Bedford organisations can apply for community grants worth £20,000 - here's how

To help support the community during this time, organisations in Bedford can apply for up to £20,000 grant funding to help people to get into work.

SEMLEP’s (South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership) Community Grant programme has re-opened for funding, the programme has already awarded over £600,000, which is supporting 666 people to date.

The programme is for voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSE) to deliver bespoke projects that help currently unemployed individuals in the hardest to reach communities to take up training or get back into work.

Successful projects support people to develop confidence, self-esteem, enhance their employability skills and transferrable life skills.

Gayle Parker, Operations Manager, SEMLEP said: “It’s crucial that we support our community during these uncertain times.

“Through this funding programme SEMLEP is providing much-needed investment into local community projects that are dedicated to improving the quality of life of individuals who find getting into work or training difficult.”

The Community Grant programme does not require any ‘match funding’ which means the grant can cover 100 per cent of the project cost.

For more information about the programme, or to register your interest, visit www.semlep.com/community-grants.

The Community Grants programme is delivered by SEMLEP, supported by Voluntary Impact Northamptonshire and funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Education Skills Funding Agency (ESFA).

The programme is currently delivering contracts until 2021, however the programme is awaiting a contract extension until 2023.