Leeds Community Foundation have launched The Leeds Fund strategic grants programme to support Resilience of Community Organisations across the city. The £600k fund will distribute grants to grassroots groups supporting core costs which will enable strategic development work alongside daily delivery, giving the sector the best chance of both delivering effectively – and surviving- in the years ahead.
Leeds Community Foundation launched The Leeds Fund in 2016 with nearly £2million distributed in grants to local community projects. Working closely with Community Organisations and key partners, the Foundation has a deep understanding of the needs of local people and where investment needs to be prioritised and directed.
The priority for The Leeds Fund in 2021 is Resilience, providing a lifeline and long-term stability for grassroots groups serving our communities. The Foundation will be seeking to attract investment into The Leeds Fund to support the sector by providing single and multi-year grants, which will enable groups to develop their operating and funding models and plan for the future. Priorities in previous years have focused around Mental Health and Loneliness and Inclusion.
Kate Hainsworth, Chief Executive of Leeds Community Foundation said:
“There is no doubt community-led activity has played a crucial role in national wellbeing and resilience during Covid-19 – closely connected with and complementing our emergency public services. What is less visible, is how fragmented and fragile is the infrastructure behind that community support — and how vulnerable it is to being swamped or swept away by the ongoing crisis. We need to invest more, and more consistently, in sustained resourcing of the community sector.”
Steph Taylor, Programmes Director at Leeds Community Foundation added:
“We’ve worked with a wide range of partners and groups we fund to develop this programme and approach and are committed to continuing to learn from our Community Organisations. We distributed nearly £790,000 in emergency funding to keep organisations existing during the initial Covid-19 lockdown in April 2020 and we hope The Leeds Fund strategic grants will support those frontline groups to continue to exist and thrive now and for many more years to come.
“We are also committed to ensure we can increase The Leeds Fund pot to keep the funds flowing to more and more in the years ahead and are working with existing and new donors to pledge support for The Leeds Fund in 2021.”
Grants of up to £30,000 are available and the closing date for applications is Friday 12 February 2021. For more information click here.
This post is based on a press release issued by Leeds Community Foundation
