The team behind the Rudd Awards and Ruddington Village Market have launched their first ever Community Fund. By ringfencing pitch fee revenue generated from the market over a number of years, the Ruddington Village Community Partnership (RVCP) are awarding up to £10,000 across projects in Ruddington that meet their funding aims.
The group says: “We want to see what great projects the clubs, groups, indie businesses, schools, churches and individuals of Ruddington can deliver for our community – and we want the community to decide for itself which projects should be awarded the funding they need”.
“We’re thrilled the market is able to support the village in this way,” says Mike Ader, Chair of RVCP. “And it’s all thanks to the amazing volunteers that enable our events. Everyone in the team gives their time for free, and the incredible volunteers that keep our events running mean we’ve been able to protect the market’s revenue to give back to the community.”
“Maybe your community group wants to run an exciting arts project or your small business wants to add some new signage that would improve the look and feel of our wonderful high street”, says the fund’s website.
“Maybe your sports club needs some new equipment, your church wants to host an event that brings the community together, or your school wants to put on a display for all the village to see.”
Mike also thanked Ruddington’s Okarno Ltd, formerly Artex, for sponsoring the fund. “We’d like to say another huge thanks to Okarno for helping us promote the project and host the voting night,” Mike added.
“Okarno were the lead sponsor of The Rudd Awards in 2024 and also sponsored the ‘Heart of Ruddington’ award. It’s really great that a village business is able to strengthen its ties with the local community through these initiatives.”
Applications for funding amounts of up to £2,000 can be submitted until 12 noon on Monday 31st March, and the fund is looking for projects that meet one or more of its five key aims, to be delivered solely within Ruddington:
- Developing opportunities for improved community wellbeing
- Developing opportunities for the community to work together
- Developing a vibrant and/or active community
- Developing an attractive independent high street
- Developing a prosperous independent business sector.
Once applications close, they’ll be shortlisted down to eight projects by an independent panel of judges from Nottinghamshire Hospice, Frank Key Ltd and Okarno.
Then, if the shortlisted projects total more than £10,000, a voting evening will be held at St Peter’s Church on Friday 16th May for the community to decide how the funding pot should be split. Votes will be counted on the night, with three larger grants of up to £2,000 to be awarded, and five smaller grants of up to £800.
For full details about the Community Fund and apply online, please visit www.rvcp.org.uk. Paper application forms are also available from the Parish Council office. You can follow @ruddvcp on Facebook or Instagram for the latest news about the fund.