The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust has reopened the Armed Forces Covenant Local Grants programme following a short closure. New guidance is available; designed to help applicants develop strong bids.
Carol Stone, Director of Grants said:
“We are delighted to be reopening the programme with new, up to date guidance. This new guidance incorporates the helpful feedback that we’ve been receiving from applicants, grant holders and others. We hope that applicants find it helpful. My top tip for submitting a strong application to us would be to read the guidance carefully before you start your application, then read it through again just before you submit.”
The Armed Forces Covenant Local Grants Programme makes grants of up to £20,000 for local projects that improve integration between Armed Forces and civilian communities, or deliver local services and projects that meet a need within the local Armed Forces Community. Applications need to be made online. In the first three years of the programme, over £7M has been given to 430 organisations. The programme is currently in year 4, and has made an additional 107 grants.
One of these projects was the Larkhill Community Hub Café, in South West England. The Army Welfare Service received £12,000 to support the establishment of a Community Hub Café in Larkhill, coordinated by volunteers and supported by AWS Community Support. The project explained that:
“The grant received from Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust will create a vibrant, educational and enjoyable Community Hub & Café. It will help improve local amenities within the Larkhill area, create opportunities for service and civilian families living locally and develop community spirit in area that will be changing dramatically in the near future. With the imminent arrival of service families to Larkhill and the surrounding areas due to the Army Rebasing Programme, the welfare provision available to service and civilian families will be more diverse, more accessible and more relevant, helping make this transition, for all involved, as issue free as possible”.
More information on the programme and the new guidance can be found here.
^ The above is a visualisation of the application process.
