New grant fund launched to support cancer awareness programmes

Are you a voluntary organisation interested in working with North Tyneside residents to improve their health and wellbeing outcomes?

Applications are being invited to a new grant fund which has been launched to support Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations in the borough to develop ways to promote healthy lifestyle choices, raise awareness about cancer signs and symptoms and encourage participation in cancer screening.

The £10,000 Cancer Awareness Grant Fund is being administered by Healthwatch North Tyneside, which anticipates four projects lasting up to 12 months valued at around £2,500.

Successful projects will receive support from members of North Tyneside Council’s Public Health Team to work with their service users.

Fund aims

Our aim is to reduce health inequalities by empowering communities in North Tyneside with the knowledge, resources and support to better understand cancer awareness and prevention.

We will prioritise applications from organisations working with residents in areas of deprivation and people whose voices are not usually heard in health and care projects.

Through the projects we fund we want to:

• Listen to the voices, experiences, and needs of the community in relation to cancer prevention
• Work with residents to co-produce ways to address the funding aims below
• Understand how the organisations we fund involve community members in the planning and delivery of projects, ensuring that those who are most affected by cancer and health inequalities are at the heart of the work
• Gather and share community insights and experiences – facilitate community-led conversations and collect personal experiences to improve prevention and/or cancer care services.

Criteria for applicants

Applicants will need to demonstrate how they currently engage with communities and how they will use the funding to work with their communities to address one or more of the following objectives:

• Raising awareness of the signs and symptoms of cancer – encouraging the community to recognise early warning signs and symptoms of cancer
• Understanding and addressing barriers to preventative screening – identify and address barriers that prevent individuals from engaging in preventative cancer screening programmes
• Promoting healthy behaviours to lower cancer risk – support initiatives that promote healthier lifestyles, including nutrition, physical activity and smoking cessation, with the aim of reducing cancer risk in the target community

How to apply

Organisations wishing to bid for the Cancer Awareness Grant Fund should complete the application form. If you would like to talk about your project idea or have any questions, please contact admin@hwnt.co.uk.

Decisions will be taken by a panel including representatives from North Tyneside’s Public Health Team, Healthwatch North Tyneside and the Northern Cancer Alliance. We will provide feedback to applicants.

Application requirements

• Need to be a constituted VCSE organisation working in North Tyneside with at least two unrelated people involved in your board/management committee
• Able to demonstrate how you will engage with and involve community members in the planning and delivery of the project
• Provision of a project description, outlining the target audience, activity and expected outcomes
• Provision of a budget breakdown and timeline for the project
• Demonstrate how you will measure the outcomes of the project.

Timescales

Launch of funding opportunity – 25th June 2025
Deadline for applications – 3rd August 2025
Decisions by – 22nd August 2025

Project delivery, monitoring and evaluation

Funded projects will have the opportunity to work closely with members of North Tyneside’s Public Health Team to support the project, have access to additional resources and maximise the impact of the project.

We expect projects to be delivered and concluded within 12 months of the award date. In your application, you should set out the start date and length of the project.

Successful applicants will be expected to submit a final report detailing how the funding was used, and the outcomes were achieved.  This will help assess the impact and effectiveness of the programme.

Small Grants Terms and Conditions