Do you have an idea to improve the local area or to do something good in the community? Well, the council wants to help some of your ideas become reality and has set up a Future Ealing Fund to do just that.
There is £100,000 in the pot on offer, with a maximum of £10,000 for each project selected. Anyone who lives or works in Ealing can apply.
The deadline to get involved in this funding round is 28 April, but you will need to complete an expression of interest form first.
A launch event is being held on Wednesday, 3 March to give people more information – and you can register for this event on the Future Ealing Fund webpage.
Future Ealing Fund’s aim is to build on the council’s successful Transform Your Space scheme of recent years, which has helped local groups make all kinds of improvements to previously unloved or neglected corners of the borough. You can search on this website to find plenty of examples – from Acton Unframed’s street art to Ealing Wildlife Group’s nature reserve.
But the Future Ealing Fund is even wider – and open to all kinds of projects.
Yes, it might still involve plans to revive public spaces; but, equally, it could also be proposals which:
- Bring people together to achieve their potential
- Create community hubs and reanimate high streets
- Help reduce the borough’s carbon footprint
- Promote happiness, confidence and health.
In early summer, the council will announce which projects have been chosen to receive funding and advice – with the aim of work being started in August.
The fund will provide a maximum of 50% of the cost of a project, with the rest needing to be crowdfunded by the group behind the project. But advice and support will be provided.
Coping with the COVID-19 pandemic has brought out the very best in our local community, but it has also had a big impact on people’s health, finances and wellbeing.
The Future Ealing Fund is about responding to this by supporting local people with big ideas to improve the local area and to do something good in the community. It will provide match-funded, financial support to community-led ideas that help the recovery of local businesses or neighbourhoods and contribute to creating more vibrant areas.
As well as hearing fresh ideas from established groups, the council wants to hear from new groups that may have come together since the start of the pandemic. If you have an idea for a project that needs funds to get started, then the council wants to hear from you.
You may have heard of Future Ealing before. It is Ealing Council’s transformation programme. Its goal is to make the borough better despite the financial challenges everyone is facing. As well as focusing on improving the way the council does things, it is about empowering and supporting people who live and work in Ealing to get involved, too.
