New initiatives fund launches to promote democracy

Howard Lake | 9 October 2002 | News

The Electoral Commission has launched a £250,000 fund to promote engagement with democratic processes and elections.

The New Initiatives Fund is designed to enable organisations to run innovative projects encouraging people to get more involved with deciding how their communities are run, as well as promoting understanding of how local, national and European government works.

The fund is being established under Section 13 of the Political Parties Elections and Referendums Act 2000, which enables the Commission to make grants to other bodies or individuals with the aim of promoting public understanding of democratic processes within the UK. The Commission works to ensure public confidence and participation in the democratic process within the United Kingdom through modernisation of the electoral process, promotion of public awareness of electoral matters, and regulation of political parties.

Decision on funding allocations will be made by The Electoral Commission’s six commissioners, after ensuring that they meet set qualification criteria. The criteria include that the project must not promote a particular political or policy objective. The fund’s budget will be set for each financial year.

The Chairman of The Electoral Commission, Sam Younger, says: “We all want a healthy democracy, and the new initiatives fund will provide help for organisations working at reconnecting people with voting and their democratic institutions.”

The Commission is now accepting applications from local and national groups working on projects across various sections of society, such as young people, ethnic minorities or those with disabilities, and is particularly keen to receive applications from community-based groups working with local people.

A downloadable application form and information leaflet can be found on the Commission’s Web site, or you can request one from the Liaison Team on 020 7271 0592.

About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale. He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.