[accymel]

Can i just say cos i chair a new community group & applying for funding is an absolute nightmare & not as easy as made out, your group has to fill certain criteria - plus the forms are complicated requiring a lot of information, also requires in most cases a constitution which makes things complex & legally blinding. Great if your are successful but these groups [as being lottery funded] require to submit reports & accounts - plus you have to have trust within your constitution, all money applied for has to be accounted for, so many groups do fail at this point because they are not clear & concise as to what they are funding for - plus open to be under-estimated because neccessary as lack of homework on what your project requires. Its is quite a scary process & can put many worthy groups off the idea [we've had a bit of cold feet ourselves but its necessary in order to keep groups going].

Lucky we've have just completed a course on setting up community groups & funding is required element so thankfully we are a lot more aware of what we are doing as many groups are not. Personally i dont have a problem with any group aquiring funding as they have successully fulfilled the critera - its now up to them to manage their accounts & sustainability - & thats the hardest bit too. It can only be good news for Hyndburn to be getting funding support & on the map as far as grants/funding goes as its hard enough.