Northern Ireland’s largest community and civic pride campaign, Live Here Love Here, has announced that its Small Grants Scheme has returned for a tenth year.
The scheme is run in partnership with nine local councils, the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful, and is aimed at promoting civic pride within communities and improving the environmental quality of shared green spaces to bring about cleaner, greener and safer places to live.
Grants of £500 up to £5000 are available for successful applicants in 2024 with applications accepted from August 27 until September 17.
Between now and the deadline, Live Here Love Here will host ‘Connecting Communities’ events in-person across the region, and online. These are a chance for interested parties to learn about the Small Grants Scheme and meet previous recipients, whilst also learning about wider Live Here Love Here initiatives such as carbon literacy training for communities and volunteering opportunities.
Half Moon Lake Men’s Shed received Belfast City Council funding as part of last year’s Small Grants Scheme.
The funding helped members revitalise a large waste area at the entrance to Half Moon Lake and build large sleepers which were planted with a variety of native species to improve the biodiversity of the area, whilst also making it more enjoyable for visitors. 10 volunteers worked tirelessly for more than 200 hours to improve the 10-acre site.
Orla McGrady, Grants Officer at Live Here Love Here explains how important the Scheme has become to communities throughout the last decade.
She said: “Live Here Love Here is a people-powered campaign focused on improving our local environment and building a sense of civic pride in our local communities.
“Our Small Grants Scheme is an excellent example of this in practice. Over the past decade we have seen the lasting impact the scheme has made by helping people come together to work on a common goal.
“Everyone in the community benefits from the environmental and aesthetic improvements yielded as a result, and this is incredibly important to how people feel about and treat where they live.
“Last year alone, along with the support of local councils and the Housing Executive, we were able to help 89 groups deliver improvements worth £113,760. Whilst we are delighted to provide financial assistance, the groups that carry out these works should be commended for the real difference they make to their communities.
“Along with our partners, we look forward to this year’s applications, and encourage anyone with a viable idea to register to attend to a community event in their area or check out the Live Here Love Here website for more information.”
Application is open to volunteer groups (constituted or otherwise), community groups, charities all schools and third-level education organisations, sports clubs and not-for-profit organisations based anywhere in Northern Ireland.
Applicants should be embedded in their local community and have a project idea that can benefit the wider community and the environment whilst also creating a positive legacy within the area.
Tidy Randalstown has continued to benefit from Live Here Love Here funding over recent years and is a prime example of the legacy Small Grants Scheme has.
Originally founded as a grassroots initiative thirteen years ago aimed at “tidying up the town” for the benefit of local residents, it has since grown to become an organisation of more than 70 people who contribute their time weekly to maintain six community gardens, planting schemes and numerous other environmental projects.
Lisburn’s Crewe United has been building a biodiversity space at the club grounds over the past three years, establishing a wildflower meadow and allotments. In 2023, it secured funding for 2500 new trees as a result of a Small Grant to improve biodiversity, with 546 volunteers working 273 hours across a one-acre site to plant them.
Lynda Surgenor, Manager at Live Here Love Here said: “The Small Grants Scheme is a wonderful opportunity for communities given how broad it is in terms of what we can support, and the various levels of funding available.
“For instance, one community may apply for funding to develop a neglected green space with planting, whilst another may wish to reduce littering and dog fouling. Over the last decade we have also supported larger projects such as irrigation systems, polytunnels, community gardens and educational activities.
“It’s been wonderful to see how the Scheme has continued to grow over the last number of years, marked by a whopping 454 applications last year.”
To apply for the Small Grants Scheme, or for more information on the Connecting Communities Events, visit liveherelovehere.org/smallgrants.
