Community money up for grabs

COMMUNITY groups in Oldham are being urged to apply for more than £72,000 of grant money.

A total of £72,715 is still available through the Community Foundation’s Grassroots Fund — but only until September.

The fund was set up by the Government’s Office for the Third Sector to support small voluntary and community groups across the country.

It has some £797,000 of grant money to spend between now and September across Greater Manchester as a whole.

Many community groups have already benefited from funding from the Grassroots Grants scheme, including Royton Local History Society which received over £4,000 to support their activities on an archaeological site on which the group has been working on since 2005.

Nick Massey, chief executive of the Community Foundation, said: “This fund is open to a wide range of groups — play schemes, music groups, sports teams, lunch clubs or tenants and residents’ associations.

“Groups must have been in existence for over 12 months prior to the date of applying and be volunteer-led.

“Once this money has gone, it’s gone.”

Awards of up to £5,000 are available and can be used to fund a range of activities such as purchasing equipment, putting on a local event, and as a contributing to rent costs and the training of volunteers.

To apply for a grant from the Grassroots Fund, call the Community Foundation on 0161-214 0940. Alternatively, visit the website at www.communityfoundation.co.uk and follow the links.