Inclusive Communities Fund

The Inclusive Communities Fund aims to reach out to and engage a wide range of grassroots community organisations and groups, with an emphasis on encouraging applications from minority groups of all kinds. Applicants may be experiencing difficulties of many sorts within their communities and wish to set up positive initiatives to develop community cohesion or address early-stage crime prevention.

WCF has a total of £90,000 to distribute across the county. 

The fund is offered in partnership with the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner West Mercia Police match funded by Worcestershire Community Foundation.

Funding Priorities

We will fund projects that create safer and more confident communities through funding ‘by and for’ organisations – those run by and for the users and communities they aim to serve to develop early interventions e.g. development of initiatives to bring diverse communities together.

This funding will help local communities put in place initiatives which will make their communities more connected and resilient, lead to avoidance or mitigation of crime or disorder and have longer-term impact.

Initiatives should take place in Worcestershire communities across a range of settings, dependent on the nature of each application. We encourage both local and county-wide applications that are representative of all areas, particularly those with the highest level of deprivation.

Applicants must be able to demonstrate the capacity to deliver innovative solutions to local issues within their communities.

 Who can apply?

Grassroots community organisations/groups may apply for projects with young people or adults of any age.

This programme will support clubs and organisations based in Worcestershire including charities, social enterprises, Community Interest Companies and other not-for-profit organisations.

We would particularly like to encourage applications which will engage or support minority groups of all kinds but we will also support broader community initiatives with the aim of making an impact across the county through diverse and innovative approaches.

How much can I apply for? 

Applicants can apply for grants from £1,000 up to £10,000.

What the fund will support

These are not limited to but might include projects that:

• Work with diverse, vulnerable people or hard-to-reach groups
• Support activities that help diverse communities to come together
• Aim to improve the safety of local communities
• Help resolve local community issues
• Aim to prevent or reduce crime
• Deliver early intervention in reducing offending and reoffending
• Include multi-agency models and partnership or collaborative working
• Include lived experience

 What we won’t fund

• Statutory services
• Activities promoting religious activity (with the exception of inter-faith activity).
• Activities promoting party-political activity
• Solely capital application funding bids e.g. to purchase a minibus
• Individual sponsorship
• Activities generating private profit
• Organisations that have been established less than 12 months

When to apply?

The deadline for applications is Friday 2^nd June 2023.

All funding must be spent by 31st July 2024.

Please read all the above guidance carefully before making an application.

For our Terms and Conditions information please click here

Please contact Karen McVeigh, Grants and Funding Officer [email protected] if you have any queries regarding eligibility and/or the fund priorities.