Community grant funding should be “easier to access”

Grant funding from Caerphilly County Borough Council to small groups and charities should be easier to access, according to a group representing the voluntary sector.

While the council has more than £128,000 in its budget for such grants to the voluntary sector,  only £2,490 was given out between October 2021 and January 2022.

The first step to access funding is for charities and other voluntary organisations to contact council officer Vicky Poyle for an application form – which has been described as “confusing” by a member of the Voluntary Sector Representatives Committee.

The form should be made simpler and be available for download direct from the council website.

Roger Evans, a member of the Voluntary Sector Representatives Committee, said: “This is not a political issue, it is a practical one.”

Every three months a Voluntary Sector Liaison Committee is held between the council and voluntary organisations for feedback and to discuss what funding has been distributed.

At its most recent meeting, held on March 3, Blackwood councillor Kevin Etheridge asked for a formal report into how “user-friendly” the application process is, and said the small grants awarded were “essential” to the voluntary sector.

There is no maximum grant an organisation can receive, but according to the council’s website the average amount ranges between £35 and £500.

Mr Evans said: “It is not a big sum in terms of the council’s budget, but a grant of £100 is a big boost to small organisations.

“We in the voluntary sector now see a greater need for this money to be spent to help local organisations restart after two years of lockdown and inactivity when many groups have sadly folded due to deaths, illness and failure to recruit new members.”

At the meeting council officer Ms Poyle said changes were being made to the website including the addition of guidance for organisations, and that the council was “trying to take on board the concerns”.

A Caerphilly County Borough Council spokesperson said the website was being updated but the award scheme “is open at all times and it is easy and clear to apply”.

A spokesperson for Gwent Association of Voluntary Organisations (GAVO) said that if Caerphilly Council’s application process was easier, then there was the potential that more money could be handed out to small groups and individuals.