Relaunch of community funding scheme in Northumberland

A community funding scheme has been relaunched by Northumberland County Council, which has committed £375,300 for this year.
Peter Jackson at the Northumberland General Election count 2017Peter Jackson at the Northumberland General Election count 2017
Peter Jackson at the Northumberland General Election count 2017

One of the key changes to the authority’s Community Chest Fund is a new grant aimed specifically at the under 18s.

Under the new plans, there will be a Help For You scheme for young people. Grants of up to £200 will be available to help individuals under 18 in pursuing a particular ambition, whether it is sporting, musical or academic.

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Previous local and countywide elements of the community chest have been retained following a review.

For local schemes, there will be a £5,000 upper grant limit with a maximum award of 75 per cent of the cost of any proposal. These will be managed and allocated by Northumberland’s five new local area councils.

Each local area council will also have the flexibility to identify particular priority themes which are seen as particularly relevant to their communities.

For the countywide element, the pot has been doubled to £60,000. There will be no upper grant limit, but the maximum grant award will be 75 per cent of the project’s costs.

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Leader of Northumberland County Council, Coun Peter Jackson, said: “We are delighted to relaunch this much-valued community funding scheme.

“We know that it has been of great benefit to communities across the county and wished to make sure that this benefit is enhanced in the future.

“One of the most exciting improvements is that we have widened the appeal of the fund to the younger generation. We have introduced a grant specifically dedicated to individuals under 18s, called Help For You. This is aimed at assisting young people to pursue their ambitions which could be sporting, musical or academic.

“We have also ensured that there is a consistent approach to assessing projects across the county, with the Community Chest budget managed and allocated locally by each area council and based broadly on the population living within that area.”

There will be two funding rounds each year with the deadline for the first round of applications scheduled for Friday, September 29.