pretty much any materials you might need to start a new project that benefits your community.
ChangeX shall not be held liable to reimburse any costs that are incurred by applicants, prior to the release of funds by ChangeX. In exceptional circumstances, applicants may seek written approval from ChangeX to incur costs ahead of the release of funds. Written approval will be granted at the sole discretion of ChangeX. Payments will only be made if ChangeX finds that all relevant requirements are met.
Any potential tax consequences, reporting requirements, and consents from third parties are solely the responsibility and liability of the recipient of the funding.
Funding Notes
The funding allocated to your new project is divided into two stages. The first payment (70% of total funding amount) can be accessed upon successful completion of a 30 Day Challenge on the ChangeX website and official approval of your project by the ChangeX team
The second payment (30% of total funding amount) will be issued to you after you have completed an impact survey demonstrating the outcomes of your project.
The amount of funding available for your project depends on which idea you chose to start. Funding amounts generally range from £500 to £5,000.
The amount of funding available per idea can be found on the webpage of each idea.
In order to receive the funding, you must have a bank account. Once you’ve successfully unlocked your funding, you will be asked to enter your bank details on the ChangeX website to facilitate the bank transfer. In some cases, you will be asked to provide a scanned copy of your driver’s license or passport for additional verification purposes in addition to your bank details. ChangeX will not share or store any applicant banking or driver’s license/passport data; this process will all be managed by Stripe. Stripe’s privacy policy can be viewed here: https://stripe.com/privacy.
Payment transfer will take an average of 4 working days to reach the applicant’s bank account.
There are 13 ideas which can be funded. Visit the website, select your idea, and read the guidance notes for further advice and funding level.
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