Anonymous £4m donation leads to new fund for West Midlands

An anonymous donation of £4 million made in December last year has resulted in the creation of a new capital grants programme. Heart of England Community Foundation has launched its Building Better Lives programme to fund programmes supporting vulnerable people across the West Midlands. It will support up to three major initiatives providing accommodation solutions. Applicants are invited to submit proposals for projects which will upgrade, extend or develop existing accommodation to provide additional capacity. Eligible organisations Organisations can bid for a minimum of £500,000 and a maximum of £1.35 million. To be eligible they must operate within Birmingham, the Black Country, Coventry, Solihull or Warwickshire and have an annual turnover of less than £15 million. This is stage one of a two-stage application process. Applications for stage one should apply before midday on 31 July 2018. https://twitter.com/tinaloucostello/status/995948837163425792   Heart of England Community Foundation Heart of England Community Foundation was set up in 1995 to fund projects across the West Midlands. Since then it has distributed more than £15 million locally, benefitting more than one million people. The Building Better Lives programme will see the Foundation distribute its largest grants to date. Tina Costello, Chief Executive of Heart of England Community Foundation, said: “We are very excited to launch the Building Better Lives programme and can’t wait to see the variety of proposals from local organisations. This programme has a real potential to make a massive difference to vulnerable people and provides a unique opportunity for existing organisations to expand their work and increase their impact in the community.” Queries about the new fund can be emailed to project manager Carole Hodson.  

from UK Fundraising https://ift.tt/2KZ5esB