The purpose of the Tampon Tax Fund is to allocate the funds generated from the VAT on sanitary products to projects that improve the lives of disadvantaged women and girls. 
The Tampon Tax Community Fund aims to support women who are most marginalised to overcome barriers that prevent them from fulfilling their potential. The Programme will benefit women and girls, investing in a wide variety of products, that make a tangible and long-term difference to health, well-being, confidence and social/economic activity, as well as addressing equality gaps.
This programme aims to fund small-scale interventions, which will make a considerable difference to the lives and happiness of women and girls by raising the aspirations of girls and women and combating the influences that affect their confidence.
Grants of between £5,000 - £10,000 are available to community groups and charities who deliver projects that support women and girls to build skills and confidence, improve their health and wellbeing, and build social networks.
What difference will it make?
Women and girls can be disproportionately disadvantaged by multiple issues which are often complex in nature. Combined with these barriers and differing needs within population and geography, specialist and local support is often necessary. Within this context applicants will need to demonstrate how they meet one or more of the following objectives:
Building skills and confidence, for example, supporting women and girls to learn new skills, giving them the ability to apply for new jobs and/or return to the workplace.
Improving health and well-being, for example, teaching women how to look after and improve their own mental or physical health and live in good health for longer.
Building social networks, for example, connecting women to others they can share similar experiences with, supporting them to feel less lonely, more valued, more able to pass on that support.
Priority will be given to:
• Women and girl organisations, these are defined as:
- An organisation that has been established by women or girls and/or is led and staffed by women and girls
- An organisation that has been established with the key aim of working with women and girls only
- The majority of beneficiaries served by the organisation are, and will continue to be, women and girls, and the majority of the services will reflect this
• Grassroots organisations offering localised support
• Organisations working with beneficiaries with multiple disadvantages
• User led organisations that have a clear understanding of the needs they are supporting
• Sustainable projects that provide long-term solutions to the people they are helping
For further information and to apply, visit: www.lancsfoundation.org.uk/funds/tampon-tax-community-fund
Deadline: Monday 5 November 2018