Elephant and Castle’s local community initiatives can apply for grants of between £500 and £10,000, now that the 2022 Elephant & Castle Community fund is underway.
The fund, standing at £75,00 this year, was set up in 2012 by Southwark Council and Lendlease, the developers behind the £2.5bn Elephant Park regeneration project.
The fund is available to organisations that “address local need”, by helping people who live, work or study in the Elephant and Castle Opportunity Area, a 122-hectare space defined by the council in 2012.
This year, property management group Get Living are contributing £25,000.
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Cllr Helen Dennis, Cabinet Member for Climate Emergency & Sustainable Development at Southwark Council, said: “Elephant and Castle has an incredible community spirit thanks to a diverse range of local groups and projects.
“This pot of money is all about supporting the fantastic work they do to deliver real benefits for everyone living, working and studying in the area.
“We are thrilled that there’s even more funding available in the scheme’s tenth year that will further help to grow this work.”
Eligible projects should assist the community through a focus on either further education, skill-building, training and entrepreneurship, arts and culture, environment, young people, or wellbeing.
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Last year, performing arts programme dt17 at Pembroke House, used their grant to provide dance training to over 50 children from the local area.
Ella Frampton, dt17 project lead, said: “With the generous support of the Elephant and Castle Community Fund, this year dt17 has provided dance training to over 50 children from the local area.
“Whilst undoubtedly focusing on developing physical skills, our classes support children to develop healthy social and emotional skills too.
“They have been learning to trust themselves and each other, developing confidence and assertiveness through learning to collaborate and compete.
“Excitingly, this support has enabled dt17 to develop a new partnership with a local school, providing additional high-quality dance training for pupils alongside their academic studies.”
The fund is managed by The London Community Foundation, a charity which distributes grants to community groups and social enterprises.
Online applications can be made on The London Community Foundation website, where there are full details and guidance on the eligibility criteria. The deadline is 5pm on Monday 13th June 2022.