The Prince’s Countryside Fund (PCF) is opening for grant
applications of up to £10,000 on Thursday 18th
February thanks to support from players of People’s Postcode
Lottery and the NFU Mutual Charitable Trust.
Established in 2010 by HRH The Prince of
Wales, the PCF aims to ensure that the UK has
thriving family farms and rural communities, encouraged and
recognised for their role in creating a sustainable future for
the countryside and our whole nation. The PCF is seeking
innovative projects that build resilience through community-led
solutions, from groups and organisations who are working in
villages and hamlets with populations of less than 3,000
residents.
This new grant programme opens on
Thursday 18th February for rural communities from
across the UK to apply for grants of up to £10,000 and will close
on Friday 19th March. The PCF particularly encourages
applications from Norfolk, Suffolk, South East
England and Wales. Applications can be made here: www.princescountrysidefund.org.uk/grants.
Keith Halstead, Executive Director at The
Prince’s Countryside Fund said: “The Fund’s grant programmes
work to empower rural communities to ensure that they flourish,
now and in the future. We particularly want to invest in
innovative projects in remote rural areas - our Village Survival
Guide has some fantastic examples of unleashing the potential of
rural communities. We would like to thank
players of People’s Postcode Lottery and the NFU Mutual
Charitable Trust for their continuing support which has been
vital over the past year.”
Richard Mckie, Chair of Godolphin Cross
Community Association who received a grant from PCF
in December 2020, said: “Godolphin Cross is a rural village
in west Cornwall which has no shops, no pub, and no recreation
facilities. But with support from The Prince’s Countryside Fund,
a new project will operate in early 2021. Local volunteers will
provide much needed connections to a host of helping services and
provide new opportunities for the most vulnerable people to enjoy
the company of others and use new catering facilities at The Old
Chapel in the heart of the
village.”
For more information and to apply, please
visit: www.princescountrysidefund.org.uk/grants.
ENDS
Notes to
Editors
The Prince’s Countryside
Fund was established by HRH The Prince of
Wales in 2010 and aims to enhance the prospects of family farm
businesses and the quality of rural life. We believe that the
British countryside is our most valuable natural asset and its
contribution to our everyday life cannot be
underestimated.
Over the past decade, The Prince’s
Countryside Fund has given away over £10 million to more than 350
projects working across the UK which improve service provision in
rural areas, support farming businesses and rural enterprises,
and provide training opportunities for young people. In short,
we look after the people who look after the
countryside.
To help support and secure the future of
the countryside, we work in a number of
ways:
-
By providing more than £1m in grant and
initiative funding every year to projects across the UK that
help to provide a secure future for the
countryside.
-
Leading initiatives, such as The
Prince’s Farm Resilience Programme which offers free business
skills training to family farms across the
UK.
-
Commissioning research into issues
affecting farming families and rural
communities.
-
Being an advocate for the countryside
by bringing together individuals and businesses to help tackle
current challenges.
-
Working with partners to provide
exciting schemes for those from rural
areas.
-
Helping communities in crisis through
our Emergency Fund.
To find out more, visit the Fund’s
website at www.princescountrysidefund.org.uk
