A £9MILLION pot of Commonwealth Games legacy cash is being made available for grassroots projects that will unite communities across Warwickshire and get local people more physically and mentally active.
Community groups, charities, not-for-profit organisations, schools and colleges can bid for a share of the Inclusive Communities Fund – the biggest amount of legacy money to be given out in public grants.
Grants of between £500 and £300,000 are available for projects that will ensure the positive and long-lasting legacy from last summer’s Games is felt right across the region.
These could include improvements to local facilities, grassroots sports, community, arts and cultural events, and major projects. All must share the Fund’s goal of bringing people together, improving health and wellbeing, helping the region to grow, and putting the region on the map.
The money is being made available for the benefit of local people after the Government agreed to invest the £70million Games underspend back into the region following successful negotiations led by Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands and the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).
The Inclusive Communities Fund is being delivered by the WMCA in partnership with the Heart of England Community Foundation and United by 2022, the official Games legacy charity.
Mr Street said: “With this new fund, we’re putting a significant amount of cash directly into the hands of local people in communities right across our region for them to decide exactly how to spend it.
“This funding means there is now £10million being put to work drawn from the Games Budget underspend that we negotiated with Government to be allowed to retain for the benefit of locally led projects that tangibly improve the lives of local people.
“Whether that’s better facilities in neighbourhoods, events that help forge new friendships, or activities that improve our collective health and wellbeing, I would encourage as many people as possible to step forward and bid for their share of this cash. I look forward to seeing lives changed for the better in the months and years ahead.”
Full details about the Inclusive Communities Fund and how to apply are available at www.wmca.org.uk/what-we-do/commonwealth-games-legacy-enhancement-fund/inclusive-communities/
