Credit: Richard Webb
Reporter
Glasgow City Council has launched a communities fund worth more than £60m that aims to tackle inequality and poverty across the city.
The initiative is led by the principle that communities are best placed to identify needs and deliver solutions that meet their requirements.
The fund plans to empower individuals and communities to become involved in the cultural, social and economic life of the city. Through taking a community-led approach to development that is flexible and responsive to existing and emerging issues, the council is encouraging individuals to play an active role in the city.
It is open to eligible third sector, voluntary and community organisations across Glasgow.
With the administration process being streamlined and easier to navigate, the grant programme will also be flexible enough to respond to emerging issues such as holiday hunger or social isolation.
Organisations will be able to apply for between £20,000 and £200,000 per year, for up to three years to cover project expenditure, including employee and running costs.
The council has worked with Glasgow Third Sector Interface Network and other partners to shape the fund and focus it on responding to the effects of poverty, deprivation and inequalities. The council considers the fund as a tool to break down societal barriers to participation and communities in co-designing, developing and delivering sustainable services.
The fund also implements the requirements of the Scottish Parliament’s Community Empowerment Act (2015) to help empower citizens; making them feel more confident about participating in the social, economic and cultural life of the city, and helping them to influence development, planning and decision-making around the services that affect their daily lives.
Councillor Jennifer Layden, City Convener for Community Empowerment, Equalities and Human Rights, said that the fund will deliver for people across all corners of the city and support the organisations dedicated to reducing poverty and inequality.
“The sector asked us to provide the option of multi-year funding to provide them with more financial security and I’m personally very proud to have been able to do that,” Layden said.
Kathleen Caskie, from Glasgow Third Sector Interface Network, said the Glasgow Third Sector Interface welcomes the new Glasgow Communities Fund and its emphasis on tackling poverty and inequality in our communities.
“We look forward to seeing the details of the application process and working with the third sector to ensure a vibrant and diverse range of applications are made,” Caskie said.
The application stage is open until Sunday 20 October. To make the process easier a pre-assessment questionnaire has been developed to make sure groups are eligible, before proceeding with the full application.
