Charities, community groups and good causes across the North East and Cumbria have just a few days left to apply for a newly-launched grants initiative that could help them complete much-needed building improvements.
Newcastle Building Society has allocated £50,000 from its successful Community Fund at the Community Foundation to a new Building Improvement Grants scheme, which is designed to help regional groups and charities across the region build, expand, renovate or replace an existing community facility or facilities.
Initial expressions of interest in applying for the first round of Building Improvement Grants must be registered by Friday 29 June, with details of the first successful applications expected to be announced at the end of the summer.
Applications can be made by customers who wish to support their local communities in any Society branch or via the newcastle.co.uk website.
Newcastle Building Society is making the additional money available from its successful Community Fund, which enables members to nominate charities and community groups in or around the Society’s branch network for smaller grants of up to £3,000.
Since its launch in 2016, the Newcastle Building Society Community Fund at the Community Foundation has contributed over £200,000 in grants to projects across the Society’s North East and Cumbrian heartland.
Andrew Haigh, chief executive at Newcastle Building Society, said: “Supporting our communities is core to what we do, and both our branches and wider organisation regularly develop strong, active links to community groups and charities in the North East.
“Extending our successful community grants initiative with these larger Building Improvement Grants recognises that strong communities need appropriate and practical community buildings at their heart.”
The Newcastle Building Society Community Fund is run in association with the Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland.
Full details of the grants and eligibility criteria are available on the Society’s www.newcastle.co.uk website.
