The arts sector is one of several that will be supported by a new fund to promote social prescribing community activities to help people impacted by the pandemic.
Grants of between £25,000 and £50,000 will be made available from the £1.4 million fund, administered by Arts Council England and coming largely from the Department of Health and Social Care and the National Lottery.
Applicants can include voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise projects. They will need present plans to deliver community activities, especially for those most affected by Covid-19 and health inequalities. Arts, creativity, culture, sport, nature, financial wellbeing, community advice are among the areas supported by the fund.
As social prescribing becomes recognised as a vital and efficient adjunct to health and wellbeing services in the community, successful applicants will be supported to strengthen the range of local social prescribing activities, enhance collaboration between services in a locale and to enable link workers to connect people to their activities.
Applications are open now. The application deadline is 12 noon on 8 January 2021, with decisions announced on 15 March.
Projects within the thriving communities fund will run for a year including planning and delivery time.
