HADCA

To see the links on this Bulletin Go To: https://hadca.org.uk/https://hadca.org.uk/

Harrogate & District Community Action
E-Bulletin 2026 ISSUE 23 – 6 August

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FREE/LOW-COST LOCAL SUMMER HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES

Coming up to Week 4 of the summer holidays and we’re still adding more activities. If you know someone who is getting stuck for fun stuff to do and is feeling the pinch, don’t forget about our Guide to FREE and low-cost activities for children & families across the district.

Lots of wonderful community organisations with some great ideas for keeping young people occupied this summer – without breaking the bank!

Please take a look here and share, there’s so much brilliant creative stuff going on!

FUNDING

1.  The True Colours Trust: Small Grants Programme

One-off grants of up to £10,000 (many awards are smaller) for charities and Community Interest Companies (annual income under £350,000) for equipment, renovations, minibuses, sensory rooms and hydrotherapy pools, as well as activities and family support, for disabled children and children with life-limiting conditions (aged 0 to 25) and their families.

2.  The Hilden Charitable Fund: UK Grants Programme

Grants usually of £5,000 to £7,000 a year, for up to 2 years, offered as unrestricted funding or project funding at the applicant’s choice, for smaller UK charitable organisations (income of no more than £200,000) supporting asylum seekers, refugees or penal affairs work in the UK.
Deadline: 27 August 2026.

3. Woodroffe Benton Foundation: Small Grant Programme

One-off grants of £500 to £2,500, preferably towards core operating costs (project and capital applications are also accepted), for work supporting people, particularly those with physical or learning disabilities, to access the natural world and spend time outdoors. Organisations with income over £750,000 are unlikely to be funded.
Deadline: 31 August 2026, or earlier once 150 applications are received.

4.   LEF: Strengthening Justice Fund

Flexible grants of £50,000 to £100,000 a year, over 3 to 5 years, covering any costs including staff time and overheads (this is explicitly not project funding; capital spending on buildings and vehicles is excluded), connecting organisations that use and shape the law more closely with communities facing injustice. The Fund will not normally cover more than 35% of your annual income.
Deadline: 17 September 2026.

5.   The Financial Futures Fund (Aviva Foundation)

Grants from a minimum of £100,000, with no upper limit (average award £250,000 to £300,000 over three years), for non-profits with an annual income of £1 million or more, for long-term work improving people’s financial resilience.
Round 2 deadline: 7 October 2026.

6.  The Macaulay Moat Foundation

Grants of up to £5,000 a year (up to 2 years), available as contributions towards core costs, salaries, capital items (but not building repairs or renovations) and specific projects, for organisations (annual income under £100,000) working in autism support or church outreach only.

7.  givestar Adventure for Good Grant

This programme helps ambitious fundraisers turn extraordinary charitable challenges into reality, powered by a £250,000 funding pot. Funding can be to help cover physical costs like kit, travel, food or entry fees, leaving the fundraiser free to focus on the challenge itself.
Deadline: 31 August, and all applicants will be notified of the outcome by 14 September 2026.

8. Warburtons Community Grants

Grants of up to £400 for projects and activities that improve health, place or skills for families.
Next deadline: 17 August 2026.

9.  LNER Customer and Community Investment Fund

Project grants of £1,000 to £10,000 for community and environmental projects (preference for organisations with income £10,000 to £1 million) within 15 miles of the LNER route (capital works and core costs are excluded; project staff costs capped at 25% of the request).
Deadline: 31 August 2026.

10. Arts Council England: Music Growth Fund

Grants of £1,000 to £40,000 or £40,001 to £100,000 for organisations supporting new music and emerging talent, covering programming, artist and workforce development, equipment and small-scale capital infrastructure, for activities lasting up to three years. Match funding of at least 25% (lower strand) or 50% (higher strand) is required.
Deadlines: 3 September 2026 (grants to £40,000)
1 October 2026 (grants over £40,000, opens 7 September).

