Strong communities and selfless people are what will help Britain through this rather gloomy economical period.
Acknowledging the hard work our community groups do, the Co-operative are operating a grant scheme offering local groups small grants of £100 to £2000. It is estimated that £1.2 million went to local community groups in 2010. The Co-operative Community Fund is financed by the members of The Co-operative donating a portion of their profits to good causes.
Your group doesn’t have to have a charitable status in order to apply for the grant. The main criterion is how you are trying to make people’s lives better. In order to qualify for the Co-operative Community Fund grant your project must address a community issue, be innovative in its approach and provide a long-term benefit to the people around you.
How are community projects going where you live? Considering I’m from Dorset and quite heavily into that whole environmental thing, it’s only natural for me to try to create some extra publicity for a local citizen group dealing with renewable energy. They are called Dorset Community Renewables and they’re giving up their own time by providing free quality advice on renewable energy applications. The DCR are trying to encourage people embracing new ways of generating green energy for their homes. Although based in Sturminster Newton, they’ve been providing consultancy all around North and West Dorset. I’d really love to see them getting a grant.
If there’s a local community group you’d like to support, let them know about the Cooperative Membership Fund. Even a small fund could make a big difference for them!
Community groups are a great initiative anywhere, I myself donate thousands to groups like this in my hometown