LCR Pride Foundation has today opened applications for a £20,000 Community Fund, for projects that support the LGBT+ community in the Liverpool City Region.
The announcement comes as the organisation responsible for delivering Pride in Liverpool and the annual March with Pride, confirms the cancellation of the 2020 event, following its postponement earlier in the year due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The first tranche of funding, supported by Barclays, comes from reserves initially allocated to deliver the city region’s Pride weekend celebrations. The funding will be separated in three separate funds, a General Fund, Film Fund and an Inclusive Physical Activity and Sport Fund.
The General Fund, which currently stands at £14,000, will be open to any project supporting the LGBT+ community in the Liverpool City Region and applicants can apply for grants of up to £1,000.
In line with the foundation’s 2020 theme ‘Young at Heart’, which focuses on health and wellness in the city region’s LBGT+ community, there will also be a dedicated Inclusive Physical Activity and Sport Fund of £3,000. This fund will allow applications up to £500 and will be open to projects that bring the LGBT+ community in the city region together to get active or to support its wider wellbeing.
Finally, a Film Fund has also been established, earmarking £3,000 specifically to commission short films about any element of the LGBT+ community, with applications of up to £1,000 accepted.
It is hoped that following this initial tranche of funding, more grants will be made available.
Speaking of the Community Grant Scheme, Lewis Collins, Chair of the LCR Pride Foundation Board of Directors, said:
“Since the foundation’s inception, it has been a fundamental aim to make community grants available.
“In recent weeks, it has become abundantly clear that we would not be able to safely and effectively deliver Pride in Liverpool and the annual March With Pride in 2020. As difficult a decision as this has been, we were determined to create a positive out of the cancellation.
“Thanks to the support of Barclays, who have made this first tranche of funding possible, we have been able to bring forward the launch of the LCR Pride Foundation Community Fund and make money available to projects supporting the city region’s LGBT+ community, during what has been an incredibly difficult year.”
All three funds open today and applications from marginalised or underrepresented groups are particularly encouraged. The deadline for submissions is Monday 3rd August 2020 and the first grants are expected to be awarded the following week.
All projects must be completed, or on track to be completed, by April 2021.
Andrew Websdale, Regional Head of Barclays Spectrum, Barclays LGBT+ colleague network said:
“Pride is more than a march, it’s about coming together as a community in celebration, unity and solidarity. Pride is still needed, perhaps all the more so for some. So although we can’t celebrate in the same way in Liverpool this year, we are delighted to support both the Young at Heart 2020 Digital Programme and the LCR Pride Foundation Community Fund. Now, more than ever, this fund is critical to ensuring the survival of groups who make such a large impact on the people they support.”
“We believe that everyone should be free to be who they are and love who they love. While homophobia, biphobia and transphobia still exists in the UK, we’ll continue to actively support Pride.”
For full information and eligibility criteria for all three funds, or to apply for a grant, please visit: www.lcrpride.co.uk/fund
For more information on LCR Pride Foundation, visit: www.lcrpride.co.uk