11. BCBN Grant Initiative (Better Community Business Network)

One-off grants of up to £3,000 for charities and credible community projects, including equipment purchases (ongoing core and running costs are excluded).
Next deadline: 7 September 2026.

12. The Thomas Wall Trust: Grants for Registered Charities

Project grants of up to £5,000 (with possible repeat funding for up to 3 years) for registered charities (annual turnover £25,000 to £500,000) for project work developing communication skills for disadvantaged adults of working age, usually 18 and over, to improve their employment prospects. Beneficiaries must gain at least one accredited vocational qualification during or shortly after the project.
Deadline for Expression of interest (Stage 1): 11 September 2026.

13. The Sasha Foundation

Project grants of up to £10,000 (minimum 50% match funding required) for charitable organisations supporting young people’s mental health in the UK, or education/healthcare projects in developing countries with a bias towards education for young women.
Next deadline: 1 October 2026.

14. Swan Mountain Trust

Small one-off grants of £2,000 to £4,000 for organisations (income under £500,000) working with refugees and asylum seekers, with particular emphasis on the mental health of young people in these groups.

15. Start-up grants for new childminders

New childminders who plan to register with Ofsted or a childminding agency and offer government funded early years places within North Yorkshire, can apply for a Childminder Start-Up Grant. This grant provides up to £2,000 towards essential equipment for children aged 0 to five (pre-reception age).

16. A charity guide to “soft opt-in” marketing

2026 changes to UK data legislation help charities contact existing donors and potential supporters more easily.

17.   Free workshop: How To Create Videos For Grant Applications
Thursday 10 September, 2pm online

Are you keen to start using videos to strengthen your funding bids? Join charity filmmaking agency The Saltways for a workshop exploring the ways in which charities can create effective videos for grant applications.

18. Budgets for Funding Bids – Top Tips

Funders read your budget to test whether your whole application is credible. Use these practical tips to avoid the mistakes that sink most bids.

NEWS, INFORMATION & RESOURCES

19. Date for your Diary – Volunteers’ Week 2027
Monday 7 June to Sunday 13 June

A time to recognise, celebrate and inspire volunteering.

20. NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme Humber & North Yorkshire

The Diabetes Prevention Programme (NDPP) supports adults who have been diagnosed with pre-diabetes or who have a history of gestational diabetes. The free programme helps participants reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes through sustainable changes to nutrition, physical activity, weight management and overall wellbeing.

You can find out more here and join one of the free online Patient Information sessions 

If you’re an organisation who supports people with self-referring onto this programme, you can find out more by attending a free Lunch & Learn session, or contact the engagement team at Engagementteam1@xylaservices.com.

21. Care Confidence

For anyone paying for their own care and not sure where to start. This free, easy-to-use website will help navigate adult social care, to explore options and plan next steps.

It prompts you to looks at what may suit you now, but also what might work best over the coming months and years in case your circumstances change. The site is designed to help think through different care options and their possible costs before moving on to thinking about how to pay for care.

22. Book a Life Chat

Do you know someone aged 16+ looking for help to get into work, training or volunteering? A ‘life chat’ can help overcome any barriers and provide support to achieve individual goals and aspirations.

Life Chats can be booked for a time to suit the individual, over the phone, meeting for a cuppa and a chat or whatever works best for each person.

Contact the NYC Skills and Careers team online or call 01609 536 066 and ask for the Trailblazer Team.

23. Supported internships for 16 to 24 year olds

Young people with SEND can build confidence, skills and independence through supported internships. These 12-month work placements open the door to employment, giving young people the chance to shine in real roles. Every intern has an Education, Health and Care Plan, ensuring their placement is tailored to their needs and strengths.

If you, or a young person you know, would like to find out more, drop into an information event on Wednesday 26 August at Harrogate Civic Centre, from 2pm to 3:30pm.

