The council’s Community Empowerment Fund is a funding pot that has been created to enable communities to develop and deliver projects aimed at meeting the needs of their residents.

The fund has been allocated in order that each of the council’s ward areas can benefit from receiving funding through the Community Empowerment Fund for local community-based projects. Projects will aim to support communities to:

Build community capacity and better understand and identify local aspirations and priorities,
Make good use of existing assets, with the projects having the support of local residents
Develop projects that are capable of becoming sustainable community projects, and complement existing services in an area by providing additional activity

Cllr Eluned Stenner, Cabinet Member with responsibility for transformation said, “A key driver of our ambitious transformation is community engagement, through working to enable our residents to directly shape areas that matter to them. This fund will enable communities to do just that.

“Our elected members also have an instrumental role in acting as ‘sponsors’ for projects put forward for funding through the Community Empowerment Fund, who will work with and support local community groups to development project ideas that meet identified need on a ward basis. This is a real opportunity for even greater partnership working between the council and our communities, and I am certain that this fund will be welcomed by all concerned”.

In allocating the £341,120, the fund has been divided by 69 (the number of elected representatives within Caerphilly county borough, meaning an allocation of the equivalent of £4,940 per elected member per year. In wards where there are more than one elected member, the allocation has been multiplied according to the number of members. For example – Penyrheol has four elected members, therefore the Penyrheol ward will benefit from a combined allocation of £19,760 (£4,940 x 4).

Following resident feedback, eight priority areas have formed the basis of the application criteria for projects. Projects put forward for funding through the Community Empowerment Fund must meet one or more of the following:

Environmental projects, including awareness of biodiversity and increasing community activity
Projects that support greater community cohesion
Projects that aim to tackle isolation and loneliness across the community
Digital inclusion projects
Projects to encourage greater physical and mental well-being
Activities for young people/educational activities (non-statutory)
Initiatives that promote and encourage community safety
Supporting community groups to establish

What next?

Community groups with an idea for a project should contact their local elected member in the first instance. A full list can be found here. There is a short application form to complete outlining the details of the project, which should then be forwarded to [email protected] next round of funding closes on 30th September 2022.