Warwickshire County Council has launched a grant fund worth £180,000 that will support voluntary and community groups across the county to establish projects that address cost of living pressures.
The Warwickshire County Council Cost of Living Grant was launched earlier today (25 November) at the Warwickshire Cost of Living Summit. The event was co-hosted by Warwickshire County Council and the University of Warwick, in partnership with Warwickshire’s Borough and District Councils. It provided an opportunity for organisations to come together and discuss how they can work together to deliver a collaborative package of support around cost of living pressures.
Cllr Heather Timms, Portfolio Holder for Environment, Climate and Culture said: “Public sector organisations and support agencies have a crucial role to play in helping residents and communities navigate the difficult winter ahead, not only through our individual roles as organisations, but also as a collective.
“Today’s summit was a perfect opportunity to launch the Warwickshire County Council Cost of Living Grant, this will provide financial support to our thriving community and voluntary sector which is ideally placed to provide much needed support to help alleviate some of these pressures.”
Warwickshire’s community organisations and groups are at the heart of our county and do exceptional work to support Warwickshire residents. But cost-of-living pressures are placing a significant and growing strain on Warwickshire’s residents, communities and businesses. The Cost of Living Grant has been established to enable voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations and town and parish councils to step forward to establish projects that counteract and address some of these pressures.
Groups are invited to apply for funding of up to £1,000 to support projects or initiatives that focus on one or more of the following criteria:
• Food and other household essentials
• Improving community assets and their sustainability
• Improving access to services
• Improving financial capability
• Improving mental wellbeing
• Tackling social inequalities
Cllr Heather Timms added: “The Cost of Living Grant fund is one element of a £4.5million support package recently announced by the County Council to help relieve the financial burden on residents who may be struggling with rising living costs.
“We know that Warwickshire’s incredible communities will play a vital role, with the grass roots response crucial to our collective efforts to support people at this challenging time.
“The launch of this grant fund will invest in continuing a community powered approach and we want to invite applications from voluntary and community groups across the county.”
Eligible groups can bid for grant funding of up to £1000 Information of eligibility and support on making an application can be found on www.warwickshire.gov.uk/colgrant
To ensure the funding can be allocated as quickly as possible the deadline for applications is 5pm on Sunday 18 December 2022. Applications will then be evaluated, and successful bids will be notified from 9 January 2023.