Provides grants to support community-led projects that are pursuing innovative and strategic solutions to the challenges facing their rural area and improving the long-term viability and resilience of their community.
Organisations can apply for grants of up to£25,000 over a period of 24 months to deliver activities along the themes of:
Support will be focused on isolated rural areas where the activity is required due to a lack of alternative services. Projects must be community led and show that they actively listen to, understand and respond to the needs of their local community. They are also looking for community organisations that demonstrate one or more of the following characteristics:
Communities are invited to bid for funding that will create tangible change. This could be a project that generates a new income stream for the local community, or the delivery of training to develop skills opportunities for young people. It could also be activities to increase community awareness and engagement in the local environment, or an initiative to bring the community together to plan for the impacts of climate change.
The RCF is particularly seeking innovative solutions to the challenges facing rural areas. Is there a project that hasn’t been done before that could be replicated in other rural communities, helping to increase the scale of change?