Pots of money on offer to help create a greener economy in Lancaster district

The Pots of Possibility fund offers grants of between £5,000 and £10,000 to community groups, social enterprises and not-for-profit organisations.

It supports ideas for community-led action to reduce waste, improve sustainable consumption habits, restore the environment and build healthier communities.

It is part of Closing Loops, a £1.5m project funded by The National Lottery Community Fund that will distribute £300,000 in small grants over the next four years.

Closing Loops is led by FoodFutures, north Lancashire's sustainable food partnership. The scheme is delivered by six local organisations (LESS (Lancaster District) CIC, Lancaster District CVS, Eggcup, Global Link, Shared Future CIC and Scientists for Global Responsibility), and is funded by The National Lottery Community Fund.

It is supported by a broad coalition of partners through the FoodFutures partnership and reports on project activity to the FoodFutures working groups.

The fund will offer two different granting opportunities:

*Community Pots – Grants of up to £5,000 to support pilot projects, test the feasibility of new ideas and support community projects.

*Your Pots – Grants of between £5,000 and £10,000 to take forward new ideas or to scale up and expand regenerative projects and enterprises that will help our community and environment to flourish over the long term.

The first round of Community Pots grants were awarded earlier this year, with 13 local projects receiving funding. The current round of funding is for the Your Pots grants, with a deadline of October 6 for submitting applications.

Community organisations, charities, social enterprises and other not-for-profit groups can apply to develop ideas in any of the following themes:

*Reusing, repurposing or repairing materials currently going to waste (e.g. textiles, electronics, packaging, surplus food, etc)

*Sharing resources (e.g. tools, materials, skills, etc) or repurposing unused space for community benefit

*Inspiring people to use and buy things more sustainably and to produce less waste

*Growing, cooking and eating food that’s local, seasonal and sustainably produced

Grant applications will be taken forward to a community event where organisations pitch their project ideas and members of the public vote to make recommendations about who should get the money. This innovative approach to awarding grants is called ‘participatory budgeting’, and is an opportunity for organisations to build connections and increase community engagement with their project.

There won’t just be one winner, and it’s not about ‘winner takes all’. It’s about local communities deciding how best to spend scarce resources and about helping local projects to reach their full potential.

To find out more about the Your Pots grants currently available through the Pots of Possibility fund, go online at https://lancastercvs.org.uk/pots-of-possibility/

Anyone interested in finding out more can come along to a drop-in support session, where representatives from Closing Loops and Lancaster District CVS will be on hand to answer questions.

Drop-in support sessions are available:

Wednesday September 13 (10am-noon) Morecambe Hobby Hub, Yorkshire Street West, Morecambe

Wednesday September 20 (2-4pm) Lancaster Sustainability Hub, Unit 6 Marketgate, Lancaster

Yak Patel, chief officer at Lancaster District CVS, said: "As the umbrella organisation for the voluntary sector across the Lancaster district, it's really exciting to be working with LESS and all the Closing Loops project partners in taking action to help grow a zero-waste, regenerative economy in north Lancashire.

"We were thrilled by the amazing response to the Pots of Possibility Community Pots round earlier this year, and now we're looking forward to giving the public their voice in the fund through the Your Pots participatory budgeting process.’’

"Thanks to The National Lottery Community Fund and National Lottery players, we’re proud to be distributing grants that mean grassroots projects can make a real difference to the health and wellbeing of communities and our environment, helping to create a more sustainable future."

Jo Stocking, REconomy coordinator at LESS (Lancaster District) CIC, said: "People are facing huge challenges at the moment in their daily lives and it’s easy to feel powerless and without a voice.

"But there are also so many amazing projects happening right across our communities - from repair cafes, surplus food swaps and community gardens through to local enterprises changing their business model to put social and environmental regeneration at their core.

"We want to connect those people and projects up – to ‘close the loop’ if you like – and really make a difference in the Lancaster district.

"By applying to the Your Pots fund and pitching their project idea at a public event, groups can showcase what they’re doing, get more people involved and build connections with other projects. And because the grants are decided by public vote, anyone who comes along to vote at the decision day in November will be making a big and immediate difference to some very worthwhile local projects."

Jez Hall from Shared Future CIC, who is advising on the design of the project, said: "Pots of Possibility, and in particular the Your Pots fund, is an exciting and well proven way to put decision-making power into the hands of the residents of Lancaster District.

"To be able to choose where funding goes is a big responsibility, and, backed by the great team involved in Closing Loops, I’m confident the community will step up and it will be a great success.

"From long experience of seeing this participatory budgeting approach in other places, the impact can be genuinely surprising. It's not just about money, but also the new connections that will be forged. Sharing ideas, working together, and trusting others is the beating heart of a strong community. And that local energy and passion is what we will work with, and grow, in Lancaster district."