The Community Wealth Fund campaign was formally relaunched on 22 July with an event hosted by Lord Bassam of Brighton in Parliament, shortly after the State Opening.
Over the past five years, the cross-sectoral Community Wealth Fund Alliance has worked to ensure that funds from the next wave of dormant assets are committed to rebuilding social infrastructure in the most deprived communities.
The Alliance is now calling on the government to review and expand the Community Wealth Fund and return it to its original vision, meaning it would provide long-term, community-led investment directly to doubly disadvantaged neighbourhoods.
New and returning parliamentarians were invited to attend a drop-in session to learn more about the campaign and how a CWF would benefit communities in their constituencies.
Attendees heard speeches from Matt Leach, Chief Executive of Local Trust – founding member and secretariat of the Alliance – alongside CWF Advisory Group member and former chair of Brookside Big Local, Shana Roberts.
Watch the clips below to hear more about how the Community Wealth Fund could make a difference in the neighbourhoods that need it most.
The Community Wealth Fund Alliance is calling for:
- A pause in work to deliver current plans for the CWF (in government and the National Lottery Community Fund), pending a review.
- A clear refocusing of CWF funds back to deprived communities with low social infrastructure.
- A clearer commitment to long-term funding (10-15 years) from dormant assets to the CWF. This scale of funding is necessary to ensure the CWF achieves its potential.
- Active work on establishing an endowed delivery mechanism for the Fund, accountable to Ministers.
You can read a full update on the campaign’s latest progress here.