Small Grants Making a Big Difference

GRASSROOT and voluntary groups across Reading are being offered yet another chance to bid for pots of money to deliver activities which help open up new opportunities for people, particularly those who live in communities where the need is greatest.

The Council’s Small Grants Fund initiative continues to go from strength to strength. Last year hundreds of residents benefitted from an array of free activities and training sessions delivered by Reading’s incredible voluntary sector under the theme of tackling inequality (* see notes to editors). The theme runs in parallel with Reading Borough Council’s own vision which is ‘to help Reading realise its potential and to ensure that everyone who lives and works here can share the benefits of its success.’

The Council has today (Nov 27) opened up the bidding process for round two of this year’s initiative. More information - including on how to bid - can be found at www.reading.gov.uk/SmallGrantsFund

An overall pot of £100,000 has been made available by the Council to be shared among community and voluntary groups, no matter how small.  Grants of up to £5,000 are available, or £10,000 for partnership bids.

Whilst a hugely successful town, people in parts of Reading do not have the same life chances as their more affluent neighbours. Bids are therefore being invited for activities which support residents to become more self-sufficient built around educational attainment, strong skills and practical knowledge which could help people realise their potential by accessing suitable employment opportunities. 

The grants programme is aimed at voluntary and community groups, and schools based in Reading borough. They could include a wide range of groups such as charitable organisations, voluntary organisations, community groups, faith groups, sports groups, arts and cultural groups, uniformed groups (scouts, guides etc), Reading schools and not-for-profit social enterprises. Groups which were successful in the first round of Small Grants Fund bids earlier this year can bid a second time.

The deadline for applications is 30 January 2024 and the Council is aiming to inform groups whether they have been successful or not by the first week of March 2024.

Councillor Jason Brock, Reading Council Leader, said:

“Reading remains a town of contrasts. Our powerful local economy can belie the challenges existing in some communities that we know create barriers to progress. The ongoing cost of living crisis has only widened the gap and, as a Council, we rightly feel the weight of responsibility to help tackle this inequality by opening up new opportunities for residents through provision of funding to a range of community and voluntary groups across Reading who have the skills, knowledge and experience to reach those residents who will benefit the most.”

Councillor Liz Terry, Lead for Corporate Services and Resources, said: 

“It is incredible to see the array of activities and the sheer number of residents benefitting from the Council’s funding pots and the new life opportunities which may open up as a result. This place-based approach recognises that each local community has different needs and that the most effective way to reach residents is often through groups or organisations based in those communities who are best placed to engage with them. All of this would not be possible of course without Reading’s amazing voluntary sector who will no doubt step up again.”

Notes To Editor:

A total of 70 applications were received in the first round of the 2022/23 Small Grant Fund scheme, with 25 groups successful in sharing £100,000 worth of grants. Residents who benefitted include:

• 5,000 people attended Reading Mela – an annual event to celebrate music, art and culture of South Asia. A £5,000 Council grant helped host more than 50 artists performed during the event, including emerging local talents,  28 different type of food stalls and 35 shopping stalls.
• 90 children benefitted from qualified coaching skills at Ranikhet Academy School’s Friday Technical Football training courtesy of a £5,000 grant to Centre Skills Sports CIC
• 68 free places for children with diagnoses of Autism, ADHD and sensory processing issues and children with high anxiety whose families are unable to pay, at Gabriels Wellbeing and Education CIC paid for with a £4,990 Small Grants Fund grant.
• 28 children and young people with additional needs and disabilities were helped by volunteer befrienders to partake in mainstream leisure activities, thanks to a £5,000 grant provided to Me2 Club
• 40 older people attended the over 60’s ‘Thursday Club’ thanks to activities provided Older People’s Activities in Caversham (OPAC), partially funded with a £900 grant
• Rabble Theatre was awarded £5,000 to enable five adults and five young people who are restricted by finances and in Reading's areas of lowest cultural engagement. Students performed Oscar Wilde plays in Reading University’s Theatre to paying audiences for the first time in their lives
• 40 people benefitted from English speaking classes thanks to a £2,000 grant awarded to the Reading Ex- British Gurkha Association (REBGA) was awarded £2,000 to conduct English class to the Gurkha elderly ladies who could not speak English
• 42 young local people aged 16 plus were helped to access opportunities in supporting other children and young people access sport and exercise sessions for their mental health, thanks to a £4,500 grant provided to Sport in Mind
• Thameside Primary School was awarded £5,000 to develop sensory play area for SEN children
• 70 people benefitted from monthly meetings and planned training and events provided by The Jamaica Society and Friends (Reading) as a result of a £1,500 grant
• The Rising Sun Arts Centre, Double Okay and Iota Events were awarded £6,840 to set up a new services for LGBTQIA+ people to engage in creative, arts-based activity sessions.