Does your community project need a cash boost to help it grow?

Then apply for funding from Hertfordshire County Council’s £300,000 Community Wellbeing Innovation Fund!

Hertfordshire County Council’s £300,000 Community Wellbeing Innovation Fund has helped a range of projects across the county, from wheelchair dancing sessions to minibuses for pensioners. They are looking to help more voluntary and charitable organisations, community groups and housing associations groups delivering innovative projects which improve the lives of Hertfordshire residents, with a particular focus on mental health, dementia and the community. The deadline to apply for funding of between £10,000 and £80,000 is Friday 18th July.

Colette Wyatt-Lowe, Cabinet Member for Adult Care and Health, said: “We’ve already funded a vast array of innovative projects which are all helping to improve the lives of residents across Hertfordshire. By providing organisations with funding we are helping them to create sustainable foundations to their projects which are delivering huge benefits to our community.”

The Community Wellbeing Innovation Fund launched in 2015 and was designed to provide funding to voluntary organisations and groups to pilot and develop new, innovative services which help some of the most vulnerable people in Hertfordshire.

Voluntary organisations and groups were encouraged to submit funding proposals for projects which supported carers, helped individuals improve their physical and mental wellbeing and worked to reduce social isolation. Of the 55 projects which applied for funding in November 2015, 16 were successful and received grants totalling £295,000.

Examples of projects funded in Watford and the surrounding area include:

• The South Oxhey Community Allotments Project, which was awarded £22,000, to create a community hub with allotments which can be used by people who are unemployed, have long term health problems, community groups, local schools and colleges. More than 700 man hours have been volunteered to the project already.
• The Wheels Keep Moving project, which received funding of £20,000, has delivered wheelchair dancing sessions across the county - with more than 500 people taking part. They have a weekly group, the Shire Spinners, that runs in Watford on a Tuesday evening.
• The Helping Hands project, in Watford and Three Rivers, is a practical help service delivering support to those who need it most, including carers and long term patients to help maintain their independence.
• The Women’s Centre is piloting a 12-week programme working with female abuse perpetrators in Watford and Stevenage, to tackle the underlying causes of female abuse. The project is working in partnership with established networks including GPs, probation and the police.
• A Carer Support Team has been created to help and support carers and families who visit the Starfish Children’s Ward at Watford General Hospital.
• Watford Community Housing Trust received funding to create the post of a ‘crisis prevention navigator’ who targets the most frequent attenders at Watford General Hospital, with the aim of preventing frequent unplanned admissions by ‘social prescribing’, building packages of support and carrying out some casework to prevent admission.

(Source: Hertfordshire County Council)