Warwickshire County Council has opened the second round of the Councillors' Grant Fund for 2020-21 and invites applications from voluntary and community organisations across the county.
Warwickshire County Council has opened the second round of the Councillors' Grant Fund for 2020-21 and invites applications from voluntary and community organisations across the county.
The Councillors’ Grant Fund is an annual allocation of £6000, distributed in two rounds, made available to each of the Council’s 57 elected members to support small-scale projects within their division.
Successful bids to the fund must support the council’s priorities that Warwickshire’s communities and individuals are supported to be safe, healthy and independent and that the county’s economy is vibrant and supported by the right jobs, training, skills and infrastructure.
All applications should evidence how local community development will be supported and how individual’s health and wellbeing will be improved. Applications which address one or more of the following priority categories will be favoured along with those that demonstrate links to the local Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (a process by which the local authority and health services assess the population’s current and future health, care and wellbeing needs).
- Improve community assets and their sustainability
- Improve access to services
- Improve financial capability
- Reduce loneliness and isolation
- Improve physical and/or mental health and wellbeing
- Promote equalities and inclusivity
- Improve the physical environment or reduce the environmental impact
In the current pandemic projects that continue to support the impact of Covid-19 will also be considered.
The first round of the Councillors’ Grant Fund was launched in April 2020 as the Covid-19 Support Fund. It was designed in response to the pandemic to provide rapid and flexible funding to support communities affected, and to make sure the voluntary and community sector continues to thrive.
A wide range of projects received support such as, youth engagement activity, scrubs production for NHS workers, and a socially distanced singing group who performed outside care homes and community venues to raise spirits. Other projects receiving support were set up to help ‘shielded’ and vulnerable people access food and medicines, and to provide health and well-being activities.
A number of successful round one projects supported the provision of digital technology to allow projects and services to adapt to deliver support online and the fund has also been used to cover the costs of utilities such as gas, electricity for village halls and community centres so they could be maintained during the pandemic.
Warwickshire County Councillor Heather Timms, Portfolio Holder for Environment, Heritage and Culture, said: “This fund is an opportunity for not for profit voluntary and community organisations or groups to present local projects and schemes requiring funding to their local councillors. Projects that have received financial contributions to date have been able to make a positive difference to their local community. We are proud of everything they have achieved and keen to support as many projects as possible to do the same.
“I would urge any local group with an ideas to improve community resilience and support health and well-being to find out more and apply for this funding before the 27 September deadline.”
Any organisation or group wishing to apply to the Councillors’ Grant Fund can do so online and the deadline for applications for the second round of funding is 5pm on Sunday 27th September. To find out more and apply go to www.warwickshire.gov.uk/grants
Organisations or groups looking for support to complete their application forms can request help from Warwickshire Community and Voluntary Action (WCAVA) 01788 547258.
More information about Warwickshire Joint Strategic Needs Assessment is at
www.warwickshire.gov.uk/joint-strategic-needs-assessments-1/jsna-place-based-approach/2 documentId=743&categoryId=20158
PLEASE NOTE: Different arrangements may apply for Warwick District where councillors may take their funding decisions to a Community Forum or Planning Group. Visit www.warwickshire.gov.uk/grants for more details.