24. 16 free guides to help you use AI in your charity’s work

With topics spanning communications, fundraising, admin, reporting and service delivery, each step-by-step guide includes a template prompt that you can adapt with the relevant details, along with practical advice and tips to help you get the best results. Although the guides are hosted on Worthwhile Chat, they can be used with any generative AI tool.

25. Hoodies for charity

There are 250 printed hoodies on offer to registered charities, with each charity able to receive 10 hoodies (or t-shirts if preferred).
Applications close on Friday 14 August.

26. Would you like more visitors?

There’s an opportunity to add your venue to the Visit North Yorkshire website https://visitnorthyorkshire.com/  Local councillors and Harrogate BID would love to see some local VCSE organisations listed. You can log in to create and manage your organisation listing.

HAVE YOUR SAY

27. Help shape support for unpaid carers

North Yorkshire Council All-age Carers’ Strategy consultation

There is one survey for carers and one for NYC partners and professionals to share their views.
Complete the survey here
Closing date: Sunday 27 September 2026.

Hazel Griffiths, a local carer, encourages everyone to have their say. Hazel has been involved in the carer strategy development from the beginning, providing insight and feedback, joining the NYC Carers Strategy partnership steering group, and attending carer engagement events across the county. Hazel was made to feel welcome and included, listening to what matters to carers, helping them focus on their own needs. Carers shared their hopes and wishes around feeling valued, heard and listened to.

Hazel says: “As a carer I know too well carers often focus on the person they care for and not themselves, offering practical help with daily routines, help keeping the cared for person socially connected and living well, preserving dignity, maintaining family routines, recognising the person behind a diagnosis- their individuality.”

“Whether the cared for person is frail or autistic, lives with dementia or a physical or mental health diagnosis or an addiction, family carers are often the only constant in their lives, the person who knows them best. It’s all about relationships, working together and knowing where carers can go when they need support and information.”  

“It’s also about improving joint working, reducing health inequalities by improving access to health services for carers and having carer friendly services; identifying carers and helping them understand what support is available; providing accessible information; working with local businesses to help promote carer friendly communities.”

28. BEOND Study – Cerebra Network, at University of Birmingham

Genetic syndromes, neurodevelopmental conditions, and intellectual disabilities can affect people’s lives in lots of different ways. This research group are particularly interested in the changes in behaviour, emotion, physical and mental health that people might experience, and the impact that these can have on families.

Do you know any families who would be interested in this study to help offer better ideas for how to support people with genetic syndromes, neurodevelopmental conditions, and intellectual disabilities in the future?
​Find out more at https://www.cerebranetwork.com/beond

TRAINING, LEARNING & EVENTS

29.  Managing volunteers
22 September, 10am-4:30pm

Improve your volunteer management skills and gain practical tools to recruit, support and celebrate volunteers, whilst building confidence in your role.

30.  IVAR’s Leading in Uncertainty – open conversations
10 September, 10-11.30am

A supportive space for small charity leaders in which to talk openly and connect with peers, guided by IVAR’s expert facilitators. Space to pause, share experiences and reflect on the challenges facing you and your organisation. Open to charity leaders working in organisations with incomes of £500,000 or less.

31. Less is more – write better reports
24 September, 10-11:55am

In this free practical workshop led by the Royal Literary Fund, you’ll learn how to write clear, effective reports, from structuring information and developing ideas to producing a polished final draft.

32. Safeguarding responsibilities for trustees and management committees
14 September, 2-3:30pm

This online workshop will help you to understand safeguarding responsibilities, stay up to date with best practice and respond confidently to concerns.

33. Fuel Poverty and Families: Practical Support for Healthier Homes – Funded webinar
19 August, 1:30pm – 4:00pm
10 September, 9:30am – 12:00pm
21 September, 1:30pm – 4:00pm

Warm Start, Healthy Futures will provide insight into the impact of living in cold homes due to fuel poverty on expectant individuals and children, practical energy efficiency advice and signposting to relevant referral pathways.

The course is designed for frontline staff and volunteers who work with expectant parents and families with children up to 16 years of age, across educational, healthcare, community and advice settings.

