Love Essex Fund

The next round of funding will open on 6 January 2025. Applications close on 9 February 2025. The focus of this round will be on reuse and repair initiatives. 

The Love Essex Fund is for projects that:

• reduce the amount of waste being produced in households
• prevent specific types of waste from being thrown away
• inspire people and communities to be creative and sustainable with their waste 
• provide skills and opportunities to the community to repair and reuse items
• are based in Essex

Projects which could receive funding include:

• repair café events and skills-sharing workshops
• refill shops
• clothes swaps and sharing events
• textiles and toys redistribution organisations
• educational talks related to reuse and repair
• upcycling specialists
• bike, furniture and electronics repair organisations
• 'Library of Things' projects
• anything that involves keeping products in use and away from landfill, either via reuse or repair practices

Previous recipients can apply again, ideally with new projects, but continuation and expansion of previously funded projects will still be considered for new funding.

We are unable to fund the following:

• projects that involve commercial waste. Projects must be related to reducing waste in households
• ongoing running costs and pre-existing day to day activities (such as rent, wages, legal fees, expenses, utility bills)
• litter bins in public locations
• activities that promote or are run by politically-motivated organisations
• projects where applicant cannot demonstrate compliance with all relevant legislation