READING Borough Council gave more than £600,000 in grants to voluntary and community organisations last year, new figures show.
The council has revealed that it awarded £636,449 to the town’s ‘third sector’– groups and organisations which give a range of support to residents.
The grants enable these organisations to better provide help to those who can be harder to reach as well as benefit those who need it most.
Between April last year and March this year, a number of national and local funding programs were put in place, such as the Better Care Fund, Household Support Fund, Small Grants Fund, Homes for Ukraine, Ukraine Integration Support Fund, Community Health Champion Project, Hong Kong British Nationals (Overseas), and Creative Lives Funding.
The council explains that the overall grant figure of £636,449.27 does not include services the Council procures from voluntary organisations through contractual arrangements.
Council analysis showed that the total figure for grants and services procured from the voluntary sector was £8.7 million the previous year.
Among the projects who benefited from grants were the PACT’s Alana House, which received funding for the Domestic Abuse Pilot Project to support survivors of domestic abuse within A&E and other hospital settings.
Refugee Support Group was awarded grants to provide integration support for Ukrainian nationals under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
Food for Families was awarded a grant via Creative Lives to deliver a food partnership in Whitley.
The Alliance for Cohesion and Racial Equality (ACRE) received a grant for its Better Care Fund Community project to support a Men-2-Men project, which was designed to both improve access to health services, promote health and wellbeing among participants, and by extension their friends in the community.
The Cowshed was funded via the Household Support Fund to support families with infants through partnership and provision of family packs for mums and babies including car seats, buggies for a small number of eligible families.
Sadaka was funded via the Council’s Small Grants Fund to address the rise in financial need in Reading and work towards reducing inequality by helping its most disadvantaged residents, who are disproportionately affected.
Whitley Community Development Association received Community Health Champion Project grants to run an activity programme and share information around physical and mental wellbeing.
Cllr Liz Terry, Reading Borough Council Leader, said: “Reading is well known for its incredibly large and varied voluntary sector.
“Many of these small organisations are located out in our communities and without them the Council would have great difficulty reaching residents who, for a variety of reasons, do not always come forward for support.
“It can be difficult to fully appreciate the depth and breadth of activities and support on offer, which is why I am pleased the Council has published the full list of grant recipients over the last financial year.
“The list in itself is just a snapshot of the overall financial support provided to voluntary sector groups across Reading when you consider it does not include the significant value of services procured by the Council through contracts with the third sector.”
Cllr Ellie Emberson, Reading’s Lead for Corporate Services and Resources, said: “The Council may be the front door for a variety of national funding streams, but it is Reading’s voluntary and community sector groups and organisations who are out on the ground delivering the benefits of these grants to residents.
“The difference made to individuals and local communities in need is enormous and the Council never takes the incredible work they do for granted.”
A full breakdown of the organisations who benefited from grants is available to view via: reading.gov.uk
