The Midcounties Coop £500 community grant is now open

The Midcounties Coop £500 community grant is now open.

Why apply?

We believe in putting local change in the hands of local people. That’s why we’re proud to support local community group activities that bring together people from all parts of society. Nobody knows your community like you do, so if you’ve got an idea that will make a difference or need help with a community project why not apply?

To find out if you're eligible to apply for Your Community Fund, please check out the 'Who can Apply?' section.

We’ve made the application form as easy as possible. Anyone can apply as long as your project is people led and helps to build strong, diverse communities. We’ll ask you to briefly explain this in your application.

You can apply from anywhere in the UK.

Your group has to have been established for 3 months.

To find out if you meet the fund criteria, click here.

Check if your project type is covered within our scheme

Your application for grant funding will be assessed by a panel of our members, who will be looking at the impact your project has on your local community, including the number of beneficiaries that any funding awarded will support; and the impact the grant will make to those beneficiaries. This will ensure that funding is awarded to community projects that demonstrate the greatest added value and measurable impact.

It will help your application if you can provide measurable examples of the economic, social, or environmental impacts that the grant will help you achieve.

Successful examples in the past have included:

The Wiggly Worm based in Gloucestershire: This project focused on providing access to a thriving community kitchen to support predominantly those with mental health issues but also the wider community, delivering courses based on food education, ranging from preparation, cooking and sharing of food
Hook Norton Low Carbon based in Oxfordshire: This project focused on helping the community reduce its energy consumption, carbon emissions and save money through education schemes, support for solar provision and insulation in homes and community buildings.
Community First Initiative based in the West Midlands: This project focused on engaging with hard to reach young people that are maybe on the fringes of and or involved in gang culture through the provision of skills-based workshops around behaviour, consequences of actions, target setting, and employability skills.
Justice in Motion based in Oxfordshire. The group exists to advocate social change, raise awareness of issues such as modern slavery, encourage debate and inspire action through theatrical performances, workshops and talks.

Overall we will prioritise our funding on projects demonstrating impact that align with our co-operative values:

Positive Environmental impacts for example projects that focus on or the promotion and education in the reduction of single use plastics, recycling or energy saving
Development of young people (aged 16 – 24) developing individuals to be the best they can be through educational, training or community led projects
Community cohesion projects that promote work towards building better community cohesion and trust, and encouraging respect and understanding in the local area.
Social inclusion, for example provision of services for members of the community to overcome inequality and disadvantage arising as a result of the circumstances and challenges they find themselves in. For Example the provision of foodbank support, bespoke community run support groups or projects that develop life skills.