June 9, 2014 2.25 pm This story is over 117 months old

Community grants offered to help Lincoln’s unemployed

£15k grants: Community and volunteer groups in Lincoln helping the unemployed could benefit from a new round of funding.

Photo: Anna Langova

Grants of up to £15,000 are now on offer in Lincoln to help voluntary and community groups support the city’s unemployed.

The second round of the ESF Community Grants Fund launched on June 2, managed by Futures Advice Skills & Employment and funded by the Skills Funding Agency and the European Social Fund.

The grants aim to help groups reach out and help those struggling or “hard to reach” in the labour market around the city and county.

Grants of between £5,000 and £15,000 are available to support different activities.

Activities accepted include:

  • Initial help with basic skills
  • Taster work experience including voluntary work
  • Training, advice and counselling
  • Confidence building
  • Job search assistance including the provision of equipment and other help necessary to secure employment

The first round was in February, with 169 applications from across the East Midlands.

Sarah Bull from Futures said: “We were really pleased with the response to the first round and in total we have already allocated over £172,000 to groups across the East Midlands.

“We are looking forward to receiving even more applications in the next round and interested groups and organisations can find out more from our website.”

Groups can request an application pack before June 20 by emailing [email protected].

Applications must be returned to Futures by Friday, June 27.

There will also be a Futures event Lincoln Voluntary Centre Services on Tentercroft Street, Lincoln, on June 12 between 11am and 12.30pm to discuss the funding available.