Community Fund

• Why do we have a Community Fund?
• What do we fund?
• What we don’t fund
• Who can apply?
• How do we decide who to fund?
• Grant details
• Apply to the Blue Heart Community Fund
• Who have we already funded?
• Building community resilience
• Notes

Why do we have a Community Fund?

Some of the challenges of climate change and the nature crisis can only be addressed by international agreements, governments, and new technologies.

But there are positive things that we can all do, to make a difference – as individuals, households and communities.

Our Community Fund helps these important activities happen in Eastbourne and southern Wealden.

What do we fund?

We help local people try out new ideas or expand existing activities.

We’re interested in proposals that:

• help manage flooding or drought
• reduce the impact of climate change
• protect and share the natural environment
• help to inform and engage people with these issues

We’re also interested in supporting communities to become more resilient to flooding and other disasters by being:

• AWARE: understanding risk, having access to relevant information about being prepared, and knowing where to go for help
• PREPARED: knowing what to do in an emergency and having a plan
• ORGANISED: having individuals and organisations ready and equipped to respond to an emergency
• CONNECTED: developing formal or informal networks that can offer coordinated support to those affected by flooding or other incidents in the community.

If you’re not sure whether your idea is eligible, let’s chat about it. If we can’t fund it, we may know someone else who could!

What we don’t fund

• We don’t fund projects which are focused on the sea, coast or beaches. This is because Blue Heart is concentrating on inland sources of flooding; there is a separate project addressing coastal flooding – the Pevensey to Eastbourne Coastal Management Scheme.
• We don’t fund projects around recycling or general sustainability.
• We cannot fund individual households to make changes to their private property.
• We cannot fund proposals which may have negative effects on the environment, flood risk, or community members.

Who can apply?

We accept applications from:

• Informal community groups (such as neighbours or local clubs)
• Community organisations  
• Different groups that are working together

We accept applications from organisations who are not based in Eastbourne and south Wealden, but the activity and its impact must take place here. If you’re not sure whether you’re eligible, please check the Blue Heart Project map.

How do we decide who to fund?

We’ll assess you application based on:

• Whether your idea matches with our priorities and areas of interest (we want to be challenged and think laterally – so just make sure you explain how your activity would be relevant)
• The feasibility of your idea
• If you appear to have sufficient existing resources, and have asked for a realistic amount of support, to deliver your proposal.
• The anticipated impact on local people, natural spaces and the environment.
• Whether you’ve been funded before. (having been funded previously doesn’t mean you won’t receive a new grant, but we’ll want to understand how any more funding would fit into your plans).

Because the funding pot is limited, we will try to award grants across the areas of interest, size and type of organisation, and location within the Blue Heart project area.

Grant details

Timeline for 2025 large grants

Apply to the Blue Heart Community Fund

Application is by a short form.

Apply online

OR

Download application form in Word format
(to plan out your answers or to fill in and send to us in the post)

If you have any questions or would like help to fill in the form, please contact us.

Email: contact@blueheart.org.uk or call Eleanor: 07936 440 074

Who have we already funded?

Plastic-Free Eastbourne

A water refill station to add to their network, encouraging people to refill water bottles rather than buying single-use plastic ones. £3,500

Watercycle

A mobile engagement hub (a bespoke ‘watercycle’ trailer, pulled by an electric bike) for exploring water with different audiences in diverse locations. £5,000

Treebourne

Supporting biodiversity at Ocklynge School through planting trees and wildflowers.
£5,000

Eastbourne Food
Partnership

‘Growing in a changing climate’ project, supporting growers to create edible ecosystems that better regulate water and temperature extremes. £5,000

Eastbourne Allotments
and Garden Society

Raised beds to support involvement by people with mobility issues including older growers. £3,500

Pevensey and Westham Forest Garden

Three family workshops exploring Ponds, Trees and Planting.
£500

Willingdon Trees Toddler Allotment

Running costs and materials budget for programme engaging low income families with growing, food and nature. £5,000

Eastbourne Seniors Forum

Celebration for International Older People’s Day to bring older and potentially isolated residents together. £500

English in the Community, Community Wise

Development of ESOL lesson plans and learning resources about the water cycle, weather, the environment, and climate change. £2,000

Act On It

Online drama sessions with isolated young people, exploring responses to climate change. £400

Polegate and District Model Engineering Club

Planting to address flooding on the model railway site. £450

Treebourne

Supporting biodiversity at Ratton School through planting trees and wildflowers.
£5,000

The Museum of Water, Compass Community Arts

The Museum of Water, a public art-science installation by Compass Community Arts and Strandliners exploring the issue of water quality in our local rivers, streams, ponds and lakes. £1,475

Tails of the River Bourne, Snapped Arts

A stop-motion animation project co-created with local groups to explore flooding and flood preparedness, through visual storytelling. Featuring wild mice and their river bank friends; led by Snapped Arts CIC. £5,000

Climate Resilient Garden, Rooted Community Food

Involving local families and volunteers in a hands-on trial at Rooted Community Food’s allotment, exploring flood and drought resilient gardening techniques, and then sharing their findings. £4,987

50 Years Ago,
50 Years From Now

An intergenerational creative project sharing participants’ thoughts, memories, worries, and hopes around the issue of climate change and our changing natural environment. Workshops will generate a large collage canvas for display in the garden of Willingdon Trees Community Centre. £1085

Nature in Our Hands

Youth and Community Voices for Flood Mitigation, Outdoor Learning and Marshland Conservation. A collaboration between West Rise Primary School, Eastbourne Scrap Store, Sussex Wildlife Trust, and Making Natural History, led by Poppy Lakeman Fraser.

Friends of Polegate Jubilee Nature Reserve

Top-up funding from Blue Heart will enable the group to create a new wildlife pond, enhancing biodiversity and community access to nature. £900

The Mint House,
Pevensey

The Mint House in Pevensey will use their grant to manage rainwater runoff and protect its historic 16th-century site while creating a welcoming outdoor space. £5,000

Wadhurst Close Community Garden

A small grant from Blue Heart will help local residents to transform disused council land into a thriving shared growing space and nature haven. £500

Eastbourne Allotments
and Garden Society

Helping to fund the restoration of a blocked dyke at Gorringe Road, improving water drainage on the site. £1,000

Please note:

• Grants must be spent within 12 months of the award date.
• Any funds not spent by this deadline must be returned to the Community Fund.
• Grant money must be spent on the activities/materials outlined in your application, or with prior agreement of Blue Heart for any changes.
• Successful applicants are required to keep all receipts and a record of expenditure, to be provided to Blue Heart at the end of the project.
• Successful applicants are required to keep relevant records of activities and participation, and evaluate your project as agreed with Blue Heart.