Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire has opened the latest round of her Mayor’s Safer Communities Fund with £270,000 in grants available to apply for.
Voluntary, community groups, charities and partners can seek funding of up to £6000 for innovative projects which address at least one of the cross-cutting themes, and one of the priorities within the Police and Crime Plan 2021-24.
Previously funded projects include boxercise classes to increase the safety and wellbeing of women and girls, fishing and outdoor activities to divert young people away from anti-social behaviour, recovery programmes for drug and alcohol abuse, but as long as it meets the criteria all ideas will be considered.
Tracy, said: “I am absolutely thrilled to be able to open this latest grant funding opportunity to local groups who make such a massive difference in our communities. These groups often do not get the recognition they deserve, so this is one way of saying thank you.
“The fund is financed by money recovered from criminals under the Proceeds of Crime Act within the county by West Yorkshire Police’s Economic Crime Unit and prosecutors. So, a big shout out to them for all that hard work and in ensuring crime doesn’t pay.
“Due to their exceptional work, we can open the largest funding pot of this kind since it first launched back in 2014 under the previous PCC. That means more projects than ever before can benefit so I really would encourage anyone that qualifies to apply. The process has been designed to be very straightforward, and we have a small team ready to help should you need it.
“The fund supports the overall vision as set out in my Police and Crime Plan, of a safe, just and inclusive West Yorkshire, and I can’t wait to see who applies this time.”
West Yorkshire Police Chief Constable John Robins QPM, said: “We welcome the latest round of the Mayor’s Safer Communities Fund. The money being made available will allow projects, groups and organisations to play a key role in the partnership response to tackling the issues that affect our communities at grass-roots level.
“Seeing the money confiscated from criminal gangs being invested back into schemes to help prevent future offending and make our neighbourhoods safer is the right and proper thing to do.”
The closing date for applications to the fund is on Friday 10th June at 12pm noon. Grants will be distributed to successful applicants at an awards evening in October 2022.
To find out more about the fund, and to apply, click here.
