£7m funding is welcomed
TEESSIDE’S leading social enterprise company has welcomed news that more than £7m of extra regional funding will help the ‘third sector’ move into the mainstream economy.
Not-for-profit organisations are in line for a share of more than £6.8m of new funding to develop innovative ways of helping people move into work, deliver regeneration and boost the third sector’s contribution to economic growth.
The investment means that more than 270 different organisations could receive support for work on economic regeneration over the next five years.
Activities it will support include testing ways to work with partners on the barriers preventing people from playing a full role in the economy; developing new ways of generating income or becoming more sustainable; delivering specialist training, coaching and mentoring; and managing community buildings.
The project builds on the success of a pilot Third Sector Capacity Fund launched in 2007, which provided grants to 19 different projects, including a social enterprise creating websites for third sector organisations.
Commenting on the announcement, Terry Murphy, deputy chief executive of Middlesbrough-based Community Ventures Ltd (CVL), a not-for-profit organisation that ploughs income from its several money-making arms back into the local community, giving grants of more than £1m, said: “We welcome the emphasis on employing the third sector to overcome many of the social issues faced by deprived communities.
“This broad approach recognises the need to encompass a lot of issues.
“It also makes sure the third sector organisations which are going to be doing this work have new ways of generating sustainable, long-term futures.”
He said he was ‘heartened’ by the approach the regional development agency had adopted towards the third sector, which has rapidly risen up the national Government’s business agenda.
