Central England Co-operative has donated £187,000 from its Community Dividend Fund in 2018, helping 152 groups and charities.
A range of projects across 16 counties were handed a funding boost over the past 12 months, with the largest single donation being £5,000.
Schools, churches, support groups and volunteer organisations benefited from the fund, which guarantees that at least one per cent of the society’s trading profit is reinvested in local communities.
Chief executive Martyn Cheatle said: “The Community Dividend Fund helps to benefit a wide variety of projects, with grants between £100 and £5,000, which make the communities that we serve a better place for our members to live, work and visit.
“I would like to urge all of our members to get in touch and put forward a community cause close to their heart for the scheme.”
FareShare East Midlands in Leicestershire is a project that aims to provide over 2,000 youngsters living in poverty with food. It received £4,500 from the fund to pay for an industrial chiller and chiller boxes.
Simone Connolly, Fairshare project manager, said: “Increasing our capacity will allow us to reach more of these children who are vulnerable and hungry.”
Broxtowe Women’s Project, a domestic abuse charity in Nottingham, also benefited from the fund. A donation of £1,650 paid for new laptops, which allows the organisation to work in the community when helping women and children impacted by domestic abuse, thus increasing the amount of time that they can spend with them.
Sarah Dagley, business and fundraising manager at Broxtowe Womens Project, said: “For small charities like us, this type of funding is invaluable and has enabled us to support women and children affected by domestic abuse.”
People can apply for funding online at the Central England Co-operative website.
