Partnering for local impact
As experts in the needs of their local communities, and through their established relationships and networks with grassroots organisations in their geographical area, community foundations are best placed to direct funding to those who need it most.
We recently teamed up with Cheshire Community Foundation to help more groups from Wales to benefit from the Assura Community Fund.
Our alliance with Cheshire Community Foundation is a great example of how partnership working can ensure maximum local impact without having to start from scratch and duplicate efforts in an unfamiliar area.
With only five applications from Wales last year, we worked with Cheshire Community Foundation to ensure that communities across Wales could access the support offered from the Assura Community Fund.
We promoted the Assura Community Fund across our digital channels and carried out the assessments of applications. Many of the applicants were known to Community Foundation Wales so we understood the context of their applications and could provide additional and nuanced information which was particularly helpful when it came to the grants panel.
As a result of our partnership with Cheshire Community Foundation, the Assura Community Fund received 44 applications from Wales and awarded 22 grants totalling just under £100,000.
Angela Richardson, Grants Consultant at Cheshire Community Foundation said:
“Community Foundation Wales did a great job of promoting, raising awareness and assessing applications for the Assura Grants for Wales, which was delivered on time and to a very high standard.
The Panel really valued the grants team’s input at panel, providing points of clarification and background geographical and thematic context that is always so useful when having to make some difficult choices on which projects to fund.
There is no doubt that working with Community Foundation Wales significantly raised awareness of the Assura Community Fund in Wales.”
For help and support with grant funding, click here.
