Community groups and charities in Luton aiming for grants of up to £10,000 can join a free virtual advice session on 7 July. The Bedfordshire and Luton Community Foundation (BLCF) is running the online event to explain the Luton Rising Small Grants Fund ahead of the next application deadline.
Taking place at 6pm, the workshop will detail the fund’s five priority areas: economic recovery, protecting the most disadvantaged, building a child-friendly town, improving sustainability, and strengthening community groups. While the most recent expression of interest window shut on 30 June, the next cut-off date is 29 September. A panel of local residents will then decide which full applications receive funding in late December.
In the last round, 17 per cent of organisations that submitted an initial expression of interest were invited to make a full bid, and 80 per cent of those were successful. Since October 2019, BLCF has awarded £13.4 million across 296 grants, reaching nearly one million beneficiaries. The foundation administers the fund on behalf of Luton Rising, the trading name of London Luton Airport Ltd, which has channelled more than £480 million into the town over 25 years.
Luton Rising’s community programme carries an annual budget of roughly £7.4 million. Half of that supports Active Luton and The Culture Trust Luton, while the remainder backs around 50 local charities. BLCF secured a fresh four-and-a-half-year contract in October 2023 to continue delivering the grants. Karen Perkins, the foundation’s chief executive, said the partnership aims to ‘make a tangible difference to the lives of the people in our communities.’ Councillor Javeria Hussain, chair of Luton Rising’s board, noted the milestone of nearly half a billion pounds invested locally since 1998.
Places for the session must be booked in advance through the BLCF ticket page at buytickets.at.
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