ETHNICALLY diverse communities in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole will benefit from a £500,000 grant over three years from The National Lottery Community Fund (NCLF) to four Dorset organisations who were successful in jointly bidding for the money.
A partnership led by Community Action Network (CAN), along with Dorset Race Equality Council, Dorset Community Foundation and BCP Council will work use the funding from NCLF, the largest community funder in the UK, to help groups representing ethnically diverse communities across the area become stronger and more sustainable.
According to the 2021 Census, 17.6 per cent of the BCP area population identifies as other than White British, a six per cent increase in the last ten years. Steve Place, senior advisor at CAN, said: “There are more than 40 formalised groups who are active and contribute to their own and the wider BCP community but they themselves recognise that they are under-resourced and need to develop their skills.
“The lottery sees fewer, and less successful, funding applications from these groups than they would expect so our partnership, working with groups from ethnically diverse communities, have put together a programme to help them thrive.”
Dorset Race Equality Council workers will support groups working in ethnically diverse communities by helping them draw up action plans while CAN staff will provide free advice on running an organisation and applying for funding.
Dorset Community Foundation and The National Lottery Community Fund will offer groups the opportunity to apply for more funding. Groups will also benefit from networking meetings and the creation of a directory of advice and resources to help them run their services.
It will help these groups doing vital work in their communities to improve the services they offer
Grant Robson, CEO of Dorset Community Foundation, said: “This work could not go ahead without this funding from The National Lottery Community Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, Dorset Community Foundation will offer grants of up to £5,000 to 40 community organisations across three years, helping them become stronger and more sustainable. The project aims to create fairer, more equitable access to vital support services.
“We are delighted to be a part of this partnership and very thankful to The National Lottery Community Fund for the funding. It will help these groups doing vital work in their communities to improve the services they offer and help connect them to a wider network in Dorset, which should make them better recognised by local agencies.”
Ramesh Lal, chair of the BCP Indian Association, welcomed the funding, saying: “To have dedicated staff to offer know how and develop and support various community projects would be a big step forward.”
Tama Merdaci, founder of BCP Shout Out, which support Afghan refugees, added: “We hope we can forge important relationships through this grant, that it helps overcome challenges and many more can live a more fulfilled life with the support of our organisation and The National Lottery Community Fund.”
More details about grant availability and eligibility will be announced later in the year or early in 2024.
