Deadline: 10-Mar-23
Westmeath County Council is currently inviting grant applications for the Community Support Fund 2022-2023 under the Community Enhancement Programme.
The Community Support Fund (CSF) provides funding to support community groups across Westmeath and particularly in disadvantaged areas. This grant is aimed at supporting groups:
- With their non-pay running costs for example energy costs (electricity costs, refuse charges, heating charges) or other non-pay operating costs for example rental/lease costs, insurance bills.
- With the funding to carry out necessary repairs and improvements to their facilities, purchase equipment such as tables and chairs, tools and signage, laptops and printers, lawnmowers, canopies and training equipment etc.
This funding will help communities, community groups and committees, allowing them to continue to provide valuable services to the people in their area, and in the process strengthen the bonds that tie communities together. There is also additional ringfenced funding for Women’s sheds.
Funding Information
- The Department has recommended that LCDCs ring-fence 30% funding to provide small grants of €1,000 or less. Ring-fencing funding at this level will allow a larger volume of those with limited resources to receive some funding. The programme can also fund or partially fund larger scale projects to address disadvantage.
Target Groups
- This funding is targeted towards supporting communities that are impacted by disadvantage as identified in the LECP.
Eligibility Criteria
- Any not-for-profit community or voluntary group can apply.
- Commercial organisations and individuals are not eligible for funding.
Selection Criteria
- Applications will be evaluated by Westmeath LCDC to ensure eligibility and that they are targeted at addressing disadvantage as identified in its LECP. Projects must be in keeping with the ethos of the programme, which is to provide funding to communities across Ireland to enhance facilities in disadvantaged areas.
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Projects may also be judged having regard to how they:
- Support local groups and clubs, which serve their communities.
- invest to increase or extend the use of the facility, for example, to voluntary and community groups.
- reduce the annual running cost of a facility.
- have a positive impact on the environment, for example, a reduction in energy consumption.
- demonstrate collaboration with the local authority or other relevant bodies in the catchment area.
- support the creation of a sense of place within the community including through the enhancement of the built environment.
- address health and safety issues; and/or,
- invest in technology which will be accessed by individuals and communities that are impacted by disadvantage.
- Projects may also be judged having regard to additional criteria deemed appropriate by the Westmeath County Council/LCDC which demonstrate the added value of the project or element of a project in suitably addressing the programme's aims in each Local Authority administrative area.
For more information, visit Westmeath County Council.