£118,929 in community grants by London & South East

Despite only launching in November 2019, LHC London & South East has granted £118,929 to community groups from its Community Benefit Fund. LHC worked with members and independent fund manager, Locality, on the consideration of 166 applications and approval of 23 projects.

Projects are selected based on their support of strong and sustainable neighbourhoods, contributions to one or more of the borough or county’s priorities, and a clear demonstration of social impact. Locality assists with the application process and helps distribute funds, which so far have supported groups that address community wellbeing, food poverty, social isolation, community empowerment, employment, and the environment.

Hillingdon Autistic Care and Support received a grant of £7,165 for its Autism Hub project, which will provide autistic adults in Hillingdon with a place they can go to increase their active involvement in the community, reduce loneliness and prevent social isolation.

We Rise in Lambeth is a community business that empowers young people to create successful futures through inspirational experience projects. A grant of £10,000 helped them build a video editing suite, purchase associated equipment and train two members of staff. The editing suite will generate extra income when it is not in use with young people.

Many community groups have had to adapt their activities during the coronavirus pandemic. Through a partnership with Haringey Giving, a grant of £5,130 was made to support two projects. Caris Haringey worked with homeless families in temporary accommodation during lockdown. The Antwerp Arms, a community pub in Tottenham supported a hot meal production and delivery operation, serving vulnerable individuals.

As life starts to return to normal, the Community Grow Project in Aylesbury, is defining how to use its £5,000 grant to best effect, with spring planting inhibited by lockdown. The project is run by Community Transform, working with Walton Court Centre, an award-winning, mixed-use community hub, noted for outstanding success in tackling anti-social behaviour and criminal activity.

£10,000 distributed to local causes by South West Procurement Alliance

The South West Procurement Alliance (SWPA) set a strategy with its members to distribute grants of up to £1,000 to small, local community groups. Members wanted to make a difference to grass roots organisations for whom a grant of that size would make a major difference. SWPA works with fund manager, South West Community Matters to achieve members’ aims.

During the funds first year a total of £10,000 has been distributed to local causes and activities, to organisations that help people from diverse backgrounds become engaged in their communities and that bring about real change to people’s lives.

Groups of people the fund specifically aims to support are disabled people, including those with learning disabilities, frail older people, people with mental health problems, those who are unemployed or on low incomes, the BAME community, young people who are affected by disadvantage, carers or people with additional needs, and those who are affected by domestic violence.

Rusty Road 2 Recovery received a £1,000 grant to support its work reducing inequality for people with mental health issues. Recovery activities provided by Rusty Road include arts and crafts, IT and practical skills, to help individuals build their skills and wellbeing and move on to other opportunities.

Trowbridge Community Area Forum (TCAF), now Trowbridge Futures, used their £1,000 grant to support the informal youth services they provide in some of the most deprived areas of Trowbridge. The organisation’s work with young people is known as the Brighter Aspirations Programme. It provides a safe space for young people to come together and runs drop-in sessions and offers one-to-one mentoring at a local school.

Since the start of the pandemic, the fund’s distribution to small groups has continued with a focus on services that are vital to communities at this time.

£60,000 distributed in second year by Welsh Procurement Alliance

The Welsh Procurement Alliance works with Community Foundation Wales on the distribution of its Community Benefit Fund. This year, £60,000 was distributed to projects that help to build community cohesion, reduce the isolation of those who are vulnerable, and improve the health and wellbeing of families struggling with the effects of living on low incomes.

Linc Cymru was awarded a grant to develop a community garden. The project is focused on building intergenerational relationships between a new care home built for older people and the adjacent primary school. The garden enables older people to reflect on their childhoods and compare to life now, while the children learn some history and gain a better understanding of nature and cultivation.

Wales and West Housing have been consulting with the local community in Newcastle Emlyn to understand how they can improve a local park to better suit the needs of local people. Funding will be used to help them develop ideas and put them into practise. The goal is increasing community ownership and pride in their area and providing a space for improved health and well-being.

Trivallis is using funding to provide a range of therapeutic interventions that will improve the health and well-being of its most vulnerable tenants. Working in partnership with Merthyr and the Valleys Mind, Trivallis aims to increase confidence and reduce isolation to improve residents’ resilience and social networks and help them maintain tenancies.

Following on from the success of last year’s grant, Bron Afon Community Housing Association again ran a small grants programme called Helping Hands. Local organisations and businesses could apply for funding of £50-£1,000 for projects to improve the lives of vulnerable local people at Christmas time. Grants were awarded towards the cost of food parcels, energy and utility costs and essential items/services to reduce isolation for those living alone and to help families make good memories to cherish forever.

£130,000 distributed to 13 organisations by Scottish Procurement Alliance

Another busy year for the Scottish Procurement Alliance (SPA) resulted in a £130,000 Community Benefit Fund for distribution to local projects. This marks the 3rd year SPA has supported local community projects through their Fund. SPA Partners work with the Lintel Trust to identify suitable activities, source match funding, and monitor the use and impact of grants. The Lintel Trust is the only charity in Scotland to focus on the provision of small grants to help social housing and community projects.

This year 13 projects received funding, spanning an impressive variety of social needs, including social isolation, community resilience, mental health, employability activities and the development of a community hub. A project called ‘Angels Share’ used funding to grant a series of tenant ‘wishes’, to help tenants make their community a better place.

The SPA’s Community Benefit Fund has supported the South Ayrshire Holiday Hunger project for several years, enabling it to grow year on year. During the 2019 summer holidays, 400 children were fed and entertained every day as a result of the grant, with partners 10:10 Trust helping to ensure meals were delivered to the hard to reach areas. 10:10 Trust converted a bus into a mobile games room and travelled to four of the most deprived areas in South Ayrshire, Monday to Friday throughout the summer.

Linstone Community Support is using its grant to address social isolation amongst older people and aims to increase the number of participants in its programme to 90. Older tenants in sheltered accommodation can try wide-ranging activities, make new friends and build their level of social interaction, through groups that meet up each week.

As the wide-reaching impact of the Covid 19 pandemic became known, projects that received funding later in the year were contacted by the Lintel Trust and SPA about the potential reallocation of funding, to help ensure vulnerable groups and communities with more immediate needs were supported.