The West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, Simon Foster, is releasing £180,000 to help communities in the West Midlands make their areas safer.
The money, which is made up from cash that police have seized from criminals under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, will be handed out to community organisations who want to invest in their neighbourhoods.
The scheme is now known as the Helping Communities Fund (HCF), but was previously called the Active Citizens Fund.
Its purpose is to support locally based projects, that aim to make a positive difference and which make the West Midlands a safer place to live, learn or work. All funded projects will contribute to crime prevention, reduction, and community safety in the local area.
Since October 2021, the Commissioner has provided each Local Policing Area (LPA) with a share of the £400,000 budget to help fund community projects.
The remaining Helping Communities Fund will open to applications from Tuesday, May 9th.
Bids must be submitted by noon on Tuesday, 30 May. Late applications will not be accepted.
Decisions will be made by community panels from W/C 19th June 2023.
Police and Crime Commissioner, Simon Foster said: “I would encourage groups from across the West Midlands to apply for funding. There is no better use for proceeds of crime, seized from criminals, than to invest it back into the community.
“At a time when the cost of living is spiralling, it is right there is funding to support community organisations that aim to prevent and reduce crime and anti-social behaviour, promote community safety and support vulnerable victims in our communities.”
Chief Superintendent Anthony Tagg added: “The launch of the Helping Communities Fund has enabled locally based projects and programmes to obtain funding for crime prevention & reduction, and community safety work across the West Midlands.
“Further funding is being made available to tackle issues that matter most to our communities. This funding is made available from money taken from criminals and those who seek to cause harm to our communities under the Proceeds of Crime Act. It’s then awarded to support local projects and activities in neighbourhoods from across the West Midlands.
“Many community-led initiatives are benefitting from this investment, however the Helping Communities Fund also involves communities in deciding which bids are successful in receiving this money. I encourage everyone to consider applying to help make the West Midlands an even safer place to live and work’
This year, the application form has been simplified with more tick box options available to describe the project. A new ceiling for applications of £3,500 has also been introduced to enable more organisations to succeed from the funding budget.
Full information on the Helping Communities Fund and an application form can be found here.
