Vivo sets up Community Fund

Council company Vivo Care Choices has launched a Community Fund, in partnership with Cheshire West Voluntary Action (CWVA), to support community initiatives across the borough.

Vivo provides a range of flexible and responsive support for adults with learning disabilities and autism and older people, including those with dementia.

The Community Fund is worth £20,000 and will be split into two rounds of applications, with £10,000 available immediately and another £10,000 up for grabs in September 2020.

CWVA will manage the Community Fund and applications will be judged by a panel, including Vivo staff and people using its services, to make sure grants go to worthy community initiatives.

Alistair Jeffs, Managing Director of Vivo, said: “We’ve set up our Community Fund as we wanted to give something back to the community.

“At Vivo, we support some of the most vulnerable people in our communities, but there are many other community initiatives out there doing some brilliant work.

“We’ve made significant improvements across our services over the last 18 months or so and working with our partners in the community has been a key part of that.

“Funding is essential for a lot of community initiatives, particularly some of the smaller ones.

“We wanted to provide an opportunity for them to access additional funding that can help them deliver their invaluable services.”

Clare Harrison, Deputy Chief Executive of CWVA, added: “We’re delighted to be helping Vivo with its Community Fund.

“As the go-to organisation for the voluntary and community sector, we’re fully aware of the valuable role community initiatives play in our society.

“We’ll help make sure grants from the Community Fund are given to worthwhile projects.”

Who can apply

You need to be a not-for-profit organisation based in west Cheshire to access Vivo’s Community Response Fund.

Funding can be used to pay for things like transport, equipment, volunteer expenses and other project costs.

Although the Fund can support community initiatives responding to the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, it has been set up to help a range of different projects benefiting communities across west Cheshire. Smaller community initiatives that may not have accessed some of the other funding streams available are more likely to be supported.

The Community Response Fund is worth £20,000, with grants ranging from £500 to £3,000, so please bear in mind that it won’t be able to support all applicants.

• Complete an application form

If you have any questions about Vivo’s Community Fund, please email: enquiries@chesterva.org.uk.