Community Space Fund

This fund has been created to strengthen access to services and/or supports in local community spaces and address the barriers to digital inclusion in those areas. The fund is supported by the Moray Pathways local employability partnership and Communities CLD Team.

https://www.moraypathways.co.uk/community-space-fund

The Moray Pathways local employability partnership is funded by Scottish Government and one of the priorities of this local resource is to raise awareness of our offer and strengthen the ability to access our services. We know that to reach people who stand to benefit the most from the support on offer, we need to be creative and focus on place-based initiatives in areas of poverty. We can achieve this by better use of key partners in increasing awareness and uptake, particularly third sector organisations who are already embedded in communities.

This opportunity for community space funding includes a resource from UK Shared Prosperity Fund which aims to invest and support digital infrastructure for local community facilities.

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is a central pillar of the UK Government’s Levelling Up agenda and provides £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025. The Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills.

Further information

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The objectives of this fund are to:

• Strengthen our social fabric and fostering a sense of local pride and belonging, through investment in activities that enhance physical, cultural and social ties and amenities, such as community infrastructure and local green space, and community-led projects.
  
• To build resilient and safe neighbourhoods, through investment in quality places that people want to live, work, play and learn in, through targeted improvements to the built environment and innovative approaches to crime prevention.

What is the fund for?

To facilitate the delivery of Moray Pathways employability services within your community space and improve digital connectivity and accessibility in the area. Including but not limited to:

• A welcoming, safe, inclusive space
• Accessible facilities for the use of the local community and Moray Pathways Partners
• Digital connectivity and accessibility, including the development of digital skills.

Eligibility Criteria

The fund is intended to benefit the people and communities of Moray.

• Eligibility is restricted to organisations working with residents living in any of the 10 SIMD areas (refer to notes section).
• The fund is open to applications by constituted community groups/organisations, appropriately constituted social enterprises and other voluntary and third sector organisations set up on a non-profit distributing basis.
  Applications from other categories (including individuals, businesses and other type of organisations) will also be considered if they are deemed by the Moray Pathways Local Employability Partnership and the Communities CLD to benefit the wider community.

Fund amounts
You can apply for up to £16,000. This can be made up of £10,000 for revenue costs in relation to funding Community Spaces and £6,000 for capital expenditure in relation to Digital Infrastructure (Connectivity and Accessibility). Details of how funds can be used for each funding stream are detailed below.

How to apply
Applications should be submitted online here. Applications will need to be supported by governing documents, annual accounts and a recent bank statement.

How and when decisions will be made
Initial eligibility checks will be done by Moray Council Officers who have experience with the relevant funding streams. Projects meeting the criteria will be awarded funding within one week of the closing date for applications.

Evidence of expenditure* will be required to allow funds to be paid. All funds must be evidenced by 15 March 2025 to allow for payments to be made before 31 March 2025. If you are aware that the funds will not be claimed by this date please inform us by 28 February 2025.

Any funds not spent by 31 March 2025 may require to be repaid to Moray Council.