Wainfleet St Mary is sharing in the UK Prosperity GRASSroots fund
£1.1M to be invested in local communities - UK Shared Prosperity GRASSroots Grants - Wainfleet St Mary is delighted to be able to say we are one of the first receipients for our Jubilee Orchard in Low Road.
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Staff and Trustees at Lincolnshire Community Foundation (LCF) in conjunction with South & East Lincolnshire Council’s Partnership are pleased to announce the launch of a flagship grants scheme, GRASSroots Grants which is available to organisations (charities, community groups, social enterprises, Parish & Town Councils etc) operating for the benefit of people living in East Lindsey, Boston Borough, or South Holland District Council areas.
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is a central pillar of the UK government’s Levelling Up agenda and provides £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025.
The Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business and people and skills.
Grants of up to £24,999 are available to enable places to invest in and/or restore their community spaces and create the foundations for growth at neighbourhood level. The intention is to strengthen the social fabric of communities, building pride in place by improving local community facilities, creating opportunities to bring people together and create social connections that will grow and thrive. The fund will support both capital and revenue costs and is keen to level up communities, providing access to activities and opportunities for people living in rurally isolated areas.
The application process is straight forward, and help is available every step of the way from LCF staff and Community Development Workers at YMCA, whether it’s when the seed of a project idea forms, up to completing monitoring and evaluation in the event a bid is successful. As part of the programme, we will be working closely with YMCA Lincolnshire who will be providing on the ground Community Engagement Services supporting rural places across all three districts. Their expert team will work with community assets and voluntary groups to identify and develop local responses to the challenges of rural isolation, aiming to create stronger, prouder, and more resilient rural communities.
The first closing date for receipt of completed applications and supporting documentation is on 15 September 2023 and, following that, on 1 December 2023, and 1 March & 1 June 2024 with decisions notified within 6-8 weeks of the closing date. Payments are usually made in arrears. However, where an applicant doesn’t have the financial resources to cover the project costs, payments may be made in advance or in staged payments.
Examples of the type of investment that will be considered include: capital improvement costs to village halls and community hubs; events (cultural, arts, heritage and community) that bring communities together; community play areas; projects that build local capacity (volunteer recruitment, training and retention); digital connectivity; local transport initiatives; community projects aimed at reducing the cost of living. These are only examples, and we would encourage you to get in touch to have a chat about a prospective bid. Priority will be given to projects that can demonstrate they’ve sourced and secured match funding and we would strongly advise applicants to ensure this is the case before applying.
Full details are available on the Lincolnshire Community Foundation’s Grants Page at www.lincolnshirecf.co.uk.
In a joint statement, Councillor Steve Kirk, portfolio holder for The Coastal Economy, and Councillor Adam Grist, portfolio holder for Market Towns and the Rural Economy at East Lindsey District Council and Councillor Paul Redgate, portfolio holder for Finance, Commercialisation, Levelling Up and UK Shared Prosperity Funding at South Holland District Council, said: "This funding gives a vital boost for parishes to improve their village halls, their popular clubs and allotments - which will be hugely beneficial to the people who live in those communities and visitors too.
"Additionally, this also gives a helping hand to those who want to set up a new initiative, perhaps a community transport service or an event in their rural community.
"We are so pleased to see this money spreading out across the area, not just in the bigger towns but also the smaller villages which we know will very much appreciate this funding."
Sue Fortune, CEO at Lincolnshire Community Foundation says: “This is an incredible opportunity for organisations based within the heart of their community to access much needed funding whether it’s to install a new kitchen in a much-used rural village hall, reinvigorate a local village tradition or celebrate a local hero, or secure that last bit of funding to complete a community play area. I’d encourage any group interested in applying, but not sure whether they might be eligible, to contact Helen Cater at the Foundation”.
For an application form and more information: Contact helen@lincolnshirecf.co.uk Telephone (01529) 305825, or download the Fund Guidelines and an Application Form from our Grants Page at https://lincolnshirecf.co.uk/available-grants/