£250,000 Grants Available to Make North Yorkshire's Communities Safer

North Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Julia Mulligan, has announced that a new £250k pot of grant funding will be available to charities and community groups who want to run community safety project in their area.

The decision to make new funding available follows the success of the previous year’s funding, which has been helped fund 29 projects across the county benefitting thousands of individuals.

Applicants have until 7 July to apply for the first of four rounds of funding this financial year and until 1 September to apply for the second round.

The Community Fund was launched in May last year (2013) to enable local organisations, groups or individuals to fund a new community safety project or scheme in their area.

Grants of between £500 and £20,000 are awarded for specific projects including:

• Extra-curricular or ‘diversionary’ activities for children and young people
• Promoting safety and reducing the fear of crime and anti-social behaviour
• Support for victims
• Improving community cohesion
• Preventing crime and anti-social behaviour
• Supporting the purchase of specific pieces of equipment

Julia Mulligan said: “From rehabilitating offenders to creating beneficial activities for young people in areas affected by antisocial behaviour, the Community Fund is making a tangible difference in communities across North Yorkshire. It is empowering local people to identify a community safety issue in their area, propose a solution and then receive the financial backing to see it through to fruition.

“I want to make it as easy as possible for people to apply for this money and work with them to create high-quality bids that have measurable benefits and stand a good chance of success in their applications. You can call the Community Fund ‘helpline’ for guidance on what’s likely to be supported, as well as practical advice on how to submit your application. Just call 101 and ask for Community Fund.”

Funding will be released on a quarterly basis.  Applications will be judged on merit, rather than on a geographical or ‘first come, first served’ basis.