Communities can create their own olympic legacy

There has been much talk of the London 2012 Olympics creating a legacy of sport of fitness for the UK, though investment in playground equipment and other social fitness schemes.

However, not many communities realise that they have the power to unlock thousands of pounds to create legacy projects for their local area using the Community Funding Guide created by Proludic.

A wide range of grants are available, ranging from a few ranging from a few hundred pounds to £500,000 for individual projects.

These grants are funded from a number of sources such as lottery money, corporate bursaries and charitable funds, and are open to applications from local community groups, parish councils, schools or local charities.

Michael Hoenigmann, managing director of Proludic, comments, “There’s a lot of talk about ‘The Big Society’ and how communities can come together to help improve their local area, but most people are totally unaware of the amount of money that’s available or how to access the grants.

“Play and sports is one area where there are considerable funds available. People who live in areas where there is a lack of good quality, existing facilities would stand a good chance of securing funding if they put a good case forward.”

To help, Proludic has created a guide for local community funding guide for groups looking to identify and secure sources of funding.

“As well as national schemes, there are many smaller schemes that are available for certain areas or types of project,” explains Michael Hoenigmann. “At a time when public sector investment is being reduced, it’s increasingly important that communities come together to claim the money that’s rightfully theirs."