How to apply for £200,000 pot to help do your bit for Hartlepool

Hartlepool Borough Council has launched a community pot to enable local voluntary and community sector (VCS) organisations to apply for funding to address issues affecting communities across the town.

Councillors have allocated £200,000 to the initiative, and organisations can now apply for grants ranging from £20,000 to £200,000.

The closing date for the receipt of applications is 12 noon on Monday, January 18.

Following assessment, a final decision will then be taken by councillors on Monday, February 15.

Cllr Shane Moore, Hartlepool Borough Council leader, said the initiative is about helping the town recover from the impact of the pandemic.

He said: “We have recognised for some time now that the social and economic consequences of the pandemic are going to be deep and far-reaching.

“The council has been working hard to develop a Covid-19 recovery and renewal plan that sets out a coordinated approach for bringing stakeholders together for the benefit of local people, and the Hartlepool Community Pot is a key element of this.

“The initiative will enable us to build upon our long-standing commitment to provide support to the most vulnerable residents of our town.”

Application forms can be downloaded from www.hartlepool.gov.uk/community-pot and completed applications should be submitted to [email protected] by the closing date.

Council chiefs have stressed all applications will be rigorously assessed and must meet certain criteria.

This includes providing evidence of need based on community engagement, having a clear impact and outcomes, and being delivered through a collaborative approach across the VCS.

Bids must also look to address hardship arising from Covid-19 impacting communities in Hartlepool, and provide ‘additionality’ rather than duplicating similar projects.

Finally bids must have a clear exit strategy demonstrating the longer-term impact, due to resources being one-off.

Jill Harrison, council director of adult and community based services, encouraged organisations to be ‘ambitious and work collaboratively on projects that will have the greatest impact’.

The scheme was previously approved by the council finance and policy committee earlier this year, with further details backed by councillors at their meeting on Monday.

For all other enquiries, or to discuss application concepts with council officers, email [email protected] for more.

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