Grants up for grabs this winter

Christmas has come early for change makers, social entrepreneurs, voluntary and community groups and third sector organisations in Denbighshire this year. 

Denbighshire Voluntary Services Council (DVSC) launched four grant rounds at their Winter Funding Fair, which took place at the Naylor Leyland Centre in Ruthin last Thursday.

The Dementia Aware Denbighshire Community Led Grants, Welsh Church Act funding for wellbeing initiatives as well as community grants for Learning Disabilities and the Youth Led grant programme opened for business on 12^th December with a total up to £23K available. 

The deadline for applications for all grant programmes is the 20^th of January 2020. Match funding from the Welsh Church Act will also be available for projects meeting the fund’s criteria.

At the funding fair DVSC welcomed over 20 voluntary and community groups, social entrepreneurs and Third Sector organisations from Denbighshire. 

They met with different funders one to one and DVSC staff were at hand to talk them through the grant criteria, answer questions and give examples of best practices.

Dementia Aware Denbighshire Community Led Grant

DVSC is continuing to spread awareness about dementia throughout the county by launching a third round of Dementia Aware Denbighshire grants of between £250 and £2,000.

Helen Wilkinson, Chief Executive at DVSC, explains: “For this third round we have set criteria around place-based activities which can raise awareness about dementia. We are also encouraging collaboration and partnership between organisations and projects that are building community capacity.”

The grants will be open to voluntary and community groups, social entrepreneurs, third sector organisations, social enterprises, small businesses and individuals in Denbighshire. As with the first two rounds a volunteer led Dementia Aware decision-making panel, including people with lived experience, will review the applications and make funding decisions.

Welsh Church Act

The Welsh Church Act Fund, with grants of up to £500 available, supports wellbeing and will be open for both specific applications and match funding. “The aim of the fund is to support voluntary action and local voluntary and community groups in Denbighshire”, Helen says. “Groups can apply for the grants for activities relating to or based in church run premises. Projects battling loneliness and isolation or promoting wellbeing can also be funded through the grants.”

Organisations applying for the Dementia Aware Denbighshire, the Learning Disabilities grants or the Youth Led Grant programme can get match funding from the Welsh Church Act, providing they meet the criteria set for the funding.

Denbighshire Learning Disabilities Grant

Grants of up to £ 1,000 are available for community groups and organisations thanks to the Denbighshire Learning Disabilities programme. Helen elaborates: “It is the first time we will be distributing these funds, for which we have set several criteria. Schemes aiming to integrate people with learning disabilities into mainstream activities, initiatives around progression from child to adult services and projects focussing on raising awareness with employers are just a few of the applications to be eligible for funding.”

Youth Led Grants

The final grant programme that was launched at the Funding Fair is a second round of Youth Led Grant funding. The aim of the Youth Led Grants is to support a range of small volunteering projects and activities, led and carried out by young people which are based around six priority areas identified by Welsh Government.  

“The projects that will be awarded funding will be those which have the potential to make the greatest contribution to long-term prosperity and wellbeing”, Helen continues. “So, we encourage applications built around one of the six criteria being early years, better mental health, housing, skills and employability, social care or decarbonisation.” An independent youth led panel will be reviewing the applications.

If you are interested in applying for one of these exciting funding programmes, you can find all necessary information on the DVSC website: www.dvsc.co.uk/grants. Alternatively, you can call Mair, DVSC’s Community Development Officer or Gareth, #DenbighshireVolunteers Support Officer on 01824 702 441. DVSC is supporting all grant applicants with a free organisational health check, increasing each organisation’s chances to get the right funds for their next project.

* If you want to find out what the future holds, you can sign up for DVSC’s Spring Funding Fair, to be held on 25^th March at the Market Hall in Ruthin. To confirm your attendance for the fair, follow the Eventbrite link: bit.ly/SpringFundingFair2020. More details about the Fair and other exciting events will be announced on DVSC’s social media channels, Twitter and Facebook or you can follow Denbighshire Voluntary Services Council on Eventbrite to be notified of any upcoming events. You can also sign up to DVSC’s Sector Support Bulletin.