COUNCIL leaders have backed a Lancashire Telegraph campaign that will see £250,000 handed out to deserving groups across the region.

The Telegraph has teamed up with the Big Lottery Fund to offer the cash to community groups across East Lancashire.

Grants of between £10,000 and £30,000 are available, but applications must be in by Sunday, July 21.

Coun Jennifer Mein, leader of Lancashire County Council, said the awards could make a real difference.

She said: “This is a welcome opportunity to highlight some of the fantastic work being done in the local community and voluntary sector.

“There are hundreds of groups and organisations in East Lancashire that could benefit from the fund and I have no doubt readers will find it hard to choose from the applications that come forward.

“As well as bringing funding into the community, I hope the scheme will inspire people to get involved in local projects and help make a positive difference to other people's lives.”

Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council Coun Kate Hollern also said it was a great initiative.

She said: “We have some wonderful people doing their best to make the borough a better place and this is a great opportunity for them to get hold of some much-needed cash.

“I am glad the Lancashire Telegraph is supporting these hard-working people by making this cash available.”

Big Lottery Fund England director Dharmendra Kanani urged groups to get their applications in as soon as possible.

He said: “Time is running out for you to fill in your application form and help make a difference to the lives of people and communities across East Lancashire.

“We hope this funding will help to bring people and communities together, particularly in difficult times, to feel empowered and access resources to turn lives around for the better.”

For an application form and guidelines, visit www.lancsfoundation.org.uk or call 0151 2322444 to get a paper copy.

How it works

The Lancashire Telegraph Community Cash Awards will be rolled out over the next few weeks.
The aim is to encourage communities to think about how funding could benefit their area. If your community has a great idea for how to spend a Lottery grant of between £10,000 and £30,000, the Awards could be for you.
Whether you are looking to run classes to get people more physically active, turn a derelict site into a community garden, set up afters-school cooking clubs, organise tea dances for isolated older people, train young people to become more emplyable or help your community get online, this funding can be the difference.

Who can apply?

To apply for a grant you will neet to be a community group, not-for-profit group, parish or town council, health body or school. You do not have to be a registered charity. Groups must have a bank account that requires at least two people to sign each cheque or withdrawal and you must be in a position to use the grant within a year.
Your project needs to be working within the readership area of the Lancashire Telegraph, East Lancashire.

Timescales

The application form is straightforward and needs to be submitted by Sunday, July 21.
From September 9, a shortlist of the best ideas will be revealed in the Lancashire Telegraph and every day for two weeks readers will have the chance to vote for the projects they would like to see get the cash. The projects with the highest votes will be awarded the funding until all £250,000 of the Big Lottery Fund money has been spent.
The winners will be announced week of 30 September 2013.