Grants to our community

North Walsham Community Shop raises funds for the community of North Walsham. It’s that simple!
We raise funds to support local groups and charities that;

• Help people of a variety of ages and abilities,
• Enhance any aspect of the environment of our town.

It works. We opened on 15th January 2018 and thanks to the generous support and encouragement by the town’s community, we are successfully raising funds to support local projects that satisfy our stated aims.

These aims define the charity and are;

• To help disadvantaged groups in the town and local area to help them meet their needs and participate more fully in society and to promote equality and diversity
• To help projects and groups improve the public environment to enhance the quality of life for all

We’ve made our aims as wide ranging as possible. This allows us to provide support to a massively diverse range of groups, campaigns and initiatives across the town.

WHY DO WE DO IT?

North Walsham has an unusually strong and vibrant community. We’re all quite proud to be a part of it. The scale of involvement in social media forums not only demonstrates this but also shows a keen interest in the town’s regeneration.

Over the last 10 years or so, grants and funding throughout the UK have all but vanished. This now leaves a massive range of wonderful projects either struggling financially or simply never happening. Simple ideas can make a huge difference to people’s lives, offering opportunities and support that would otherwise never happen.

Projects that may not seem important on a national level are important to us. We understand our community and see how little it costs to make a big difference. Between us we provide simple, easily accessible funding for the things our community cares about and that very probably wouldn’t happen without the shop.

WHAT WE WANT IN RETURN

In return for grants and funding, all we ask is that groups clearly advertise the fact that we have helped them. This helps to promote the shop and encourages further donations that will help fund future grants …… a virtuous circle of community collaboration.

APPLY FOR FUNDING

To apply for a grant, fill in our simple Grant form which is available here or pick up a printed copy from the shop. More information about filling in the form is available here.

The grants committee meets in the first week of each month and is made up of the four Trustees of the shop, plus two independent members, Curate Rachel Dines and Councillor Garry Bull.

At the end of each month, all the applications received will be reviewed by the committee and awards will be handed out the following month.

We are proud to list the projects and groups that we have funded so far, below.

“Special thanks to the people behind the project of the community shop, the volunteers manning the shop and the local community who are supporting this venture. Well done” Colin Jeary, North Walsham Funday

“Thanks to North Walsham Community Shop for their kind donation” Matt Smith North Walsham Play

Grants awarded so far £12,361

Trustee Bob Wright said that “all 14 members of the Community Shop team are proud to be able to provide funding for locally focussed projects like this. It is the reason that the shop was established, and we look forward to awarding further grants every month”

Grants in January 2019

• £500 to North Walsham Football Club to purchase wheels to move goal posts around the Greens Road site
• £150 to North Walsham Morsbag Pod to purchase an extra sewing machine to help make more of their environmentally bags, made of recycled fabric. They have already handed out 100s of these free to shoppers

Grants in December

• £500 to Childrens’ Day group to provide a climbing wall, animal experience and balloon modeller at their event on 6th May 2019

Grants in November

• £200 to the North Walsham Youth gardeners for the purchase gardening equipment and plants

Grants in October

• £495 to Parkinsons UK, for room hire and exercise instructor fees
• £440 to New Stages, to purchase folding chairs for use by New Stages and also by other groups and events in town
• £750 to North Walsham Heritage Group, for professional management software to record their growing stock of artefacts
• £200 to North Walsham Good Neighbour Scheme, for purchase and distribution of fridge magnets as a semi-permanent reminder of where help can be found
• £1,000 to North Walsham Funday,  towards costs of setting up next year’s Funday

Grants in September

• £1,000 to Cromer & District Food Bank, to support their work in helping North Walsham people in crisis, with both food and fuel
• £500 to Walsham Community Events, for the hire of scissor lifts and for street entertainers at the Xmas lights switch-on

Grants in July

• The final £902.87 required by North Walsham Play to complete their funding for their works in the Memorial Park
• £535 to Playing for Cake to help fund the singing group sessions for those living with Parkinsons and Dementia, and their carers

Grants in June

• £200 to Friends of the Federation of North Walsham Junior, Infant School and Nursery, sponsoring refreshments at their fundraising Summer Fair
• £150 to Men’s Sheds – for publicity materials to promote their newly formed group
• £450 to Raise Norfolk – to improve the publicly accessible garden beside St Benet’s Hall
• £1000 to North Walsham Community First Responders – to fund an additional volunteer first responder, to improve their coverage and response to incidents to deliver life saving help in advance of the arrival of paramedics and ambulance
• £800 to Millfield School – to help them construct an Eco garden as an outdoor education area
• £245 to Think Carer Network – to establish a website to publicise their support to carers

Grants in May

• £250 to North Walsham New Road Bowls & Snooker Club to support their plan to upgrade facilities and grow their membership.
• £50 to North Walsham PCC, towards their ‘Morsbag’ Project, making recycled cloth bags to be handed out free.
• £200 to North Walsham Play, to help fund future fundraising events.
• £250 to North Walsham Heritage Group, to fund website development to promote Mi North Walsham

Grants in April

• £600 to fund the water play area at North Walsham Junior, Infant and Nursery Schools
• £150 to help the publicity of the great work of the North Walsham Good Neighbours Scheme
• £286 to ‘Save our Streets’ to fund additional speed safety signage on Aylsham Road

Grants in March 2018