Guild Wins Improving Reach Grant

Posted on 23rd Jul

Plymouth Guild has won a grant of £171,233 from the Capacity Builders Improving Reach Grant Programme, in partnership with Fata He and Plymouth Community Partnership. The grant is to develop Community Workers from Black and Minority Ethnic organisations and Faith groups in Plymouth.

Capacity Builders wanted to build on the success of the pilot Improving Reach programme in 2006/07. £17 million is being invested through the Improving Reach programme for the three year period 2008-11, to extend and improve sector support services available to those frontline organisations dedicated to working in and with excluded communities.

Grant awards have been made to 73 individual organisations, among them Plymouth Guild, that help the third sector to flourish through the provision of information, advice and facilities. Around 900 applications were received for grants.
Capacity builders website says “We believe that improved ‘sector support services’ can play an important role in strengthening third sector, frontline organisations enabling them to be more effective in their work and create a better quality of life for individuals and communities.“

The project is led by Plymouth Guild Volunteer Centre in partnership with Fata He and the Plymouth Community Partnership. A full time Programme co-ordinator will be employed at the Volunteer Centre, to support trainees and facilitate the collection of research.

Simon de Groot the Volunteer Centre Manager said “This project was developed in response to the sectors need to respond to a lack of trained community development workers in Plymouth and to support the work of both these priority groups.”
12 individuals will receive training and support to achieve City and Guilds accredited qualifications in Community Development Work and foundation training qualifications, volunteering experience and employment mentoring.

An online toolkit will be produced to assess the needs of organisations and to inform the plans of both local infrastructure and frontline delivery projects in responding to those needs.