Here you’ll find all the exciting stuff: criteria, eligibility and guidance for Hubbub’s Nature Hubs funding, delivered in partnership with Starbucks.
Not super fun, but important – so please read this doc carefully before applying!
Contents
• Why are we funding Nature Hubs?
• What is a Nature Hub?
• Key dates
• Who is eligible for funding?
• How to measure distance from your project to your nearest Starbucks store on Google Maps
• Application criteria
• What can the funding be spent on?
• How to apply
• What happens if you’re successful?
• Selection process
• Funding and reporting
• Key T&Cs
• Our commitment to equality and diversity
Why are we funding Nature Hubs?
Research shows spending time in nature is good for our physical and mental health and wellbeing, reducing our levels of stress and blood pressure (National Academy for Social Prescribing). Green spaces also help protect us against the impacts of a changing climate. In short, they’re putting in a real shift.
Recent Hubbub polling shows more than a third of people (36%) in the UK spend less than an hour a week in green or natural space, and more than half (56%) face a barrier to accessing nature. However, we know many excellent groups are already striving to bring more green spaces to their communities. To support and enhance this work, we’re funding new green space initiatives with up to £6,000 and offering top-up grants of up to £3,000 to Nature Hubs funded through last year’s grants programme. More information on the ‘top-up grants’ for existing Hubs can be found here.
The Nature Hubs Fund is funded by public donations via the Starbucks 5p Cup Charge and is part of Hubbub and Starbucks’ wider ambition to build stronger, greener communities across the UK. This fund aims to improve access to and connection with nature in the communities Starbucks serves, by creating and enhancing green spaces within a 5km radius of Starbucks stores. Got an idea for an initiative that could help achieve this goal? Read on
What
is
a Nature Hub?
A Nature Hub is a space that allows more people to access nature. Nature Hubs create green spaces where there wasn’t nature before or run activities that help bring people into existing green spaces. Here are a few examples from last year’s fund:
Corner Community Garden in Birmingham
The project worked with the local community to transform an unused piece of fenced-in land by Dawberry Corner into a thriving community garden which contains herb and vegetable beds, a wildflower meadow, and space to meet for social activities.
Burnaby Bees project in Basingstoke
The project took a small patch of fenced-off land (creating a trap for litter!) and created a low maintenance, climate resistant green space for the local community.
Live Theatre in Newcastle
Live Theatre built their site's first-ever raised planter beds in the courtyard behind their theatre, open to the local community.
Wood Community Garden in Sheffield
A university student worked with a local organisation to take a patch of unused land near the Scraith Wood housing estate and build a small, welcoming garden.
Dawberry
Scraith
What are the key dates to be aware of?
Application timeline
• Groups can apply from 9am Monday 14th
October.
• The closing date for applications is 5pm on Friday 29th November.
• Any application submitted after this window won’t be considered.
• Hubbub will inform you whether or not you’ve been successful by the end of February 2025.
• Funding: March 2025 [subject to receiving all documentation]
First things first, let’s check if you’re eligible!
To apply for this funding your organisation must be:
And your project location must:
• Have not received a Nature Hubs grant last year, paid in March 2024.
• Be located in England, Scotland, or Wales*
• Be within 5 km of a Starbucks store. (More info on next slide!)
• A constituted community group or a registered charity, CIC, or company. Based in the UK with a project location in England, Scotland, or Wales.*
*Unfortunately, The Nature Hubs Fund is not currently operating in Northern Ireland, but we hope to expand in the future.
• Your green space should be open to the public and free to access. The space does not need to be open 24/7, but should have regular times at which it is publicly accessible. Green spaces that can only be accessed by service users of the site, e.g. patients in a hospital, residents in a care home, pupils in a school are not eligible to apply. We will ask projects to demonstrate how the site can be accessed in the application. If your project is based within an otherwise closed space that is not open to the wider public, please clarify in your application how members of the public will still be able to access your project.
For more info on eligibility, please read through the next slide.
First things first, let’s check if you’re eligible!
Sorry we cannot fund:
• Community groups without a constitution/articles of association and bank account in the organisation’s name.
• Schools.
• Party political organisations.
• Local authorities/councils.
• Sole traders or individuals.
• Projects in Northern Ireland.
• Project locations that are not within 5km of a Starbucks store.
Note:
Starbucks wants to increase access to green space in the communities its stores are in.
