Somali Resource Centre and Eastside Community Trust are supporting Bristol City Council to reach community organisations that could benefit from investment in their community spaces through the Community Resilience Fund.

The council are exploring ways to involve more people in decision-making through participatory democracy. This means opening up discussions and decision-making for more people to be involved.

The Community Resilience Fund, provided through capital funding from Bristol City Council, will be used to support community and voluntary organisations to increase their resilience and sustainability and enable them to continue the vital work they do. 

Funding will be invested in community organisations and groups based in and working with the top 30 per cent of most deprived areas of the city, and in city-wide self-organised equality groups, for example, Disabled people, Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities and LGBT communities.

Grants for community-based organisations will be a minimum of £50,000, with some smaller grants of a minimum of £10,000 available for equalities community groups. 

The project must be something physical, not a service or activity. For example: 

• improving access for Disabled people  
• adding an extension to a community building or creating new spaces within them – this can benefit residents today but also future generations too  
• upgrading IT systems or buying equipment 
• upgrading a community centre’s heating system to make it more environmentally sustainable and save on costs

In stage one, we are helping the council to gather project proposals from organisations in the area which are eligible and have an investment need.

What happens next?

1. Somali Resource Centre, Eastside Community Trust and local Councillors have put together a list of organisations in the area that meet the criteria for the fund.
2. We will contact all those organisations directly inviting them to submit ideas to be discussed at a workshop in September.
3. Project proposal forms to be submitted by 3 October to stacy@upourstreet.org.uk

Eastside Community Trust and Somali Resource Centre are not involved in making decisions about who will be successful in the process. We are supporting the council to ensure local organisations know about the fund. We are also inviting organisations to come together to discuss projects so that we can look at how the investment can support the area as a whole and projects stand the best chance of success. This will also be an opportunity to discuss potential collaborations.

If you haven’t heard from us by the end of July but think your organisation is eligible, get in touch at stacy@upourstreet.org.uk