You may have already heard that Birmingham Community Matters has secured funding for the next three years. Now the news of our grant has been officially released, we can tell you more.

BCM has been successful in its application for a Reaching Communities England grant, administered by the National Lottery Community Fund.

The grants are awarded to voluntary or community organisations in England which take action on the issues that matter to people and communities.

BCM recognises how difficult it is for people running or starting community groups and projects to get the support they need. As you may know, we aim to bring people face to face with others who have had relevant experience. We hold ‘surgeries’ in community venues across the city, where people with questions and ideas can drop in for an informal chat with volunteers who have experience of doing similar things. We also share resources and hold workshops on topics such as fundraising.

The funding from Reaching Communities England will allow us to employ staff to develop the organisation, holding surgeries in different parts of the city and supporting greater numbers of small and emerging community groups.

Emma Woolf MBE, our Chair, said the funding has unlimited potential for benefiting people and projects across the city.

“Our work through Birmingham Community Matters aims to give people the skills and confidence they need to go out and make things happen in their communities. Whether their idea is a tiny seed, or they need support in growing their community group, we want to help them access the information they need in a way that suits them.

“BCM is building a peer-to-peer network with the motto: ‘Everyone has something to learn and everyone has something to teach’. Being awarded this funding gives us the resources we need to develop our approach and produce a model that others could adopt.

“We are very grateful to National Lottery Reaching Communities England for supporting BCM’s work in bringing people together to strengthen communities.”

BCM’s board of trustees is working on the recruitment process and will publish details of employment opportunities soon: watch this space.