The Clare Local Community Development Committee (LCDC) has approved over €73k in funding for community and voluntary groups under the Covid-19 Emergency Fund.
All community and voluntary groups directly involved in the Community Call initiative were invited through a closed call to apply for funding in the sum of €73,704. The closing date for receipt of grant applications was 30th April, 2020, and the Chief Officer of the LCDC received 26 applications for funding totalling €180,164, over 2.5 times the available funding.
Speaking on behalf of the members of the LCDC, the Chair of the LCDC, Andrew Dundas, commented on “the significant volume of applications received, all of which were deserving of funding and very worthwhile, which made the task of distributing the limited resources all the more difficult”.
The Mayor of Clare, Cllr Clare Colleran Molloy, welcomed the funding allocation by the LCDC and the timing of its distribution: “Community and voluntary organisations involved in the Community Call have a very clear focus as to the needs of the most vulnerable in our local communities, and the application of the available funding will assist towards the provision of resources to continue to respond to those needs.”
Bernadette Haugh, Chief Officer of the LCDC, said that two very clear countywide needs emerged from the funding requests for projects in excess of €1,000, namely hardship/food requirements and psychological support, and noted the importance of the LCDC in “ensuring that the operational costs associated with these two specific requirements became the primary target of the Covid-19 Emergency Fund allocation to achieve a countywide focus on these critical areas during the current crisis.”
The list of grant beneficiaries is as follows:
Ballyvaughan Community Development Group
Clare Care
Clare Haven Services
Clare Local Development Company
Clare Women’s Network
Irish Red Cross – Clare
Killaloe Ballina FRC
Lisdoonvarna Failte CLG
Love Shannon Group
Mounshannon Community Council
New Quay Community Development
Newmarket on Fergus GAA
North West Clare Family Resource Centre
Obair Newmarket on Fergus CLG
Ogonnelloe Community Centre CLG
Scariff Community Council
Scarriff Bay Radio
Shannon Family Resource Centre
Tuamgraney Development Association
Tulla Reaching Out Heritage Group
West Clare Family Resource Centre.
