Voluntary organisations in Camden get £13.5m investment over 7 years
Thirty eight organisations which are strongly rooted in Camden’s communities will receive grants totalling £1.95m per year over the next seven years.
The fund has a strong focus on organisations that support community empowerment, social action, equalities and prevention work. Grants of between £10,000 and £100,000 were awarded. The full decision report and list of funded organisations is available on the Council’s web pages.
Priority was given to organisations that work across our neighbourhoods, work with communities, or can help address some of the key social challenges faced by the borough. Camden’s voluntary and community sector (VCS) plays a critical role in supporting residents across Camden and is central to the council’s long-term ambitions for the borough.
This seven-year commitment to Camden’s voluntary and community sector is a real statement of intent and ambition for Camden. Camden’s voluntary sector has played a critical role in responding to the challenges residents and communities have faced in recent years and this is something to be proud of. It’s also something to be valued and invested in.
Our Community Partner Fund provides a foundation for Camden’s VCS to plan for the long term. We know how valuable unrestricted funding is for the sector. It can enable organisations to unlock many hours of voluntary action, it can bring much needed funding into Camden and, most importantly, it can help to deliver our shared ambitions for residents, communities and the wider borough.
The Council launched the Community Partner Fund in July 2023 as part of its ongoing commitment to the sector. The Community Partner Fund provides long-term, seven-year unrestricted funding between 2024 and 2031.
This long-term funding will enable VCS organisations with first-hand knowledge of problems, to respond flexibly to community needs and support ideas and action from our communities. The organisations that were successful, demonstrated an ability to use unrestricted funding to bring money into the borough to support Camden communities.
Many of these awarded organisations have played a vital role in supporting residents and communities through the covid-19 pandemic and more recently through the cost-of-living crisis.
The Council’s ongoing investment in the VCS will support organisations to continue to offer a rich programme of activities, tackling the key challenges and missions identified through We Make Camden, our renewed vision for the borough.
This fund is part of a wider £4 million annual VCS investment programme that ensures residents and communities are supported now and in years to come. Further funds will be launched through 2024. This will include grants to for projects as well and organisational support.
Announcements about each new fund will be made on the Council’s website. To keep up to date please sign up to our VCS newsletter.