Plans to award £1,126,820 to 45 Cambridge based community groups were approved by Cambridge City Council’s Environment and Community Scrutiny Committee yesterday (18 January).
The funding is awarded to support projects that will reduce social or economic inequality for Cambridge residents during 2024-2025.
Some of the funding has been awarded to:
- Cambridge Community Arts – awarded £20,830 to help deliver creative art courses to people from disadvantaged backgrounds or who are isolated. The funding will also be used to offer coaching to unemployed residents with health conditions or disabilities to support them with education and employment
- Cambridge and District Citizens Advice – awarded £329,800 to support their free, independent debt and money advice service, specialist welfare rights casework and financial capability support
- Cambridge Ethnic Community Forum – awarded £9,322 to help towards delivering a holistic race equality service to eliminate discrimination and reduce social and economic inequality as well as working collaboratively with partners to address race equality needs
- Cambridge Online – awarded £40,000 to provide disabled and disadvantaged people with access to computers, internet, training and technology
- Cambridge United Foundation – awarded £13,000 to run community health sessions for people who have or have previously had poor mental health, the LGBTQ+ community, and those who are homeless or vulnerably housed
- Cambridge Sustainable Food – awarded a total of £19,500 for projects including working with food hubs across the city to establish social supermarkets or community shops and offering a provision of healthy meals to families across the city during the school holidays
- Romsey Mill Trust – awarded £6,000 towards the Aspire programme – a life and social skills programme for young people with autism.
£13,900 has also been awarded to 14 applicants as ‘Small’ Community Grants for community groups seeking lower levels of funding of up to £2,000.
In addition, £70,000 of the total Community Grant funding has been allocated for Area Committee Community Grants to fund projects in local neighbourhoods. The closing date for applications for these grants is 31 January 2024.
Cllr Rachel Wade, Executive Councillor for Communities, said: “I am proud and pleased that we have been able to award funding to so many local community groups and non-profit organisations in the city who deliver services and projects that can be life changing to residents.
“Having worked in the local community myself, including as a volunteer, I am very passionate about community work. I see the huge positive changes that these groups and their hard work make to people’s daily life. The value of the support they provide residents is immeasurable which is why as a council we are keen to support them in any way we can. All the members of the community and voluntary sector should be proud of the work they deliver and the support they offer.
“The Community Grants highlight our commitment to supporting those that deliver that vital work and our continued support for the most vulnerable in our communities.”
The proposed grants allocations are subject to approval of the council’s budget at a meeting of Full Council on 15 February 2024.
