A coalition of ten voluntary sector agencies have launched a campaign to promote the importance of grants for voluntary and community organisations, calling on local authorities and other statutory bodies to establish grant funding in support of community initiatives.

The agencies, including NAVCA, the DSC and the Community Foundation Network have produced a leaflet in support of the campaign entitled Sustaining Grants. The leaflet outlines the importance of grant aid, and presents case studies highlighting real-life examples - this can be downloaded from www.navca.org.uk/sustaininggrants

Kevin Curley, NAVCA’s chief executive, said grants were key to sustaining local voluntary and community action. “Sometimes grant aid is the only suitable funding for the sector. It must be sustained as part of the funding mix.”

DSC’s chief executive Debra Allcock-Tyler said grant funding enabled organisations to develop specific solutions and deliver them in their own way. “Commissioning drastically restricts that innovation and flexibility,” she added. “Reducing or replacing grant funding streams makes it even harder for smaller and medium-sized organisations to succeed.”