Community groups are being invited to bid for a grant to put Pride in our city.
For one weekend every year, the city is taken over by a sea of rainbows. The message is clear: whoever you are, wherever you’re from, whatever you do; it does not matter.
What matters is coming together with friends and family and celebrating that beautiful but rarely achieved concept – equality.
From the parade watched by tens of thousands through to the festival in Preston Park through to the street party in St James’ Street, the whole city comes together to mark the LGBT celebration.
The addition of other events such as Trans Pride, the Pride Arts and Film Festival, the Pride Dog Show and Pride Diversity Games means that now, more than ever, Brighton Pride is more inclusive than ever.
But the celebration of our city’s LGBT community does not end after that one weekend in August; it’s a permanent fixture.
The organisers of Pride know this – and that’s why some of the money raised at the event has been set aside as a social impact fund to do good in our city.
The aim is to support those groups or organisations which need a little helping hand in making a difference in their community.
They do not have to be LGBT related; they don’t even have to be directly-linked to Pride (although applicants directly impacted will be favoured). The impact just has to be positive.
It might be a residents’ group that wants to create some planters for a communal area. It might be a sports club that wants a new bag of balls. It might be a community organisation that wants to put on an event.
However big or small, the only criteria is that it will brighten up people’s lives by the time Pride comes round again next year. We look forward to hearing from you.
How to apply
The Social Impact Fund has been set up to provide small grants for communal good. Grants are awarded annually to organisations or groups within the city with particular emphasis on areas directly affected or in the footprint of Brighton and Hove Pride.
Submissions should be a maximum of 400 words mapping out how the money will be spent and why the cause is deserving. Please note the maximum award will be £1,000. There is no lower limit.
There is no restriction on numbers of entries by individual groups. However, the emphasis is on supporting community and grassroots groups, rather than individuals.
Submit your application by midday on November 30 by email to: Bhsocialimpactfund@gmail.com
Applications will be considered by a panel of local media editors with successful applicants informed by the end of December.
Any money distributed needs to have had a visible outcome by the start of Pride 2016.
Mark Fletcher, Chief Executive for Manchester Pride, said: “We are very proud to be making this announcement today. Last year we took the first steps in a new direction for the charity to increase our fund-raising capacity and cement our position at the heart of the LGBT communities. The continuation of our cost management strategy and and overall increase in income meant that we have raised our highest charitable donation in the history of Manchester Pride.
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