Successful Bidders Chosen for Council’s Small Grants Fund Initiative

THIRTY voluntary and community groups across Reading will this year share grants totalling nearly £125,000 as part of the Council’s ever-popular Small Grants Fund initiative.

The groups will be awarded individual pots of up to £5,000 each following a bidding window which ran through the Autumn and a detailed review of all bids received.

Reading Borough Council has once again set aside funding for its Small Grants Fund scheme in recognition that not all of the town's residents enjoy the same life chances. The Council’s vision remains for Reading to reach its potential and to ensure that everyone living and working here can share the benefits of its success.

The funding will go towards funding a wide variety of activities or participation opportunities across the town to help local people build the skills and practical knowledge they need to access employment opportunities.

Some examples of the activities which will now be delivered as a direct result of this year’s initiative include:

• Tailored workshops, work experience and outreach with schools and colleges run by Graft Thames Valley, helping 19- to 25-year-old neurodivergent young people build confidence and develop the practical skills needed to move into paid work
• Connecting young people and older residents from Whitley Wood, South Reading and Norcot by providing real world work experience through a Making Places project delivered by Real Time Video
• Improving the diet of residents who make use of food pantries in Coley and Southcote by teaching them cooking skills, as part of a local initiative run by Torch Help Hub
• Reading Bike Hub will provide people with skills to gain employment by allowing volunteers to work on bikes with trained mechanics
• A community-led kitchen led by The Engine Room on the Dee Park Estate which blends art sessions with shared meal preparation for adults facing mental health challenges
• Women-only DIY workshops for 24 women from across Reading’s most deprived wards, run by Nail It DIY CIC
• Increased provision by the RAFT Club (Reading Autism Families Together) to support autistic children who struggle to access mainstream play settings
• A community-led wellbeing and empowerment programme by Project Salama to support survivors of domestic abuse, along with their young children
• The continued production of a magazine produced by groups of people with learning difficulties for over 20 years, delivered by the Rising Sun Arts Centre
• Spreading cancer awareness materials among ethnic groups by the Reading Cancer Champions Support Group, in particular where language may be a barrier to understanding prevention

 Reading Council Leader, Councillor Liz Terry, said:

“There can be all sorts of reasons why some residents would not enjoy the same life chances as others in our town. The Council’s Small Grants Fund aims to bridge that gap, with the help of Reading’s incredible voluntary sector, whose activities can sometimes be the small stepping stone people need to make a real difference in their lives. That can be as simple as offering people the opportunity to interact or socialise with others in their community around a set activity, or building specific skills which could eventually lead them into paid employment.”

 Ellie Emberson, Lead Councillor for Corporate Services and Resources, added:

 “I’d like to thank every one of the 45 voluntary and community groups who took the time to submit a bid as part of this year’s Small Grants Fund initiative.  There was a particular focus this year on tailoring the criteria towards smaller community groups who have not necessarily benefitted from Council funding previously and for groups who may be delivering brand new local initiatives. Once again, Reading’s voluntary sector has stepped up to offer a wide variety of activities to benefit those individuals in our communities whose individual circumstances mean they do not always enjoy the same opportunities as others.”

Organisations with an annual income of over £100,000 and organisations that have received more than £20,000 of funding from the Council were not eligible to apply as part of this year’s Small Grants Fund scheme.  Recommendations for funding have been made following the scoring of the bids against the set criteria by Council officers from Policy, Sustainable Communities, Culture, Children’s Services, Commissioning, and from New Directions College.