Grants of up to £2,500 available for Shropshire community groups

The funds are being made available to organisations through the Godolphin Edwards trust, following its takeover by the Community Foundation for Shropshire.

The grant scheme is open to applications from organisations in the Acton Burnell, Frodesley, Pitchford and Langley & Ruckley parishes.

The Godolphin Edwards Trust was set up in 1750 to administer allotment plots in south Shrewsbury to ensure the poor could grow their own food and eat healthy vegetables and fruit.

Its remit was updated over the centuries, and earlier this year it was taken over by the Community Foundation with a view to expanding its scope to include broader community uses focused on health, exercise and disadvantage.

The trust has an endowment fund of £350,000, which is used as capital to earn an income which is then distributed in grants to good causes in the area.

Applications for the first round of funding must be made by the end of this month, and the winners will be announced in November, and the grants made in December.

Applications for a second round will then open in April next year, with the decisions made in May and the grants distributed in June.

Leanne Macpherson, head of programmes at the Community Foundation for Shropshire said: “These grants are related to a fund that we took over earlier this year and since then we’ve been working with the trustees to make sure that we can update it and make it fit for the future.

"Often, we find that whilst there may be funds available for a community, they are not really relevant anymore."

To apply for a grant of £500 to £2,500, visit shropshire.foundation/?s=Godolphin+edwards