Supporting Communities – Local Groups Benefit From District Community Grants Scheme

Community groups and organisations across the district have benefitted from £27,500 funding in the latest round of Dover District Council’s Community Grants Scheme. Successful groups were presented with their grants at a special Community Grants Awards Evening at Sandwich Guildhall on 25th September.

More organisations than ever before applied for grant funding from the scheme, with funding allocated to 37 different community groups across the district.  The funding was allocated by the Grants Appraisal Panel, which is made up of the District Councillors representing five areas across the district.

The awards evening was hosted by Dover District Council, and attended by around 100 community representatives, with a range of local entertainment, speeches from Councillors, and presentations to local groups.

Groups were invited to apply for funding of up to £1,000 from the scheme for projects that could show benefit to the local community. Successful groups included the Deal Welfare Club and Social Institute, Aylesham Heritage Centre Community Interest Company (CIC), Pegasus Playscheme in Dover, Hougham Village Hall Trust and the Sandwich Community Lights Committee.

Funding for the scheme includes money from Council budgets, and £5k generated from the Dover District Lotto to support the Community Grants Scheme. For every pound spent on the Dover District Lotto, 60p goes back into the local community.

Cllr MJ Holloway, DDC Cabinet Member for Community Services, said: “We’re delighted with the success of the Community Grants Scheme.  We’ve had another record-breaking year, with the highest number of applicants we’ve ever had for the scheme, which continues to make a real impact in our communities. Clearly a lot of hard work went into all the applications, which were of outstanding quality, making it tough for the panel to decide. We’ve been able to help 37 groups this year, five more than last year, because of the increased funding for community grants coming from the success of the Dover District Lotto. We look forward to seeing this diverse group of projects making their proposals a reality over the coming weeks and months.”

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