Armed Forces offer £30 million to Build Relations with Local Communities
Howard Lake | 25 August 2011 | News
Armed Forces Community Covenant Grant Scheme
The first applications are being invited to a new Armed Forces Community Covenant Scheme that aims to support local community projects that bring together the Armed Forces and the wider community where the Forces have a presence. Up to £30 million will be available over four years with grants ranging from £100 to £250,000. The first opportunities are available in Oxfordshire, North Yorkshire, Hampshire and the Vale of Glamorgan. Other communities are being encouraged to get involved.
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Projects, which must have one-off financial commitments, might take a variety of forms but will need to promote closer ties with, or a greater understanding of, the military in the local community. Examples might include:
- A public exhibition showing recent activity of the local Armed Forces unit;
- One-off activities such as an activity camp involving the Armed Forces and young people;
- A community outreach project that brings together veterans with their non-Service equivalents to highlight what support is available to them in their local community.
Applications can be made by any part of the community: voluntary organisations; groups of volunteers; charities; schools; public bodies etc.
Applications for grants can only come from areas where a formal Community Covenant is in place. This is created by the local authority and the local Armed Forces. Currently the scheme is being piloted in four areas: Oxfordshire, Hampshire, North Yorkshire and the Vale of Glamorgan.
The full guidelines for the Armed Forces Community Covenant Grant scheme are available at www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/C8A2B166-2BE2-416B-86E3-B1007A6522DB/0/20110811_Community_Covenant_Grant_Scheme_Criteria_and_Terms.pdf.
A link to it, and a link to the Grant scheme application form, is available at www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/WhatWeDo/Personnel/Welfare/ArmedForcesCovenant/ArmedForcesCommunityCovenant.htm.
Closing date: The first closing date is 30 September 2011 in all areas except Hampshire, where it is 22 September 2011.
This piece is an abbreviated version of one of many funding opportunities first published this week at www.fundinginformation.org, the resource for up to date information about new grant making trusts, and new sources of grants, loans and donations for voluntary organisations, charities, social enterprises and the public sector throughout the UK.
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.