Warwickshire County Council’s Councillor Grant Fund is now open for applications from community and voluntary groups across the county.
Each year, Warwickshire County Council allocates £8,000 to each of its 57 councillors for them to support small-scale projects within their division, whose aims align with the some of the many following areas: improve access to services; reduce loneliness and isolation; improve physical and/or mental health and wellbeing or improve the local area to support the ambition of becoming a Net Zero county by 2050.
The full category list can be seen on the website: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/cllrgrants
Applications can be submitted on the council’s website, and there are two different forms depending on whether the grant needed is over or under £350. Applications can be submitted from Monday 20 May at 9am, and the deadline for submission is Sunday 30 June at 5pm.
Two of the organisations that were successful in their applications for funding previously were: Alcester and Avon Villages Girlguiding and The Kenilworth Centre pop up café. Jude Mayall from the Girlguiding group said: “At Girlguiding we help all girls know they can do anything. We applied for the county councillor’s grant to allow us to open up our adventures to more girls and allowed them to explore new horizons”. The funding they received has gone towards tents which will be used by over 150 young people and volunteers in various camping challenges over the summer.
On the funding awarded to the Kenilworth centre, Becky Webb the Joint Centre Manager said: “As a large community centre in the middle of town, the Kenilworth Centre's main priority is to provide space to hire and youth support for the people of Kenilworth. We understand the financial burden the school holidays places on parents and carers and wanted to offer an alternative for free.
“The Councillors grant fund allowed us to deliver a weekly free to access pop up cafe during the summer holidays. The cafe was a real success, offering families a place to socialise, play, take part in activities for free.
“We rely on grants to enable us to deliver any youth and community provision so were delighted to be successful. The grant contributed to the success of the cafe and this has meant we have been able to apply for subsequent grants to continue to offer this support during school holiday periods.' Cllr Heather Timms, Portfolio Holder for Environment, Climate and Culture said: "The Councillors' Grant Fund enables us to back community and voluntary groups undertaking small scale projects capable of generating significant positive change with their local knowledge and resource.
“It creates excellent opportunities for our community members to come together and contribute towards shaping a healthier, more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient Warwickshire.”
To support the application process, the Community Partnerships Team and WCAVA will be holding engagement sessions which will provide guidance and answer questions related to the application process. Contact your local Localities and Communities Officer (below) for more information and to book onto a session.
For more information about the grant and to submit an application, please visit https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/cllrgrants
For further information about grants specific to areas, please contact the Community Partnership team as follows: Localities and Communities Officer contact details:
- Stratford: Dominika Stockham, on 07825856808 or email dominikastockham@warwickshire.gov.uk
- Warwick: Alistair Rigby on 07881 920605 or email alistairrigby@warwickshire.gov.uk
- Rugby: Jennifer McCabe on 07887 650641 or email jennifermccabe@warwickshire.gov.uk
- Nuneaton and Bedworth: Mike Slemensek on 07557 814937 or
email mikeslemensek@warwickshire.gov.uk - North Warwickshire: Mike Slemensek on 07557 814937 or
email mikeslemensek@warwickshire.gov.uk