The Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA) have launched a new grant scheme with the aim of funding community projects in areas along the coast of Wales. The aim of the grant is to bring different individuals and groups together and encourage them to co-operate in order to get to grips with the nature emergency. The name of the scheme is the Coastal Capacity Building Fund and grants will be distributed through Local Nature Partnerships.
The WCVA wants to see sustainable activity that will promote growth in coastal areas and their hope is that this grant will facilitate that. The scheme has a £500,000 yearly budget, provided by the Welsh Government and applications must show that they are projects that will last five months or more and hold a value of at least £20,000. The final closing date for submissions is 31 March 2025. The closing date for submissions for the first round of the plan is 22 September 2023.
Lesley Griffiths, Minister for Rural Affairs in the Welsh Government, said:
‘I am pleased we can provide funding to support important projects which will make a difference in improving the environmental outcomes of our coastal communities.
There are a number of initiatives the fund could support, from improving local seafood supply chains and their sustainability, to implementing recycling ideas and building an understanding of how to improve water quality.
I encourage anybody with an interest to consider applying to the fund.’
Head of Grants and Income at WCVA, Catherine Miller said:
‘We welcome the Coastal Capacity Building Scheme which is an innovative fund that will support coastal communities in Wales to work with partners to address the challenges facing marine and coastal environments.
We’re really looking forward to seeing where this fund can take our coastal communities here in Wales.’
To learn more about the fund, and to learn how to make an application and to see examples from the pilot project, follow this link to WCVA’s website.