After the session, learners will receive a handout booklet summarising and reinforcing the key topics covered during the course.
Book here
If you have any queries or would like to discuss, contact: trainingadmin@nea.org.uk

LOCAL NEWS, ACTIVITIES & SERVICES

34. HADCA Harrogate District Charity Leaders’ Group

We have renamed this Group which was formerly known as the Chief Officers and Chairs group, as anyone in a leadership role in the local VCSE sector has always been very welcome to join.

Sessions have been a safe space to share latest developments, challenges and opportunities. The Group has also been a way of sharing information from health partners and feeding back local sector views to statutory colleagues.

Our recent meetings had a focus on wellbeing. We’re always open to ideas for how this Group can best be of value to local charity leaders.

If you’re local charity leader, you’re invited to join us on Wednesday 9 September, 11am – 12 noon on Zoom to share your thoughts. Please book here . You don’t need to stay for the full hour, and if you can’t make the date, we’d still love to hear from you, so please get in touch.

35.  Ripon Grammar School Young Person’s Volunteer Recruitment Fair
Wednesday 23 September, 1.30 pm -3.30 pm

If you can offer meaningful opportunities for young people in Ripon and surrounding area and are interested in joining the organisations who have already booked a stand, please email our Power of 10 Co-ordinator Jo Thackwray joanneT@hadca.org.uk to express your interest. Further details will then be sent to you.

This is an event specifically for 6th formers, aged 16-18. These students are in a position to start volunteering immediately, so it is a great opportunity to sign enthusiastic volunteers on the spot!

36. Help at Home update

It’s been a busy summer for our Help at Home team keeping people safe and well at home. We’re sorry that we are now unable to take any more gardening requests for this season, to allow us to work through the existing waiting list. We are still able to help with odd jobs and DIY requests, and we are now taking requests for decorating jobs starting in October 2026.  Thank you to everyone who has used our gardening services.
Visit https://hadca.org.uk/HelpatHome

37. Navigating Grief Together – One Year On
Monday 24 August, 6:30pm
Oatlands Community Centre, Mount Street, Harrogate HG2 8D

Whether you already attend the gatherings, have attended in the past, are thinking about going along for the first time or would simply like to learn more about Navigating Grief Together, you’ll receive a warm welcome.

No booking needed, just drop in from 6.30pm. Adults 18+. Complimentary buffet and non-alcoholic refreshments. For further information contact Ann 07783 672873.

38. Dementia Awareness Session – Understanding Dementia
Tuesday 25 August, 6-7pm
St Wilfrid’s Community Centre, Ripon HG4 2AB

Vital information and advice from Dementia Forward for anyone experiencing memory problems or supporting a family member, with an opportunity to ask questions.
A new Ripon wellbeing café will be opening in September.

39. Volunteering opportunities of the week with Artizan international and RHS Harlow Carr

Do you have a friendly, approachable attitude and can demonstrate patience and empathy when working with Artizan members with disabilities? Could you spare a couple of hours each Saturday to help in the vibrant Artizan café in Harrogate town centre? Previous experience isn’t essential and all training is provided. Café Volunteers play a vital role in supporting members during their café sessions, helping them develop skills while ensuring visitors receive a friendly and positive experience. There are opportunities in the Artizan shop too! Contact Jess at volunteering@artizaninternational.org to find out more.

Are you passionate about the environment, enjoy being outdoors, and want to help young people discover the world of horticulture? As a New Shoots volunteer at RHS Harlow Carr, you’ll support youth volunteers, work experience students and aspiring horticulturists, helping them build confidence, learn new skills and explore future careers in gardening. The opportunity is open to anyone aged 18+, with experience of working with young people welcomed but not essential, and whatever your gardening experience. Applications close 14 August. If you’d like an informal chat before applying, email NewShoots@rhs.org.uk

40. North Yorkshire Connected Spaces Community Litter Pick
Tuesday 18th August, 11:00am – 1:00pm
Meet at Dene Park Community Centre, 86 Dene Park, Harrogate, HG1 4JY

A great opportunity to get outdoors, meet new people, give something back to your local community, and help keep our neighbourhoods looking their best. Litter pickers and bags will be provided just bring yourself, suitable clothing, and comfortable footwear.

