£350,000 AVAILABLE NOW

£350,000 AVAILABLE NOW

FOR STAFFORDSHIRE’S CLUBS AND COMMUNITY GROUPS.

If you run a club or community group in Staffordshire, then you may be eligible to receive help from The Staffordshire Community Foundation, which has over £350,000 to give away before the end of March 2009.

The money is part of a three year long £130 million nationwide drive by the Government, to support thousands of groups and projects across the country, working to improve their local communities. In Staffordshire there’s £1.3 million pounds available for clubs and community groups between now and March 31st 2011.

If your community group is doing valuable work, but you’re finding it hard to raise money for equipment, maintenance, or essentials that would help ensure the group’s long-term existence, then we may be able to help. Grants are available up to a maximum of £5,000.

If you’d like to find out more about the initiative – and whether or not you qualify - then visit our website – www.staffsfoundation.org.uk. There, you’ll be able to see the criteria and download an application form. If you need to ask any questions, then please do call either Terry or Melanie on 01782-683000.

If you want to maximise the chances of receiving a grant, then we prefer it to be a request that’ll help ensure the long-term sustainability of your organisation. Whether it be equipment, repairs to your club headquarters, rent, insurance, training courses for volunteers, or funding for a special project, let us know. It’s all about making a difference by helping voluntary groups across Staffordshire.

Notes to Editors:
· Eligible groups must be volunteer led; have a constitution or set of rules; a turnover under £20,000 a year and be based in Staffordshire. If the £350,000 isn’t spent by the end of next March, it has to be returned to The Treasury.
· There are 58 Community Foundations across Britain. The Staffordshire foundation was the most recent to form and aims to build up at least £2 million of permanent endowment funds over the next three years, enabling it to award even more grants to needy communities.
· For more information (and case studies of grant recipients in your area), call the Staffordshire Foundation’s Director on 01782-683018 or 07973-785641.