Rural communities to apply for Prince’s Countryside Fund grants
- Countryside
The Prince’s Countryside Fund (PCF), a subsidiary of The Prince of Wales's Charitable Fund (PWCF) is opening for grant applications of up to £10,000 on Tuesday 2nd February thanks to support from Barclays. In April 2020, Barclays announced a £100m Community Aid Package to support charities that are helping people and communities most impacted by Covid-19. £10m of this funding has been donated through their 100x100 UK Covid-19 Community Relief Programme, with the PCF being one of 100 UK charities each receiving a donation of £100,000, allowing their important work to continue.
The PCF was chosen by a selection committee to support the long-term resilience and sustainability of the UK’s rural communities following the Covid-19 pandemic to offer grant funding to projects in economically deprived, rural areas which are delivering vital community services and enhancing the lives of people who live there. Since the start of the pandemic, the PCF has given out over £365,000 to 101 rural communities.
The grant round opens on Tuesday 2nd February for rural communities from across the UK to apply for grants of up to £10,000 and will close when enough eligible applications have been received.
Successful projects will build on the community’s responses to the Covid-19 pandemic and must show how they are contributing to the resilience of the community. Applications should be from settlements with up to 3,000 residents and properly constituted, community-led organisations with a turnover under £500,000 per year, which can demonstrate how beneficiaries will be drawn from the local community.
Keith Halstead, Executive Director of The Prince’s Countryside Fund said: “The Prince’s Countryside Fund is a nation-wide charity which powers community-led solutions through our grant programmes and now thanks to Barclays we can support even more communities in rural areas who are tackling the impact of Covid-19.
“We particularly want to invest in those groups and organisations in settlements, villages and small towns across the UK who are at the forefront of responding quickly to the changing needs of their locality. We have seen how the ability to change builds resilience and, therefore, through this additional funding from Barclays, we specifically want to help projects which will really make an impact on the ground enabling their community to bounce back and thrive.”
Nigel Higgins, Barclays Group Chairman, said: “Covid-19 has created an unprecedented social and economic impact in the UK, with many sadly experiencing greater hardship due to the crisis. Incredible charities, such as The Prince’s Countryside Fund have been playing a vital role in the UK’s response to the pandemic, ensuring urgent help reaches those most in need of support. As a bank we have been doing all we can for our customers, clients and colleagues, and we hope that our 100×100 programme and wider community aid package helps ensure that everybody in the communities in which we live and work is supported through this crisis.”
Find out more and apply here: www.princescountrysidefund.org.uk/grants
For further information or interview requests please contact Tessa Berridge, Communications and Events Officer at The Prince’s Countryside Fund on tberridge@countrysidefund.org.uk or 07990 374073.
