The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust (the Trust) has announced the awards made at the final round of the Armed Forces Covenant: Local Grants programme.
Almost £700,000 has been awarded in this round, to 48 projects, spanning the UK and even supporting those based in British Forces Cyprus.
Supporting the community in different ways
A whole range of projects have received funding including gardening projects, community hubs, education support, intervention projects, and exploring our military history.
Melloney Poole, Chief Executive for the Trust said:
“Over the past five years, more than 700 awards have been made, supporting community integration and local delivery of services to our Armed Forces community. This latest round of funding was popular as ever, and we are delighted to have been able to support projects across the whole of the UK with a funding boost of up to £20,000 each. With our Local Grants consultation we’re currently considering what comes next for local Covenant grant funding and we’re excited to bring a new programme to the community later this year.”
Awarding great projects
The Veterans’ Living History museum were awarded £19,634 to allow them to extend their project, educating people about British and Commonwealth military history in a fun and interactive way.
Wayne Hester from the museum said:
“The Armed Forces Covenant Fund will help us in a massive way to move forward and become one of the most unique mobile museums across the North West and widen our area to other organisations and events. With this funding, we will be purchasing a military vehicle and trailer to help us on our journey, plus new artefacts and uniforms.”
The University of South Wales received £14,382 to lead the formation of a Wales-based hub, in partnership with SSCE Cymru and the SCiP Alliance, to engage with and provide support for the educational progression of Service children and their families.
Dr Ross Hall from the University said: “It is great to be trusted with Covenant funding to support our Wales-based Service children in this new venture. We are really looking forward to establishing key relationships and helping to assist Service children in their educational development, throughout their lifespan.
We aim to widen participation from an under-represented population within the UK HE sector, by demystifying people’s understanding of Further and Higher Education and who can benefit from completing awards across the academic spectrum.
USW already have a recognition of prior learning scheme for serving and ex-Forces, and we plan to widen this to spouses to show our commitment to the wider Forces community.”
Find out more
To view the latest Local Grants awards made by the Trust, visit their website, www.covenantfund.org.uk
Notes for Editors
Image: Living history museum LG – image supplied by awardee, group quoted in press release.
The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust is an independent charity that manages the grant programmes funded by the Covenant Fund.
We also run wider funding programmes that support the Armed Forces community.
These include the £10M Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund.
Media contact: Sonia Howe, Director of Policy Sonia.howe@covenantfund.org.uk
