A new Church Urban Fund (CUF) grant is available for local groups and organisations who are working to address recent and long entrenched tensions in local areas between faith and ethnic communities.

The Common Good Fund had four key objectives:

  • Creating a common agenda – CUF want to see local people reach a shared vision of how to work together to improve their areas.
  • Promoting a sense of personal responsibility – CUF recognise that everyone has something to contribute and should feel ownership over local initiatives.
  • Increasing levels of participation and social cohesion – CUF believe that the local community is strongest when everyone is involved in social action.
  • Promoting an alternative to hate, intolerance, and prejudice – CUF feel that meaningful relationships can develop where there is shared understanding, as well as trust and respect for each other.

Grants from the Common Good Fund are available across England (except for the areas where Near Neighbours Small Grants are available.)

Projects applying for the fund should:

  • Bring together peoples of two or more different faiths and/or ethnicities, to build friendships and develop relationships of trust.
  • Work locally. CUF want to see people who are living very locally (i.e. in the same street, estate or neighbourhood) come together.
  • Work sustainably. CUF want to see long term and natural relationships grow, that will last beyond the period of funding.
  • Work to improve the community. CUF would like to see people working to make their communities a better place to live.
  • Involve diverse people in planning and implementation. People from more than one faith group and/or ethnicity are involved in planning and implementing the proposal.

You can read the full Grants Criteria and Guidance here.

To apply for one of the grants, it is suggested in the first instance that you speak with your local Common Good Fund Link Officer about your proposals. For the Diocese of Truro, the officer is Andrew Yates who can be contacted on srotruro@btinternet.com

Once you are ready to complete the application form, it can be downloaded here. 

For further information, visit www.cuf.org.uk/common-good-fund