Volunteer Support Fund

The Volunteer Support Fund aims to support and strengthen voluntary and community organisations in County Durham in the aftermath of Covid-19 lockdowns in 2020 and 2021.

Who can apply? 

Priority will be given to

• small and medium sized voluntary and community organisations based in County Durham with charitable aims that typically have an annual turnover of less than £250,000
• those applications that demonstrate that they are focussing on engaging with members of their communities who experience barriers to volunteering and have been adversely impacted by Covid-19
• organisations that are wishing to develop their volunteering capabilities in a structured way e.g. through engaging with the volunteer Kite-mark process to deliver greater community and organisational resilience.

When to apply? 

This fund considers applications on a rolling basis – applicants are advised to apply promptly, as there is a finite amount of funding available.

What type of funding can you apply for? 

Organisations may apply for support to meet one of the fund’s key themes:

• to help them re-energise their volunteering capabilities to support overall organisational resilience
• to develop a structured and well-managed approach to volunteering
• to support in the recruitment and retention of volunteers
• to support volunteers to increase their skills and enhance their volunteering experience.

Further details are in the Grant Guidelines. Groups should read these carefully before applying. 

Groups should also read our general grant making criteria.  Click here to check that your organisation and activity or project for which you are seeking funding meets our criteria. 

Please contact a member of the Grants Team on  info@cdcf.org.uk if you have any questions or need help with your application