Tesco Asking Charities To Apply For Community Grants

Published on: 10 May, 2021
Updated on: 12 May, 2021

Charities and community groups in Guildford are being urged to seek funds for local projects from the Tesco Community Grants scheme.

The focus is on organisations helping children and families access the food and support they need for a good start in life, including breakfast or holiday lunch clubs, food banks, youth clubs or schools.

From July, Tesco customers can vote for who receives the most funding every time they shop.

Grants of £500, £1,000 and £1,500 will be available.

Oakleaf Enterprise, a mental health support group, is among some of the Guildford community projects to benefit from recent Tesco funding, and that helped combat isolation during the pandemic.

Keith Jackson, Tesco community grant manager, said: “We’re encouraging groups in Guildford to apply because we hope to see the fantastic community work they provide continue long into the future.”

The scheme, launched in 2016 as Bags of Help, has granted more than £86 million to support 36,000-plus community groups, including 2,000 sports teams and 1,400 groups supporting vulnerable older people. In 2020, more than 10,000 UK groups were awarded Tesco grants of more than £7.9 million.

In partnership with the charity Groundwork, the Tesco scheme is open to registered charities and not-for-profit organisations which can apply for a grant now. Tesco customers or colleagues can nominate a cause they’d like to see supported.

Graham Duxbury, Groundwork’s UK chief executive, said: “The past year has been extremely difficult for everyone, and that includes community groups and charities hit particularly hard by the pandemic.

“Many groups have had a surge in demand for their services while volunteer numbers decrease, which has caused mounting pressure.”