Just Act offers funding information and resources for community groups

The Community Development Foundation has created Just Act, a website that helps community groups get support, funding and advice. The site features a mixture of crowd-sourced content, links to relevant website, and a discussion forum.

Sources of information

The launch of the site has been supported by the Department of Communities and Local Government. Organisations that are contributing content to it include:

• Acre
• The Big Lottery Fund
• The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA)
• The Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE)
• Locality
• The Plunkett Foundation
• The National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (navca)
• The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO)
• The Social Investment Business Group (The SIB Group)
• Unltd

Just Act is designed for experienced community activists and those new to the idea of setting up and running a community project. The funding section at present has a limited selection of external links, with content from JustGiving, NCVO, UnLtd and the Institute of Fundraising, but it has only just launched. Alison Seabrooke, Chief Executive of the Community Development Foundation said:

“We have spent the last 50 years working with over 30,000 grassroots community groups. Times have changed and those who want to set up or expand a community group want real-time advice and guidance on how to do that. Just Act will make it easier to find out how you can take the first step – or the next step.  You will find help and advice from those who have been there and done that and want to share their experiences.”

One of the early site testers, Matthew Creber of Community Mission Associate at the Wellside in Tottenham, London, said: