Charities with annual incomes of up to £3m are being invited to apply for a share of £1.2m that is being made available as part of the Charities Aid Foundation’s (CAF) Grant Programme.

Running from 1 May 2005 to 30 April 2006, the CAF Grant Programme is to focus on two streams: collaborative funding and consultancy and training funding.

The Collaborative Fund will work by linking CAF with up to 15 organisations that have missions similar to its own – to help make giving to charity simple and effective, and to help charities make the most of what is given. A package of support will be on offer that includes up to £100,000 flexible funding to enhance organisational capacity and to provide room to develop and attract other funding and resourcing. It is open to applications from charities membership and umbrella organisations, grantmakers and funders.

Through the consultancy and training fund, CAF hopes to work with organisations to strengthen their structure. Packages worth up to £10,000 are available, which will include up to 20 days consultancy with CAF’s network of freelance consultants, support for training costs and flexible funding to support an organisation’s costs.

Victoria Anderson, CAF head of grantmaking and consulting, said: “CAF works to support the sector in ways that other funders currently don’t, and to ‘plug the gaps’ in terms of providing effective, long-term capacity building solutions for charities.”

Deadline for applications is 30 May 2005. For more information and an application form, visit www.cafonline.org/grants or email grants@cafonline.org or call 01732 520 334.