All applicants must be within a 5km radius of a Starbucks store (see next slide for guidance on how to check this), and it is desirable that projects are based within a 3km radius.
Please measure this using Google Maps – we will ask for your project site’s postcode in your application.
How to measure distance on Google maps
Step 1
On a computer, find your project location on Google Maps, e.g. Somerset House (where Hubbub is based!)
Step 2
Find the nearest Starbucks to your project location, e.g. the one closest to Hubbub is just up the road near Covent Garden
Step 3
Right click on the location of your nearest Starbucks and click 'measure distance’. NB: you can find a map of all Starbucks stores here.
Step 4
Click again on your project location and you will see it cleverly measures the distance between the two points, e.g. here it is 332m (within the 5KM range!).
NB: If you know for sure that your project is within 5km of a Starbucks store but are struggling to measure it exactly, don’t worry we’ll confirm you’re within the 5km radius based on the project location postcode you provide.
Feel free to email us at naturehubs@hubbub.org.uk to check if you’re not sure.
Application criteria: the key things we're looking for
Key things we're looking for
We’re looking for initiatives that create new green spaces or enhance existing ones. Groups can apply for grants between £3,000 and £6,000. Applications will be assessed against the following criteria:
Location
All projects must be located within a 5km radius of a Starbucks store (3km is desirable ). A map of Starbucks locations can be found here. Please measure using Google Maps (see pages 8/9 for guidance) – we will ask for the postcode of the proposed project site in the application.
• The Nature Hubs Fund is looking to fund a diverse range of projects across England, Scotland, and Wales. Location will impact the selection process. We’re giving priority to areas of the UK without strong Nature Hubs coverage, which include: Portsmouth, Newport, Liverpool and Merseyside, Bolton, Wrexham, Telford, Stafford, Coventry, Northampton, Milton Keynes, Ipswitch, Norwich, Colchester, Folkstone, Canterbury, Blackburn, Doncaster, Burnley, Aberdeen, Inverness, and Falkirk.
Timing
The project should start in time for the 2025 spring-summer growing season.
Feasibility
Applications should show a clearly defined project that is feasible within the suggested timeframe and budget. You should demonstrate you have permission to work on the proposed site or space and show it will be publicly accessible.
Experience delivering projects
Your organisation must be fully operational and be able to demonstrate that you’ve delivered previous projects successfully, even if this is your first nature project. (Desirable: experience working with communities, access to a volunteering network and strong storytelling/communication abilities are all helpful qualities).
Application criteria: the key things we're looking for
Involving the community
We’re looking for projects that bring people and communities together around nature and green spaces. Your application should show how you’ll engage with the local community through your project.
Commitment to reaching new audiences
We’re looking for projects that are committed to reaching audiences beyond those who typically access green space.
Need for green space
Applications should demonstrate evidence of community need for a green space project. We’re particularly looking to fund spaces in dense urban areas but will consider any area where there is need for new or enhanced green space, that meets the other criteria. Applications should identify which groups are likely to benefit from the activity.
Creating or enhancing green spaces
Projects should be able to demonstrate how they either create new green spaces, or improve, add-to or preserve existing green spaces.
Measurable
You'll be required to share project updates and report numbers of people benefiting from your project by completing a short form at 3, 6, and 12 months during the project year. We would also like you to conduct short surveys with the people who take part in your project. We’ll provide these for Nature Hubs projects.
Starbucks store connection
You should be open and willing to being connected with a local Starbucks store, or open to having updates about your project shared with stores. A connection could look like accepting coffee grounds for compost or providing volunteering sessions. This varies from one store to the next and connections may look different across projects.
Legacy
Applications should give consideration to the legacy of the project site and how the project’s benefits will continue beyond the funding period.
What do we mean by ‘Starbucks store connection’?
Connections may differ across projects, based on a range of factors. Here are a few examples of how Starbucks stores connected with their local Nature Hub last year:
• 150+ stores were sent posters displaying information about their local project.
• A store in Leicester saved spent coffee grounds for their local project to use in their compost.
• A store in Luton volunteered with their local project, gardening and litter picking.
• A store in Cambridge donated coffee and snacks to their project’s free community lunch.
How to apply!
First, make sure to read this whole document carefully to make sure you’re eligible. Once you’ve done that, you can make your application through our online application form on Hubbub’s Community Nature Network. There’s also a downloadable version of the application questions on the application form.
