Awareness Seminar – Community Ownership Fund

SCVO is organising a seminar for Voluntary and Community organisations to find out more about the Government’s Community Ownership Fund, which is being made available from the  Department of Housing, Communities and Local Government (DHCLG).

It is part of the ‘levelling up’ agenda in which the government seeks to support areas where social capital and community identity, as well as how people feel about themselves, is threatened and which leads to a lack of cohesion.

The government recognises that many community places, which are a hub of support for communities, are closing, with the loss of benefits to the community.

They are also noticing that such hubs, when threatened in affluent areas, are rescued by the community as they have the means to do so.

For example, a community pub threatened in a rural area populated by affluent people was rescued by the community. Just 8 people in the community got together and raised enough community share capital in an evening with phone calls to each other. They made an offer to the landlord and the pub became a community business with a post office, health centre, taxi hub etc!

This might not have happened in a deprived area where the residents do not have the confidence and means to raise community capital so easily.

The Government is making up to £250K of grant funding available and they require a match contribution, but have not stipulated the amount. In exceptional circumstances (rugby & cricket clubs), they are prepared to go up to £1million.

If this is something that interests you – perhaps you already operate a community ‘place’ that could benefit from broader direct community ‘ownership’ or you may have ideas about places in your local community that might be under threat – why not come and find out more about the opportunities and barriers to accessing this funding.

We’re delivering this seminar on Tuesday, 2nd November 2021 from 2-3pm, via Zoom, and if you’d like to register a place then please register via our Eventbrite page: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/community-ownership-fund-tickets-190985953127 (tickets are FREE, but need to be reserved in advance).