Birmingham 2022 - Celebrating Communities

Residents and community groups now have the chance to apply for money from a £2million fund to help people in all 69 of the city’s wards feel involved with the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The Celebrating Communities Small Grants Funding Scheme has been assembled by Birmingham City Council to maximise the benefit and legacy of being the Proud Host City for the Games.

Grants will be available to run initiatives which deliver against one of three themes: ‘Get Active’, ‘Ready, Steady, Fun’ and ‘Celebrating Culture’ - which are described as follows:

Getting Active – encouraging communities to get out and get active by participating in sports and recreational activities. The overriding aim should be to encourage residents, of all abilities and ages, to engage in physical activity and improve their health and wellbeing. This could, for example be anything from running to gardening and walking – it isn’t restricted to traditional/organised sport.

Ready, Steady, Fun – delivering community projects to ensure a local area is Games ready (e.g. by improving communal space, and hosting community celebrations to connect people and foster civic pride).

Celebrating Culture – developing community-led cultural events and initiatives that encourage intergenerational activities. Proposed schemes should harness the power of culture to bring people together, celebrate their identities, Birmingham’s place in the Commonwealth and the culture, heritage and stories of their communities.

The scheme will allocate funding across the city’s wards using a formula that takes into account local deprivation data and the size of the ward.

Wards with one councillor will receive between £11,100 and £17,500. Wards with two councillors will receive between £22,200 and £35,000.

Cllr Ian Ward, Leader of Birmingham City Council, said: “We're determined that the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games will be a Games for everyone, bringing people and communities across the city together.

“Of course, not every district and neighbourhood will have a venue for the main competition, but through this fund residents and community groups can play a big part in a city-wide celebration.

“We want everyone to embrace our status as a Proud Host City and, thanks to this funding, there are lots of ways for communities to get involved. We hope Celebrating Communities will help unlock some of the local excitement and help make the events of 2022 memorable for the people of Birmingham.”

The deadline for Round One applications is 1 June 2021. Ward Forums and community voting will then take place to select the successful bids between July and September, with projects then commencing in October.

An application process for Round Two will then get underway with projects being selected and going live in early 2022.

Notes to editors

The Celebrating Communities fund is designed to:

• Support and engage Birmingham communities to feel part of the Games;
• Make sure engagement and participation opportunities are spread across the city, supporting our diverse communities, celebrating Birmingham and the Commonwealth;
• Deliver benefits for the city’s residents that align with ward priorities;
• Create feelings of connectivity, positivity and pride.

The scheme is part of a wider £6million package assembled by the council to maximise the benefit and legacy of hosting the Games.

Of the remaining £4million, £2million has already been approved for the Creative Communities Small Grants Fund.

The final £2million will be targeted at supporting learning, equalities and physical activity and is set to be the subject of a separate Cabinet report later this month (March 2021).