LOCAL COMMUNITY FUND CELEBRATES TENTH ANNIVERSARY AND BREAKS THROUGH £250,000 MARK
A community fund set up by a regional firm of chartered accountants has opened its tenth annual grants round – and announced that this year’s fundraising has taken the amount raised during that decade past the £250,000 mark.
The Lovewell Blake LB150 Fund was set up in 2008 to mark the firm’s 150th anniversary, with the aim of raising £150,000 for local charities and community groups. Ten years on, and community organisations across Norfolk, north Suffolk and east Cambridgeshire are once again being given the chance to share a cash windfall.
The firm of chartered accountants, business advisers and financial planners is inviting charities, voluntary groups and community organisations to bid for grants of up to £2,000 from the Fund, which is distributing money raised by staff and partners at the firm during the past 12 months.
Last year’s grant round saw 13 organisations share a total of £20,498, with cash going to a wide range of organisations including youth groups, a community gym, a local lido, an amputation charity and a village community cinema.
Lovewell Blake’s fundraising partner Gary Flatt urged local organisations to come forward and apply for the grants. “When we started the LB150 Fund in 2008, our aim was to raise £150,000 in five years. The enthusiasm of our people has driven us on from that initial target, and we are very proud to reach the tenth anniversary of the Fund, and to reach the significant milestone of having raised £250,000 for good causes in our local communities.
“Working with the Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire Community Foundations, we have tried to make the application process as easy as possible, and we really hope that local community organisations will come forward to bid for a share of this year’s fund.
“It is these smaller, less well-known organisations working at grassroots level in our communities which make such a difference, and we are delighted to be able to open our tenth annual grants round.”
Community organisations interested in applying for grants from the LB150 Fund can apply via their local Community Foundation. For details, go to www.norfolkfoundation.com/funding-support/grants/groups/lovewell-blake-fund; there are also links here for organisations in Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The deadline for grant applications is Friday 28th September.