The Coalfields Regeneration Trust Fund in the West Midlands

The Coalfields Regeneration Trust is an independent grant-making body. They are a registered charity and limited by guarantee, governed by a board of trustees.

 

They run two grant programmes:

Bridging the Gap – for requests between £500 - £10,000

Main grants – for requests between £10,000 and £300,000

These funding programmes both run for three years from April 2008 to March 2011.

They also run two strategic programmes in the West Midlands called Sports Legacy and Family Employment.

 

Bridging the Gap

Community groups with lots of ideas but limited resources are being urged to apply for grants from our Bridging the Gap funding programme.

The Bridging the Gap programme provides grants up to £10,000 and groups are guaranteed quick access to funds as the Trust will aim to make a decision within 12 weeks of receiving an application.

CRT Chair Peter McNestry said: “We have always been impressed with the excellent activities and projects that community groups can organise on relatively small sums of money. The Bridging the Gap programme is great for groups who could do with some equipment, wish to make improvements to their facilities, or who need financial assistance for an upcoming event for example. The application and approval process is fairly quick, so groups and the people who benefit from their activities get to see real results within a year”.

Recent grants include £9,288 to Bedworth Arts Centre to help retain its staff of well-qualified and enthusiastic tutors for its pilates, arts, drama and yoga courses enjoyed by people of all ages. Staffordshire Rugby Union received £6,138 to help towards the development of girls rugby in Stoke-on-Trent, Newcastle-under-Lyme and Tamworth. Norton Cricket Club and Miners Welfare in Stoke-on-Trent received £6,100 to purchase a lawnmower. This will have a huge impact on the club ensuring that the grounds are kept in tip top condition and encourage greater use.

Bridging the Gap grants of up to £10,000 are available to cover the total costs of a project, or as a contribution towards a larger scheme. Projects should address at least one of the following themes:

• Access to employment
• Education and skills
• Health and wellbeing
• Access to opportunities 

Projects must show a clear benefit to coalfield communities with a high level of deprivation. Eligible coalfield areas are located in Stoke-on-Trent, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire Moorlands, Cannock Chase, Tamworth, Lichfield, South Staffordshire, Nuneaton and Bedworth and North Warwickshire. Please contact the regional office to check that your project benefits an eligible area.

Most community and voluntary groups are eligible to apply for CRT funding.

To check if your group is eligible please contact us at the regional office.

 

Family Employment Initiative

The Family Employment Initiative (FEI) is an innovative area-based project that works with families and households to break down barriers to employment. The Trust is working with local partners to set up an FEI in the Knutton area of Newcastle-under Lyme.

The key focus of the programme is being able to provide a ‘one stop’ service that is local, accessible and totally dedicated to help clients to address their fundamental barriers to work.

The FEI will address physical barriers to employment and attitudinal barriers affecting individuals and families.

The FEI will deliver a bespoke range of services to its clients. For example

• Individual support, advice and guidance to enable people to access work and training opportunities.
• Links into other agency provision (e.g. debt counseling).
• Individual confidence building and motivational support.
• Support with CV’s, interview techniques and application forms.
• Training needs analysis, and support with sector led pre-employment training courses.
• General health advice on issues (obesity, teenage pregnancy, smoking cessation, drug awareness, and healthy heart).
• Supports clients to access condition management services delivered by the PCT.        
• A local job brokerage, including advice on where to find vacancies (and access to employers and inwards investors).
• A discretionary fund to support individuals back to work requirements that can not be funded by Job Centre Plus or other provision.
• Information and advice on business start up.
• Placing residents into trail employment and helping with any wage subsidy to assist job referrals.
• Providing premises for meetings, training etc. for smaller employers without those resources
• Post employment mentoring and after-care support for people on training courses. 

At the heart of the FEI programme will be a team of Community Employment Advisers and support workers delivering employment support and guidance at a ‘grass roots’ level.  They will be based in an accessible location so that travel for individuals is not an issue.  The FEI Community Employment Advisers will also visit hard to reach families and individuals in their homes and other accessible locations. The Advisors help clients to address real and attitudinal difficulties and to tackle barriers to training and employment.

Adverts for FEI staff have recently been placed in a number of local newspapers.