A celebration event recognising the 27 projects who were recently awarded grants from Knowsley Council’s Stronger Communities Fund was held at Our Place in Huyton on Friday 17 March.
The event brought together groups and organisations from across the borough who provide effective support to those in need, one of the three key priorities in the Knowsley Council Plan 2022-2025
Cllr Graham Morgan, Leader of Knowsley Council welcomed the groups to the event and attendees also heard from two of the successful organisations, Swanside Community Centre and Eco Therapy Garden CIC before being treated to a dance performance by members of Kirkby’s Happy Hours group.
Organisations in the voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sectors were invited to apply for grants at the end of 2022. Groups could apply for up to £2,000 for new organisations or projects that required ‘seed funding’ to launch and test their activities. Established organisations could apply for up to £10,000 to sustain, extend or expand existing projects.
More than £220,000 was allocated and approved by Cabinet at the end of February.
About the Stronger Communities Fund
Members approved plans to launch a Stronger Communities Fund at its Cabinet in November 2022, having allocated a one-off £250,000 investment earlier in the year. The Fund will support groups to develop and strengthen their activities.
Over the past five years, the Council has invested £1.2m into Knowsley’s voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sector and this fund will particularly support groups helping families deal with the challenges brought by the current cost of living crisis.
The principles of the fund will also support the priorities in the Knowsley Council Plan, which has a clear vision of supporting ‘Knowsley’s People and Communities to thrive’ by providing effective support for those in need, inclusive growth and skills, and achieving Net Zero by 2040.
You can view a full list of the successful projects here