The next round of Community Initiative Funding, which supports West Sussex community groups and organisations, is now open and has been extended to support groups carrying out Coronavirus-related community work.

The Community Initiative Fund (CIF) supports local projects in two ways, depending on their size:

• The Micro Fund is for small-scale projects with a total value of £750 or less and can be applied for through the County Local Committees (CLCs).
• The West Sussex Crowd is a crowdfunding platform through which the County Council can contribute towards an element of a project or where the total project costs exceed £750. Organisations can pitch for up to £5,000 to help hit their targets.

These could include projects directly supporting their communities in the current situation, such as voluntary organisations being able to support those self-isolating and groups providing support to the most vulnerable in West Sussex.

The deadline to upload a project idea to West Sussex Crowd and apply to CIF for additional funding consideration is Thursday 28 May. To help shape ideas and get projects ready for crowdfunding, Spacehive are hosting two webinars in the coming week – register now for 23 April at 2 pm, or 28 April at 6 pm.

To find out the Micro Fund application deadline for the County Local Committee covering your project location or for any other enquiries, please email talkwithus@westsussex.gov.uk or telephone 0330 22 25075.

Find out more about CIF here.