Micro Fund Grant – £3,941.60
Meriel of our Supporting Communities Team first met with the group after PyC referred them following a failed bid to the fund.
During the meeting she learnt all about them and their ideas – they had a robust, realistic, exciting, intergenerational, environmental community project. Meriel worked with them to: facilitate group discussions on their vision for the project / encourage members to think about other groups and how they could become involved in the project and ensured wider partners joined the Group to provide quality on-going support e.g. Keep Wales Tidy.
She also checked and refreshed the constitution, policies and insurance and helped them to develop an action and delivery plan
A previous application to the fund was declined but working with Meriel allowed them to submit a robust funding application to Pen y Cymoedd they were awarded £3,941.60 from the Micro Fund.
Their activities now include:
- Looking after community garden and sculpture trail
- Working with Cwmaman Primary School’s Eco Group, the Cwmaman Walking Group, Keep Wales Tidy, Cllr Tina Williams, Welcome to Our Woods, a local Builder, Maesnewydd Garden Centre, St Julian’s Church, local PCSO’s, Arts Factory, Cynon Valley Community and Wellbeing Coordinators (Interlink).
- Intergenerational litter picking.
- A poster competition with the local schoolchildren to feature the drawings on future publicity.
- Raising awareness of local nature trails.
- Improving habitats for wildlife and community bulb planting.
- Attending community fairs and events to advertise their activity and recruit new members.
- An annual planning day where the group evaluate their project and make plans for the following year.
‘We could not have done this Application without you Meriel. This new Application is so much better than the last. We have enjoyed our meetings and what we have planned for the future. Exciting times. Thank you’.
Mike Rosser, Cwmaman Woodland Group Chair.
If you have a community project in mind or want to develop and strengthen your project to apply for funding but feel like you need some support then our Supporting Communities Team can help you. Meriel from Interlink RCT and Carys from NPT CVS provide development support to Fund applicants and grant recipients. They can provide hands-on support and introductions to further specialist services when needed. Building on local strengths and assets, communities are being supported to develop and deliver projects, programmes and enterprises that address local issues – sharing skills, knowledge and experiences.
If you or your organisation or business has a project in mind, small or large, the Community Fund welcomes enquiries. Find out about our Micro and Vision Fund grant programmes on our website – www.penycymoeddcic.cymru – or give Michelle or Kate a call on 07458 300 117 / 07458 300 123. We look forward to hearing from you!