New grant initiative launched to help West Yorkshire communities

Through the Community Grant Initiative, £50,000 of funding will be provided to communities to enable them to better prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies and major incidents.

Amounts of up to £5000 will be awarded to small community initiatives and projects, which will directly benefit our region by providing support where it’s needed most.

Catherine Hankinson, co-Chair of West Yorkshire Prepared and Assistant Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police, said: “Our aim, through this initiative, is to deliver funds to grass-roots projects and organisations that can make a real difference on the ground. Whether for flood prevention and protection, essential communication devices or emergency response equipment, we want to enable more to be done at a local level by providing small, one-off grants where communities need it most.”

Any community or voluntary group can apply, with applications particularly welcomed from groups working in more deprived communities or areas where there are clear and present risks. For full details on the entry criteria, or to download an application form, visit www.westyorkshireprepared.org.uk/community-grant.

Kersten England CBE, co-Chair of West Yorkshire Prepared and Chief Executive of Bradford Council, added: “We already know a lot of hard work and effort is carried out by community members and volunteers and hope this grant scheme will provide some additional support. We want to ensure this funding opportunity reaches right across our West Yorkshire communities so would encourage as many community groups as possible to apply.”

The closing date for applications is January 31, 2022, but if funds are still available after this date, the forum will re-open the initiative for a second round of applications.