Community groups across the city benefit from latest Council grant awards

Published: 29 January 2020

Nine more community groups have just received funding designed to ensure their buildings have financial support to help continue serving the community.

The City Council has made around £1m available in grant support for community groups and organisations to work on local projects that help make Exeter such a great place to live.

In the current financial year £150,000 has been allocated for community centres for the Community Buildings Fund. Match funding of 50 per cent – which can include volunteer hours – is required.

The following groups have been awarded the maximum grant of £5,000 for the next three years.

• Wonford Community & Learning Centre
• Exeter Communities Together- Exwick Community Centre
• Alphington Community Association – Community Centre
• Topsham Community Association – Matthews Hall
• Newcourt Community association – Community Centre
• The Club – Friends Place
• St Sidwell’s Community Centre
• Age UK Exeter – Cowick Street Centre

Syvania Play & Community Facility Association – Sylvania Hall, received £2,000 towards running costs.

The Community Buildings Fund is part of the Exeter Grants Programme, which aims to support groups and organisations to use their passion, skills, experience and knowledge to work together to make a difference in their community and create change. The Grants Panel (pictured below) met to decide on the latest awards last week.

The Grants Programme supports projects that:

• Help people to help themselves and each other
• Build on the strengths of people and communities
• Connect people and organisations within and across communities

It supports projects that have a focus on one or more of our six priority themes, which are to:

• Address inequalities
• Improve health and wellbeing
• Get people active
• Support communities working together to address local needs
• Encourage volunteering
• Improve where we live.

There are a number of funds with different criteria and amounts available. All the information is available on the council's website exeter.gov.uk/grants

Anyone in any doubt on which grant to apply for can contact us by email at grants@exeter.gov.uk