Q-FUTURES Community Fund

The QFUTURES Community Fund supports organisations who provide access to engaging digital training and community schemes, in an engagement-led, co-created way that meets specific digital needs.

Projects must be focused on enabling and developing meaningful digital skills across community-based projects. To help organisations deepen their impact, these grants are offered as multi-year grants covering two to three years.

Fund priorities

Priority will be given to applications demonstrating strong alignment with specific local needs, focusing on training and skills development opportunities for one or more of the following:

• Under-represented groups and marginalised communities
• Those impacted by neurodiversity
• Barriers to work
• Children and young people
• Women and girls
• Communities and families

What grants can be used for

You can apply for direct activity / project costs and pilot projects. Grants can fund 100% of the activity costs or can be part of a combination of funding to meet the full amount needed, however it is unlikely that priority will be given to projects where the grant award would represent less than 20% of the total project cost. If you are applying for a percentage of the total costs, please tell us what other funding has been secured or how you will secure the remaining funds.

Examples of projects that could be funded:

• Digital skills development
• Recognised training
• Coding clubs
• STEM activities
• Parental engagement
• Project costs for digital literacy programmes
• Pilot projects for a digital skills development activity
• Purchase of equipment to enable digital skills activities
• Support with the costs associated with the delivery of community based digital inclusion activities, enhancing digital skills, and improving access to online services and information.

Full cost recovery:

This scheme supports full cost recovery – we would strongly encourage applicants to include a proportion of their overheads on this application. Learn more about Full Cost Recovery.

Please note that overhead costs must not include any costs associated with commission-based payments for fundraising.

Please note – this fund only accepts full cost recovery and overheads relating to direct delivery. Unless you are a digital inclusion organisation, we cannot accept applications that are predominantly for overhead costs. Overheads include organisational running costs such as:

• Office / space rent, heat, lighting, water rates
• Insurance
• Core staff costs (not involved in direct delivery)
• Stationery, small capital items, internet
• Volunteer costs