Co-op welcomes applicants for new Community Fund

Monday 06 September 2021

The Channel Islands Co-operative Society is appealing for local good causes to apply for financial support from its new Community Fund.

Launched earlier this year, the Co-op Community Fund is dedicated to supporting community and environmental causes in the Channel Islands. It was introduced to replace the two previous funds run by the Society: Helping Hands and Eco Fund.

This is the second of two annual grant pay-outs per year, the first dished out almost £10,000 across Guernsey.

One such project was The Accidental Zoo, a charity that uses its resources to bring alive children’s learning experiences and support adult health and wellbeing in the Bailiwick.

A £507 grant was donated to its Thrive Outside event, providing more than 1,000 Bailiwick primary school children with a ‘learning outside the classroom’ experience and the opportunity to meet and learn about different types of farm animals and reptiles. 

Pictured: The Thrive Outside event allowed schoolchildren to learn more about different types of farm animals and reptiles. 

Charlotte Le Guilcher, Co-Founder and Chief Executive of The Accidental Zoo, described the event as a "huge success".

"It helped us to inspire children across Bailiwick with a fun, hands-on learning experience. The funding application was simple and we would recommend it to other local organisations looking for a financial boost for a community initiative.”

Carl Winn, the Society’s Head of Community and Sustainability, said: “We know that due to factors such as Brexit and more recently, the coronavirus pandemic, that funding for local charities and organisations is in great need.

“Therefore, we would encourage charities and non-profit organisations across Jersey and Guernsey - whether big or small- to apply to receive support from our Community Fund.’”

“We’ve all witnessed the important role our charities and supported projects provide to the local community and the real difference they make. This fund exists to support those people and causes so they can continue to do just that; make a real difference.”

The fund will remain open for applications year-round. Applications submitted by 30 September 2021 will be reviewed for the second funding pay-out in the following few weeks. Successsful projects will be contacted and grants will be awarded shortly after. This process will then be repeated in spring 2022. 

More details on the Society’s new community fund can be found HERE.