Everyone is welcome, whether you can stay for the whole session or just pop along for a little while. Every bag collected makes a difference!

North Yorkshire Connected Spaces (NYCS) provides a collective voice for the recovery community in Harrogate.

41. FREE End of Summer Party!
Friday 4 September, 11am – 4pm
Valley Gardens, Harrogate

Celebrate the end of summer with a day of fun, entertainment and community spirit. Join Harrogate Town Council and Rascals Entertainment for a fantastic free family day.
No booking required. Everyone welcome!

42.  Knaresborough FEVA
14 – 23 August

Since it was launched in 1996, Feva has become firmly established as a vibrant community festival, bringing together hundreds of performers, artists, volunteers and visitors. Much of Feva is free to attend, while ticketed performances and workshops can be booked in advance via the festival website

43. Ripon Together Summer FunFest
Wednesday 19 August, 10am – 4pm
Ripon Cricket Club

This FREE family community event features a wide range of activities for children and families, particularly those aged 6–18 (under 11s will need to be accompanied by a parent or carer).

Free music taster sessions; 5 a side football; a quiet space; face painting; table tennis; pop-up youth club; circus skills; tennis; netball; free crazy golf; taster sessions for bowling; Youth Music and Arts Festival; Bouncy castle; Children’s play area; Story time. Toddler games; Picnic space; free drinks and snacks; Ice lollies, ice creams and affordable children’s lunch specials from Café in the Park.
Booking is essential here

This is one of many FREE/low-cost family summer activities across Harrogate district listed on our website here

44. Police Treatment Centre Charity Car Sunday
Sunday 16 August, 12-4pm
St. Andrews, Harlow Moor Rd, Harrogate HG2 0AD

The Police Treatment Centre cares for injured and ill police family members with wellbeing and physiotherapy programmes, and ongoing support services for police staff, police officers and retired officers. This fun event will help raise funds for their centre in Harrogate. There will be a variety of cars on display, stalls, food, games, and activities throughout the afternoon.

45.  NiddArt Trail
Live Trail 21 to 31 August, Online from 1 August

Arts and crafts at venues up, down and around Nidderdale, from Knaresborough to Lofthouse. View the Venue List & Calendar online here, visit https://www.niddart.org.uk/  and pick up brochures available at Tourist information/galleries

46. Short + Sweet Yorkshire 2026 programme
7–22 August
St Wilfrid’s Church Hall, Harrogate

Three weeks of brand-new theatre and local talent, from comedy to drama and heartfelt stories.  36 brand-new plays; 10 minutes each; Four heats, one Semi-Final and one Grand Final. Each heat features a completely different line-up of plays, so no two nights are the same, and you get to vote!

Find out who’s performing in each heat on Short + Sweet Yorkshire Facebook or Instagram  and Book here

Local voluntary and community sector job opportunities

Opportunities to work with HADCA member organisations and our partners will appear on our HADCA website

North Yorkshire Citizens Advice & Law Centre – Advice Trainee (closing date 12 August) 

North Yorkshire Citizens Advice & Law Centre – Head of Learning and Development (closing date 13 August) 

Healthwatch North Yorkshire – Projects & Engagement Officer (closing date 17 August) 

Harrogate Homeless Project – Trust and Foundations Officer (closing date 19 August) 

Resurrected Bites CIC – Part-Time Café Manager – 8 hours – Knaresborough (closing date 21 August) 

Ripon YMCA – Session Youth Support Worker

North Yorkshire Youth – Youth Worker

If you would like your opportunity to appear you can  Add a Job to our website. This is a free service for HADCA member organisations.

 

 

 

To the best of our knowledge, the information contained in these updates is correct at the time of circulation.  HADCA cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions.