The Civic Pride Community Fund supports local projects, activities and events.
The fund is open to all Harlow-based organisations, not-for-profit agencies, community and voluntary groups. The fund is not open to statutory organisations.
There is a total of £10,000 available each financial year (from 1 April to 31 March) and applicants can bid for funding from £50 up to £500.
The fund has been very popular this year and is now fully subscribed. We cannot accept any more applications at the moment, but hope to reopen again in spring 2024.
Funded events
The Harlow Hindu Society used funding from the Civic Pride Community Fund to celebrate Diwali - the festival of light - on 20 November 2022.
For their event, they had over 90 attendees, including Andrew Johnson, Chair of Harlow Council. The event consisted of live music, traditional Indian food and sparklers for the children.
The event was a perfect way to welcome and bring together the Hindu community, with attendees commenting on how the get-together felt like a fun, welcoming, and home-like event.
Harlow charity Rainbow Services led a community team to improve the appearance of Wych Elm in Harlow.
Rainbow Services helped create a team of Wych Elm businesses and stakeholders, which included:
- Daniel Robinson & Sons
- Crown Paints
- Source Facilities Maintenance Limited
- Leonard Brooks (Harlow) Limited
- HTS
- Harlow Council
- Matthews Plants
- Harlow College
The team used the grant, alongside donations of paint, equipment and some additional pairs of hands, to make improvements to the area.
They cleared overgrown bushes, cleaned and repainted the entrance sign, dug a new flower border, jet washed the car park entrance and repainted both benches, adding a “happy to talk” plaque.
Ghana Union Harlow used funding from the Civic Pride Community fund to host a community litter pick as part of their celebrations of Ghana's 65th independence anniversary on 5 March 2022.
They started at Staple Tye shopping centre with about 20 community members and were later joined by another 45 people. They split into 4 groups which went north, south, east and west of the shopping centre.
They completed their clean up with 24 big bags of rubbish. The participants were surprised how much litter they were able to collect and all felt they had made a positive contribution to the community.
Plant Pots and Wellies have provided stability for many of our more vulnerable members of the community and their carers, throughout the pandemic, when so many activities and routines had changed.
They used money from the Civic Pride Community Fund towards buying seeds and plants for growing on site, illustrating the whole process from seed to plate.
They also bought timber to build on site, such as raised beds and other structures, and then paint to protect them from the weather.
Their different projects help to learn new skills, build confidence and as a result, be part of a meaningful process.
Plant Pots and Wellies provides safe opportunities for people with all kinds of additional needs, including those who have physical, learning, developmental and mental health challenges, to take part in horticultural therapy.
Like so many, they had to close down during the first national lockdown, but were able to open again, with thanks to funding from the Harlow Civic Pride Community Fund.
As a result, they were able to install separate storage for coats and bags outside and wall mounted hand sanitisers. They also purchased pop up gazebos, for use in rainy weather, and bought necessary equipment such as cleaning equipment, hand sanitisers and wipes.
Harlow Steel Band used the Civic Pride grant to organise a performance at Harlow Town Park as the public arrived for fireworks night.
For more information on Harlow Steel Band, visit their website
The Harlow branch of the Royal British Legion organised the construction of a poppy art installation at the Civic Centre and Water Gardens to support the Poppy Appeal.
There was a drape made from poppies knitted by Harlow residents and local knitting groups which was hung from the Civic Centre and plastic poppies were floated and planted throughout the Water Gardens.
Plant Pots and Wellies (PPW) is an innovative community allotment in Harlow that was set up to provide opportunities for horticultural and outdoor therapy for children and adults with additional needs.
The Civic Pride grant was used to purchase plants and equipment for use on the site along with catering equipment and refreshments for all the volunteers. The group were also able to have a stand at the PACT for Autism information event.
Plant Pots and Wellies used Civic Pride funding to purchase a heater to be able to stay open throughout winter. The funding also enabled them to purchase plants and equipment for use on the site and make arts and crafts with our gardeners. The Plant pot men were made by visiting children.
For more details please check out the PPW website
The Black History Month event was held in Market Square, Harlow and included a number of activities. The event brought together different cultures through entertainment, music, dance, various food stands and stalls selling artefacts, clothing, shoes, and jewellery. Over 1,000 people participated throughout the day either as volunteers, audiences, stallholders, performers and organisers. The event gave residents and visitors an opportunity to celebrate the rich cultural diversity we have in Harlow.