The Royal Countryside Fund Extends Deadline For £500,000 Funding Programme To ‘Power Up’ Rural Communities

The Royal Countryside Fund is urging more community-led organisations in rural Cumbria and Northumberland to apply for a new £500,000 funding programme to support local projects in partnership with The National Lottery Community Fund. The deadline for applications has been extended to 12 noon on 26th September to boost the number of expressions of interest received.

The fund is seeking applications from organisations across the two counties that have the potential to ‘power up, not prop up’ rural communities. The initiative – the first county-based programme from The Royal Countryside Fund - aims to revitalise these areas by funding projects that address the unique challenges and opportunities they face.

Figures show that the average wage in rural areas is 7.5% less than the urban equivalent, yet residents must spend up to 20% more on everyday items like fuel and transport, while many living in rural communities also face hidden levels of hardship such as loneliness and isolation.

Rural community organisations can apply for funding of different amounts to reflect the type and size of their projects, up to £30k over a period of 18 months. The funding will deliver activities along the themes of:

1. Powering up Rural Communities

2. Increasing Environmental Sustainability.

Communities are invited to bid for funding that will create tangible change. For example, a project that provides financial benefit, generating more money for use in the local area. This could be a plan to generate a new income stream for the local community, or the creation of learning or skills opportunities. The project might have an environmental benefit, for example reducing negative environmental impacts in the community or helping increase community awareness and engagement with the local environment.

Keith Halstead,

Keith Halstead, Executive Director of The Royal Countryside Fund, said:
"The summer is a busy period for many so we wanted to allow a bit more time for organisations to apply for this funding which we believe will truly inspire change in rural parts of Cumbria and Northumberland.

“We are asking community-led groups to submit a short video and complete a simple ‘Expression of Interest’ form by 26th September. We are particularly excited to see innovative solutions to the challenges facing rural areas. Is there a project that hasn’t been done before that could be replicated in other rural communities to have an even bigger impact?”

The Royal Countryside Fund has so far invested more than £12 million in over 500 rural community-led projects, including two previous examples of highly innovative and impactful projects in Cumbria and Northumberland:

Grizedale Arts and The Farmers Arms in Cumbria: a project in collaboration with the community which turned an old pub into a rural hub, creating a local space for creative and business projects to run as well as hosting training events and volunteer placements for local people.

Blackhall Mill Community Association in Newcastle: a community initiative to develop a how-to-guide and model for setting up an electric vehicle car club, called a ‘car club in a box’, to enable other communities to create their own. The innovation is designed to support the development of new clubs in other communities, de-carbonise transport, improve accessibility and strengthen to sustainability of their own club for the community.

The Royal Countryside Fund is seeking applications from community projects that will create tangible change, helping to do one or more of the following:

Help provide financial benefits to the locality

Build a stronger sense of community and connectedness

Benefit the local environment, creating positive benefits for the community

Create an innovative and replicable approach, addressing an unmet need within a rural area

To apply, visit https://www.royalcountrysidefund.org.uk/supportingruralcommunities to submit a short video and complete a simple ‘Expression of Interest’ form, with a very brief overview of the project, what you aim to achieve and why you are well placed to deliver it. .