Wiltshire and Swindon Community Foundation

🚨 Open for applications!

The Older People's Programme has also reopened for applications this week!

The aim of this programme is to support older people to be independent, healthy, and socially included. Grants of between £1,000 and £5,000 per year for one or two years are available, while grants of up to £10,000 for one year will be considered for projects with significant reach and impact.

Projects must achieve one of the following:
• Improve health and wellbeing
• Reduce social isolation
• Improve access to facilities and services

For more information about the programme, and to read the full eligibility criteria, please click below 👇

🔗 bit.ly/4eq7gSm

⏰ Closes Monday 21 September

🤝 “Supporting young people through education is personally important to me, I want to be a part of something that would’ve helped me when I was that age. I am passionate about the fact that all young people deserve an education that benefits them as much as it can, no matter their background or journey.”

🎓 Emmie received support from our University Bursary programme in 2024, to support them with their BA Illustration degree at Cardiff University. They are now studying an MA in Illustration and Animation, something they never thought was possible at the start of their education journey.

Having experienced first-hand the impact that support can have, Emmie recently joined our education grants panel, helping to bring valuable lived experience and perspective to discussions around opportunity, access and support for young people across Wiltshire and Swindon.

🗣️ Speaking about why they wanted to volunteer, Emmie said: “I wanted to join the education grants panel to understand more about and be part of the process that helped me get through my undergraduate degree. Without the bursary, I wouldn’t be able to be in the position I’m in now and so I understand how much weight the discussions and decisions hold. I feel I hold a lot of perspective because of this that benefits these discussions and gives back to what helped me.

“I believe that it’s important to have people with lived experience in on conversations surrounding education and opportunity, especially on the grants panel as we understand what it’s like to have to ask for help, what facing barriers feels like and how difficult it is to work our way through them. You cannot have these conversations without people in the room that have been through it, we bridge the gap between support and those who need it to keep everyone connected.

“I grew up in Salisbury on the Heath, I didn’t know anyone who’d gone to university before. I was the first person in my family to go. It was incredibly daunting and something I’d never even considering until I was in college, where my lecturers supported and encouraged me to continue my education further. When I started my BA in Illustration, I was so sure it wasn’t for people like me but as time went on and the more support I got, I started to realise it absolutely was. I’m now studying an MA in Illustration and Animation, something I never would have thought possible.”

Emmie’s experiences and insight bring an important perspective to our panel discussions, helping to ensure that these young people are represented and that conversations around decision-making remain thoughtful and informed through lived experience.

Thank you Emmie, and to all those on our grants panels, for generously giving your time to support local young people.

To read more about Emmie, Judetta, and our new education grants panel members, please click below 👇
🔗 bit.ly/43Ki9bo

🙌 As we continue our celebrations, we’re taking a closer look at some of the volunteers who generously give up their time to enable us to connect people who care with causes that matter.

🌟 Among them are the remarkable volunteers who sit on our grants panels, working alongside staff and trustees to assess applications, inform funding decisions and help direct support where it can make the greatest difference in our communities.

Last year, we were delighted to welcome several new members to our education grants panels, supporting decision-making across our University Bursaries and Vocational Grants programmes. What made this moment especially meaningful was that some of these individuals had previously received support from the very programmes they now help to shape.

💚 Their lived experience brings invaluable perspective, insight and understanding to our discussions and decision-making, helping to ensure that funding decisions are thoughtful, fair and rooted in the realities facing local young people, as they look to take their next steps.

Over the next couple of days, we will be shining a spotlight on two of these new panel members, sharing their stories and celebrating the valuable role they now play in supporting the next generation of young people to achieve their goals.

📣 Calling all VCSE organisations in Wiltshire and Swindon!

Are you looking to boost your funding opportunities and grow your network? Would you like to hear directly from funders about upcoming grant programmes and their priorities?

Join us at June’s in-person Meet the Funder event in Swindon, which will bring together key organisations from the Wiltshire and Swindon Funders Network for an afternoon of insight, discussion and networking.

This free event offers local voluntary and community groups the opportunity to:
👂 Hear directly from funders about future funding opportunities and priorities
🗣️ Take part in informal roundtable discussions
❓ Ask questions and share ideas
🤝 Build relationships and strengthen partnerships across the sector

Whether you are looking to develop new projects, strengthen partnerships or better understand the funding landscape, this session is a fantastic chance to connect, learn and prepare for future opportunities.

Event details:
🗓️ Date: 24 June 2026
⏰ Time: 12:30pm-4:30pm
📍 Venue: Buckhurst Park Community Centre, Swindon, SN3 3BS
🎟️ Admission: Free

Confirmed Funders:
✅ The National Lottery Community Fund
✅ Arts Council England
✅ Wiltshire & Swindon Community Foundation
✅ SNG - Sovereign Network Group
✅ National Benevolent Charity

To find out more about this event, and to book your place today, please click below 👇
🔗 bit.ly/3RqUQR1

This event has been organised jointly by ourselves, as hosts of the Network, and Voluntary Action Swindon (VAS).