'Real Help for Communities: Modernisation Fund'
As you may be aware, Community First has been successful in its bid to be a Local Delivery Agent (LDA) for the Capacitybuilders ‘Real Help for Communities: Modernisation Fund’ 2009/10, which aims “to help viable third sector organisations be more resilient to the impact of the economic downturn”.There will be 2 phases of funding, bursaries of up to £1000 to cover the costs of 2 or more days of professional support, which we will administer, to help orgs increase their impact and become more resilient (including through working more closely with others); followed by grants of up to £10000 later in the year which will probably be administered directly by Capacitybuilders. (Details of eligibility criteria, timescales, etc are contained in the attached flyer for information).
Community First’s role as LDA will be to:
• Promote the Fund through workshops, presentations, email, etc to VCS organisations in Herefordshire and Worcestershire
• Assemble a group of advisers that will provide advice and support to organisations that have been awarded a bursary
• Verify the details that organisations supply in their applications and that the advisers have provided the required support
• Respond to enquiries from VCS organisations and advisers
One of the ways in which we intend to promote the fund is by means of presentations at local VCS network meetings. If you are aware of any such meetings scheduled between mid May and mid June, I would be grateful to receive details, to see if there might be an opportunity to attend, to help get information about the Fund out to the sector.
All enquiries about the Fund should be directed to Paul Paice Access to Services Officer in the first instance. Paul can be contacted at Community First's Hereford office or by telephone on 01432 262970. Please also see the attached PDF for further details.