Please contact us directly if you are unable to complete a digital application. If you have any questions, first check our FAQs, or if you still can’t find an answer contact us at: naturehubs@hubbub.org.uk
If for any reason an application has been mistakenly deleted, lost, or corrupted, it’s at our discretion as to whether groups must reapply. In this instance, please notify us via: naturehubs@hubbub.org.uk
What happens if you’re successful?
First things first, enjoy the moment: give yourself a pat on the back, do a celebratory jig, fist pump, hug a tree, eat a jam donut, high-five a stranger – whatever feels right in the moment.
Then, it’s time to get growing. The successful applicants will have six months from receiving funding to show they have set up their project and will be required to report back on progress and the impact of their green space initiative.
Successful applicants will be required to sign a Grant Fund Agreement with Hubbub, which will include details about project monitoring and reporting requirements. Once the agreement is signed, we’ll send you the funding so you can get cracking.
What can the funding be spent on?
Successful projects can spend the funding on:
• Materials relating to the Nature Hub activity (e.g., plants, gardening equipment, tools, paint)
• Utilities relating to the delivery of the project activity(e.g., power or water)
• Display materials, signage, and information
• Services from external suppliers such as building labour costs, garden design, etc.
• Staffing costs to cover the time spent planning and delivering any activity
• Volunteer expenses such as public transportation costs, materials & refreshments for volunteering days
• Training for the activity delivery team such as safeguarding
Selection process
Once you’ve submitted your application by 5pm on 29th November make a cup of tea, sit back, and relax. Your work is done (for now at least), and it’s over to us.
An application panel will review all applications received and choose the successful applications. You’ll hear from us either way by the end of February 2025.
If you’re successful and wish to accept the funding, you’ll receive a Grant Fund Agreement which will be signed by us (Hubbub) and your organisation. You’ll also need to provide further documentation:
• Your organisation’s constitution or articles of association
• Proof of the bank account with your organisation’s name on it
An applicant will be deemed ineligible if:
• They refuse to provide further requested information; and/or
• Both the main and secondary contact are uncontactable for a period of more than 14 days during the application process.
For unsuccessful applicants, we will provide summarised feedback of the common reasons applicants were unsuccessful. As a small team, our ability to provide individual feedback will depend on the number of applications.
The funding and reporting
Successful applicants for new grants will be offered grant funding of up to £6,000 (amount is subject to review based on stated project scope). Applications must be submitted for a minimum of at least £3,000 – as you’ll see in the application form, it’s up to you how much you apply for – you just need to let us know what you plan to spend the funding on.
The up-to-£6,000 funding will support projects for one year following the activity set-up period, as will be detailed in the Grant Fund Agreement.
Some key T&Cs
• The funding should show in the organisation’s accounting as a restricted fund.
• Successful groups must keep track of Nature Hubs spending, as Hubbub requires that winners retain receipts and details of spend.
• Organisations may apply for more than one grant of £6,000 so long as the project locations are distinct and near to separate Starbucks stores.
• Funding must support a specific and discrete project, additional to existing expenditure plans.
• Each application must provide a “lead contact”, along with a “secondary contact” who can represent the project in the “lead contact’s” absence. When applying for this funding, the lead and secondary contact should both be authorised to act on behalf of their organisation and should both have read the Terms & Conditions.
• Nature Hubs projects will automatically join Hubbub’s Community Nature Network’s map of projects.
Please read the full T&Cs here.
Our commitment to equality and diversity
Hubbub is committed to diversity and inclusion. We’ll assess all applications on an individual basis, with each being reviewed against the criteria as above and are looking for a range of project types, locations and themes.
We recognise that it is in the interests of our organisation and society that everyone is treated fairly. We will make sure that no applicant receives less favourable treatment (either directly or in directly) on the grounds of protected characteristics including:
• Age
• Disability
• Gender or gender reassignment
• Marriage/Civil partnership
• Pregnancy or maternity
• Race
• Religion or belief
• Sex or sexual orientation
Privacy
Any personal information collected from applicants when entering this funding process will be subject to the privacy policy located: here.
If you have any questions regarding this grant fund or the criteria outlined above, please check our FAQs and if you still have questions feel free to email us at naturehubs@hubbub.org.uk. Still got questions?
