Housing group offers thousands of pounds of grants to local charities and community groups

By Toby Porter

A house building firm is offering community groups thousands of pounds in grants in areas where it has sites.

CALA Homes has once again launched its Community Bursary initiative, with £3,000 available to help support local charities and community groups in Beckenham.

With the housebuilder’s 2020 bursary scheme paused last year as a result of the March lockdown, CALA has ire-launched it, for groups whose situation and needs may have been impacted by the pandemic.

Hannah Colbran, Head of Sales and Marketing at CALA Homes South Home Counties, said: “We launched our bursary as normal last year, but before we had the chance to choose the recipients, we were in lockdown and with the disruption which followed, were unable to progress with the next stage of the bursary.

“The pandemic has impacted our lives beyond what we could have imagined. As such, we understand that the funding requirements of local groups and charities may well have altered.

“By relaunching now, we can give previous applicants the chance to tell us how their needs have changed in light of COVID-19.

“And for those groups who either were not previously aware of our Community Bursary or didn’t need the support this time last year, we are offering them the opportunity to now also submit an application.”

Since the Community Bursary launched in 2015 to mark CALA’s 140th anniversary, the initiative has supported more than 300 worthy causes in the areas in which CALA builds.

Across the UK, over £300,000 has been awarded to a wide variety of organisations including environmental charities, cancer support groups, food banks and sports clubs.

This year the housebuilder is pledging more than £100,000 across England and Scotland.

Local charities, schools, community groups and good causes in the area are invited to apply for a share of the funding and the CALA team will reach out to everyone who applied in 2020 to encourage them to update their applications based on new needs and challenges.

Hannah continues: “A real priority at CALA is to make a positive and lasting contribution to the communities in which we build. That’s never been more relevant than now.

“We’re delighted to relaunch our bursary initiative in Beckenham, and especially to help causes that have been hit hard by the pandemic. We look forward to hearing about the great work being undertaken in the community and how we can support it.”

CALA’s Community Bursary is open to charities and community groups of all sizes.

Those interested can apply for a share of the fund by completing an application form on the CALA website (cala.co.uk/bursary).

Previous applicants should also reapply on the website. Applications close on Friday 16 April 2021.