Bolton’s Fund has celebrated its fifth birthday with an awards ceremony to recognise our local volunteer groups.
A “Celebration of Bolton’s Fund 5th Birthday” was held at Bolton Albert Halls yesterday, Thursday 5 December 2024.
Bolton’s Fund is a voluntary sector grants programme delivered by Bolton Council, Bolton CVS, and NHS Greater Manchester.
Bolton’s Fund is a rolling grants programme open throughout the year. Funding is awarded by an independent panel who assess against the fund priorities.
Six awards were presented to groups whose projects have best reflected the six Bolton’s Fund outcomes; Start Well, Live Well, Age Well, Prosperous, Clean and Green, Safe, Strong and Distinctive.
The winners were:
Bolton Toy Library – Start Well Award
Henshaws – Live Well Award
Bolton Hindus Age Inspiration – Age Well Award
Re-cycle IT – Prosperous Award
Halliwell Environmental Ramblers Association – Clean and Green Award
Changing Life Directions – Safe, Strong and Distinctive Award
£500 was awarded to the winners of each category.
The awards were sponsored by Seddon, Bolton Wanderers in the Community, Lightful Ltd and Adullam Homes.
Bolton’s Fund began in December 2019 with a pilot ‘small investment’ programme that awarded £22,000 across 27 Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) groups.
Since then, a total of over £6.5m has been distributed through more than 1200 grants to Bolton VCSE organisations enabling them to deliver projects, services and activities to Bolton people.
Cllr Rabiya Jiva, Bolton Council’s Executive Cabinet for Stronger Communities, said:
“Bolton’s Fund not only provides financial support to the sector but also acts as a passport to further development for Bolton’s voluntary and community groups and social enterprises.
“The scheme has gone from strength to strength over the last five years, enabling our volunteer sector to prosper and make a real difference to people’s lives.
“The dedication of our groups and the value they bring to communities does not go unnoticed.
“These awards are an opportunity to recognise and reward our hardworking volunteers who do so much good work in our borough.”
Further information can be found on the Bolton CVS website.