The Community Investment Fund was established in 2006/07 and targeted towards community development activity with an emphasis on building more cohesive and sustainable communities. This includes support for core costs of local community development programmes, particularly where this leads to improved services to local communities.

The aim of the Programme is to provide a stable basis for funding of community development activity, enabling a strategic, longer-term approach which will also helps to strengten communities, tackle disadvantage and ensure better publicly-funded services to local communities.

The objectives are:

• Support for community development activity to meet needs and build better relationships within and between communities;
• Capacity-building for individuals and community organisations, especially where activity is low or fragmented, as a prerequisite to further work on improvement of local services;
• Support for and promotion of good practice; and
• An emphasis on building more cohesive and sustainable communities.

Within the context of these objectives, there is a particular regard to the need to protect integrated local services already provided by key organisations in disadvantaged communities, which have been created with the support of public investment over many years; and to achieve sustainability in terms of a strategic core funding investment to support an infrastructure that promotes cohesive communities.

The four outcomes of the funding are:

1. A Learning Community – evidence of increased skills in individuals or groups, increased leadership, confidence, active citizenship, people taking new opportunities for planning and reflection.
2. An Inclusive Community – action to demonstrate minorities valued, equality of opportunity for women, young people, minority ethnic and other excluded groups.
3. An Influential Community- evidence of strong and democratic organisations, contribution to shaping policy and practice, partnership working, networks, developing local assets.
4. An Active Community – evidence of informal social care, strengthened organisations, increased volunteering, local provision of facilities and services, partnership working with public bodies.

This funding contributes to the core services provided by CCG and underpins all our work.

CCG currently undertake the following activities to meet the above outcomes:

A learning Community – We provide support for 15 courses in Community Development issues. We facilitate and assist in the training of 175 people. All CD training is tailored to the needs of the 175 participants.  This training is focused on strengthening community development practices, enhancing individual and group capacity, and promoting strong governance.

We work with additional groups to improve Volunteer practices and increase volunteer involvement to ensure best practice is adopted at all stages from recruitment, development, recognition, safety & wellbeing to ongoing mentoring and support. We agree and develop volunteering opportunities and roles specifically tailored to meet the needs of each of the group complimented by the volunteers’ interests and skills.

We improve planning, co-ordination and implementation of community programmes and local action plans using information gained from community audits / local engagement.

We develop, organise and run volunteer celebration/recognition events to provide the opportunity for community volunteers to come together to participate and contribute to a vibrant community life and enhanced community spirit

We provide dedicated support to a cohort of circa 110 volunteers in our Older Peoples Community Projects, such as the Good Morning project. We maximise use of both our main volunteer base at Ballybot House and through our community hubs across the two areas and provide relevant and timely training to GM volunteers.

An Active Community – we aid groups with funding issues, engagement and governance to community groups both within and outside the Newry area reviewing governance and effective management procedures. We help improve planning, co-ordination and implementation of community programmes and local action plans and improved governance and effective management (including volunteer management) of community groups.  Groups are supported with funding applications and returns and best practice in governance matters, effective volunteer recruitment and management processes.

We provide support in relation to financial responsibility, effective financial controls and compliance with funding requirements.  We promote best practice within groups in relation to inter-community working, and cross-border and / or cross-community working.

Groups have also benefitted through improved governance, HR and access checking of volunteers

We work with groups on local environmental issues to raise awareness of environmental issues and concerns (eg issues causing damage to Carlingford Lough) and increase number of participants involved in environmental projects such as the creation of community gardens and allotments, weekly gardening sessions, etc.   We have increase engagement with a number of Men’s Sheds across the wider area and support the development of environmental focused projects. Camlough Men’s Shed are one of the groups who have been involved with our cross-border Circle of Learning project and they are spearheading a number of environmental initiatives in the Camlough area. We are supporting their initial project development for an organic garden and developing an area adjacent to Camlough Lake.

An Inclusive Community:

We work with individuals from ethnic minority communities in a connected way as a means of addressing issues such as housing, substance abuse, social exclusion, difficulties with wider community and accessing services. We help increase engagement with local organisations and participation in local activity. Our work helps promote greater tolerance and awareness of others and a reduction in community tension.

We are a member of NMDDC Newcomers Group which helps coordinate support for those recently arrived in the area. We provide ongoing support, regarding governance and funding to members of the Indian community who are involved with the Swagath Indian families Association and to the Muslim Community Association.  

We facilitate engagement with local communities to help raise awareness and provide information to help families connect better with the wide range of services available across the area. This provides improved opportunities to develop and build relationships and trust with a support network to reduce social isolation

Building relationships with ethnic minority groups and representatives is a core part of the CCG’s community development approach. We adopt a best practice and participatory approach, involving the community representatives at every stage of the process. We believe that by investing the time to build networks of contacts and meaningful relationships we will be best placed to address barriers and potential challenges.

Promote Influential Communities – we engage with/facilitate public meetings/seminars to discuss policy initiatives. We facilitate seminars with a range of stakeholders to discuss how policy impacts communities and assess the effectiveness of these policies at a local level in topics such as tacking homelessness, poverty, health inequality and others.  

We engage with DfC and others to discuss regional and sub-regional CD delivery programmes including the current NR programme and successor programme and are members of the Community Planning Partnership.  

Groups/individuals are better informed and able to act constructively on policy issues affecting them or their communities and the Community / Voluntary sector agenda is advanced through partnership with all sectors in a range of roles and levels.