Charities and voluntary groups urged to apply for share of cash windfall before 4th October deadline

Community groups and local charities across Norfolk, Suffolk and East Cambridgeshire are being given the chance to share in a cash windfall, after Lovewell Blake, a firm of chartered accountants and financial planners opened its community fund up for its 11th annual grants round.

The Lovewell Blake LB150 Fund gives out grants of up to £2,000 to charities, voluntary groups and community organisations, distributing money raised by staff and partners at the firm during the past 12 months.

Last year more than £30,000 was shared by 19 organisations, with cash going to a wide range of good causes ranging from a community play van and an organisation providing mentoring to young people with mental health issues, to a community gym and a local amateur theatre company.

The LB150 Fund was set up in 2008 to mark the firm’s 150th anniversary, with the aim of raising £150,000 for local charities and community groups. To date the fund has given out grants worth over £250,000. The fund is administered by the Norfolk Community Foundation, in partnership with its counterparts in Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.

“We are delighted to open the eleventh annual grants round from our LB150 Fund,” said Lovewell Blake’s CSR partner Gary Flatt. “It is a real pleasure to receive applications from smaller, local groups, as these are the organisations working at grassroots level in our communities which can really make a big difference.

“We have worked hard with the Community Foundation to make the application process simple, and I would urge organisations to come forward and bid for a share of this year’s fund.

“Our staff work hard all year, undertaking a variety of fundraising initiatives; this part of the process is the bit which makes it all worthwhile.”

Community organisations interested in applying for grants from the LB150 Fund can apply via their local Community Foundation. For details, go to the Norfolk Foundation website; there are also links here for organisations in Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The deadline for grant applications is 4 October.

Picture: Andy Newman