People's Postcode Lottery

250,000 reasons for a cheerful New Year in North Yorkshire

Community groups across North Yorkshire have received over £250,000 in a government grant scheme that supports local groups who care for their communities.

Grassroots Grants, a £130 million programme aimed at helping small voluntary and community organisations, has provided a total of £33 million to fund much-needed projects in local communities throughout England. In North Yorkshire the Grassroots Grants scheme is administered by local charity Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust (YDMT) and by York and North Yorkshire Community Foundation (YNYCF), who also manage the Endowment Challenge. Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust is one of the Postcode Lottery’s chosen charities and has received £67,551 in unrestricted funding to date.

In 2009/10 99 groups in North Yorkshire have been allocated a share of over £250,000. The sum has been distributed amongst a wide range of community groups funding all manner of activities and services; from animal safaris to water polo sessions and transport for the elderly.

Grants of between £250 and £5,000 go to small and local community groups with annual incomes below £30,000. They help local communities to deal with a range of challenges that they face.
Angela Smith, Minister for the Third Sector, said: “Grassroots Grants give the groups which are tackling local issues the support they need to make a difference. I am delighted that through this ground-breaking programme the Government has in the first year alone given charities and voluntary organisations over £33 million in grants.”

The Grassroots Grants programme is divided into two parts: the £80 million small grants fund for community organisations; and a groundbreaking £50 million endowments programme to enable local funders to generate additional donations on a matched basis and invest them in endowments, thereby building their capacity to provide long-term funding for frontline community organisations.