COMMUNITY Fund Making Emergency Grants Available To Local GroupsINVERCLYDE Community Fund has been relaunched and has widened its support to include local organisations affected by coronavirus.
The fund is a charitable trust which makes small grants to voluntary groups and distributes money through a number of grant programmes, some on behalf of public and private sector partners.
Three new trustees have been appointed as part of the relaunch — Inverclyde councillor Elizabeth Robertson, businessman Andrew Bowman and former Inverclyde Chamber of Commerce chief Executive, Helen McCormick.
They join existing trustees Eleanor Robertson and Susan Robinson, to complete the new board.
The fund, which was first created in 2012 by third sector umbrella organisation CVS Inverclyde, has a new website, new logo and social media platforms.
Recognising that Inverclyde is facing a real challenge at this time, Inverclyde Community Fund is making a pot of £5,000 available to fund grants of up to £250, enabling small groups to make a difference in their communities during the pandemic.
The wider fund will also provide grants for community groups and voluntary organisations of up to £500, with the aim of supporting projects and activities that benefit Inverclyde people and communities facing up to the virus crisis .
Eleanor Robertson, chair of Inverclyde Community Fund said: “I’m delighted to welcome my fellow trustees, as we launch the new Inverclyde Community Fund.
“The fund provides valuable financial support to help local voluntary groups and charities to make a difference for our communities.
“We’ve extended our usual parameters to make an emergency COVID-19 Fund available, which will help to offer solutions for groups affected by the pandemic. I would invite local voluntary organisations to consider applying to the fund to see if we are able to support their aims and further help Inverclyde through this crisis.”
Newly appointed trustee Helen McCormick said: “I’m thrilled to have joined the ICF Board and feel that this revamp provides a freshness and a great opportunity for groups to access some small-scale funding towards their projects.
“ICF works alongside a number of businesses to manage Community Benefit funds, as part of the procurement of their projects, and we welcome any other businesses locally that wish to donate to the fund, which we can manage on their behalf.”
Local groups that have benefitted from the scheme in the past include Compassionate Inverclyde, Inverclyde Shed and Inverclyde Foodbank.
Fraser Donaldson from Inverclyde Foodbank said: “When the foodbank was first starting out, funding was quite difficult to obtain but ICF stepped into the void to provide a small grant.
“That seed fund really started us off and enabled us to help more people and be effective within the community. We are still really grateful for that funding and recommend other groups make an application to Inverclyde Community Fund.”
ICF accepts applications at any time throughout the year and any groups looking to receive a response will know within two weeks whether they have been successful.
Anyone interested in applying for support from the COVID-19 Fund should apply online through the Inverclyde Community Fund website.
