Community Cohesion Small Grants Scheme

Each year we open up the opportunity for community groups to apply for a small pot of money to assist with increasing and promoting cohesion.

Community cohesion is the process that must happen to ensure different groups of people get on well together in the area. A cohesive community is an area where those from different backgrounds share positive relationships, feel safe in the neighbourhood and have a sense of mutual respect and shared values.

Grant proposals must align with one or both of the two objectives of the small grants scheme or will not be eligible:

• Deliver activities that support ethnic minority communities to address community tensions and build community cohesion. This includes Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities; Refugees and Asylum Seekers; and action to tackle Antisemitism and Islamophobia.
• Deliver events and activities that specifically bring together people from different communities to foster a wider sense of community and belonging. Proposals should consider how activities support integration, tackle loneliness and isolation, identify commonality through shared interests and experiences, and celebrate the culture and heritage of the area.

We encourage applications to carry out activities to bring together communities who may otherwise never get to meet online or in person – for example new arrivals in neighbourhoods getting to know people who have lived in the area for a long time, twinning projects with other communities in different parts of Wales where areas have a different diversity profile, or intergenerational work. Often this can be done though arranging social, cultural or sporting activities. But these activities must also include some additional ‘meaningful activity’ such as conversations, sharing life experiences, getting to know each other, or finding out what they have in common.

Projects could also raise awareness of campaigns or events such as: Hate Crime Awareness Week; Interfaith Week; Holocaust Memorial Day; International Day of Disability; Black History Month etc.

Contact us: COMCommunityCohesion@carmarthenshire.gov.uk