COMMUNITY groups in Craven area are amongst those celebrating after their supporters helped them secure £4,000 of funding from Skipton Building Society’s Grassroots Giving Scheme.

The winners were announced this week, showcasing the voluntary groups across the country that Skipton Building Society will support via Grassroots Giving 2017.

The eight from Craven to receive funding of £500 each were The Cononley Singers, Craven Energy Triathlon Group, Brooklands Sensory Garden Project, Glusburn Youth Theatre, Settle Area Disabled Swimmers, Exclusively Inclusive, Silsden Carers, Cared For and Past Carers Group and Skipton Methodist Guide, Brownies and Rainbows.

All are run for their communities, managed by volunteers and are largely self-funded. They all have unique challenges when faced with running costs and having the funds and resources to grow.

Now in its fifth year, Grassroots Giving awards £500 to each winning group which has achieved a high enough proportion of the 40,000 votes cast. After making it through to shortlisting stage, the building society profiled each group on its website and asked the public to vote for the groups which they thought were the most deserving.

David Cutter, Skipton Building Society’s Group Chief Executive, said: “These self-funded groups work hard to improve their local community and we’re proud that this funding from Skipton will play a huge role in their future growth. Often small groups are out on a limb and struggle to gain funding from elsewhere, as they are not registered charities. Grassroots Giving enables us to really get to the heart of our local communities and we love being able to help causes that we see in action in our local neighbourhoods."

He added: “We know that the money they receive will make an impact and this is really important to us. It’s been a pleasure to inform these groups that we are able to support them and we look forward to their updates throughout 2018.”

As part of its Grassroots Giving initiative, Skipton Building Society has launched a series of free resources covering a range of key areas for community groups, which can all be downloaded for free on the website: skiptongrgco.uk/free-resources.