York-based charities, community groups and VSCE organisations can apply for the 2023 York Trailblazers community grants, with an overall fund of £30,000 available.
In a collaboration between York Civic Trust and Make It York, with funding made available through the National Heritage Lottery Fund, organisations are being invited to apply to grants up to £3,000. These projects will contribute to the overall aims of the York Trailblazers project, which celebrates York’s heritage, and uncovers lesser-known heritage stories of York – through community workshops, a large-scale sculpture trail, community grant funding, partner events and marketing.
Organisations can apply for community grant funding for projects, events or initiatives that celebrate York’s history and heritage, uncover lesser-known heritage stories of York, enable community activity, to reduce resident isolation and support wellbeing, and which work with people affected by isolation/loneliness, people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, minority and protected groups.
The grants programme aligns with the York Culture Strategy, which commits to ensuring that culture is accessible to everyone, and which supports people’s health and wellbeing through meaningful engagement with arts and heritage.
Applications will open on Monday 17 July and close at 12pm on Friday 11 August. The grants are available for projects running anytime between September 2023 and 27 September 2024.
Helen Apsey, Head of Culture and Wellbeing at Make It York said: “We’re delighted to be able to fund community initiatives that celebrate York’s history and heritage, while also supporting people’s wellbeing, through the Trailblazers Community Grants. We’re looking forward to receiving people’s applications and seeing how the projects we fund will together help to create a really exciting programme for York Trailblazers throughout 2023 and 2024.”
Apply for a grant:
The grants programme will open on Monday 17 July, and be open for a four-week period, closing at 12pm on Friday 11 August 2023. Applications must be submitted by this time to be considered.
The grant information, criteria for applications and the application form (an online form) will all be available on the Make It York website from 17 July here – https://www.makeityork.com/events/york-trailblazers/grants/. If you are unable to access the online form, and would prefer a printed copy instead, please email culture@makeityork.com and we will ensure you can pick up a printed copy instead.
Applications will be assessed and award decisions made by Friday 25 August 2023.
If you have any queries, please email culture@makeityork.com
Grant workshops:
We will hold two workshops on zoom that any prospective grantees are free to attend, to explain the grants process, key things that prospective grantees must demonstrate in their applications, and to answer any questions that applicants might have. Workshops will take place on the 20th July and 3rd August. You can register for the workshops here – York Trailblazers (makeityork.com)
ENDS
For more information:
Livvy Golby-Kirk, Marketing & Communications Officer at York Civic Trust
Brittany Guymer, Communications & Marketing Executive at Make It York
Notes to Editors:
About Make It York
Make It York’s purpose is to develop and promote the city and its surroundings – nationally and internationally – as a vibrant and attractive place to live, visit, study, work and do business. Its mission is to grow the economic prosperity and wider wellbeing of York and its citizens. In practice, this means delivering a range of projects and programmes based around our corporate strategic priorities.
These are:
- City positioning and profile-raising
- Ensuring an exciting city centre
- Delivering the city’s ground-breaking Cultural Strategy
About York Civic Trust
York Civic Trust is a membership organisation open to all who wish to protect and enhance York’s architectural and cultural heritage, to champion good design and to advance the high place which York holds amongst the cities of the world. Founded in 1946, it has the key objectives of “Promoting Heritage—Shaping Tomorrow” at the heart of its work. Since an extensive conservation-repair programme in the 1980s, the Trust has restored Fairfax House on York’s Castlegate to its former grandeur. It is one of England’s finest Georgian townhouses and now a museum and offices of the Trust.
About The National Lottery Heritage Fund
Using money raised by The National Lottery, we Inspire, lead and resource the UK’s heritage to create positive and lasting change for people and communities, now and in the future. www.heritagefund.org.uk.
Follow @HeritageFundUK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLotteryHeritageFund
Since The National Lottery began in 1994, National Lottery players have raised over £43 billion for projects and more than 635,000 grants have been awarded across the UK. More than £30 million raised each week goes to good causes across the UK.
