LIFT Community Grants

A funding programme for skills and employability support activity in Norfolk and Suffolk communities.

Community Grants are available to community and voluntary organisations that provide training or support to help people improve their chances of obtaining work. 

LIFT Community Grants is funded by the European Social Fund and will invest in attractive and accessible employability support projects in the form of structured learning.

Funded projects will support people to engage with the learning offered and enable people to progress onwards into employment or more formal learning and skills provision. It is aimed at smaller VCSE organisations based in Norfolk and Suffolk who are working at a community level with those who are furthest from the jobs market because they are:

• 16-25 but not in education, employment or training (NEET)
• older adults who have been long-term unemployed 
• facing other barriers to work but can move into employment or self-employment with the right support
• traditionally disadvantaged or discriminated against when it comes to finding work
• in need of support to become confident and ready for employment and/or formal learning and skills provision 

Grants are available up to a maximum of £20,000 per project.

LIFT Community Grants can be used to cover up to 100% of the cost of a project.

We welcome applications from VCSE and other small organisations in the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership (NALEP) area – i.e. based in Norfolk or Suffolk.

Applicant organisations must have an income/turnover of less than 10 million Euros in the last financial year (£8.61m at time of writing) and fewer than 50 full time equivalent employees. Part time and seasonal workers are counted as a fraction of a full time employee.