Brighton & Hove Community Fund proposal

A new Brighton & Hove Community Fund could be set up to help voluntary and community groups in the city.

Brighton & Hove City Council is considering moving money from a number of trust funds, set up over the years as result of legacies and endowments, into the proposed new fund.

If the idea gets the go ahead, grants from the fund will initially benefit children and young people in the city, and libraries – in line with the wishes of donors who made the original bequests. The aim is for the fund to also raise more money and attract new endowments to support other local community causes.

Councillors will consider the proposal at a meeting of the Neighbourhoods, Communities and Equalities Committee on March 13, before a final decision is made at the Policy, Growth and Resources Committee on March 23.

Councillor Emma Daniel, chair of the Neighbourhoods, Communities and Equalities Committee, said: “Many of the trust funds the council administers date back for decades. We want to modernise the way grants are allocated, and create opportunities for any organisations, businesses or individuals who want to set up their own funds to benefit local community and voluntary groups, so that we can expand the support available.”

The proposal involves 11 trust funds, worth a total of £945,114, which are currently administered by the council’s grants team. The idea is that this money could move into a Brighton & Hove Community Fund, managed by the Sussex Community Foundation on behalf of the council.