COVID-19 Increasing Vaccinations Fund

Grants for groups to tackle vaccine hesitancy

Central Bedfordshire Council is reaching out to community, faith and volunteer groups in a bid to increase vaccine take-up.

Grants of up to £2000 are now available to groups across Central Bedfordshire to help them to encourage their members to take up the vaccination.

Throughout the pandemic, voluntary and community groups have provided a vital role and trusted voice within our communities. The COVID-19 Increasing Vaccinations Fund provides grants to support activities that are directly related to overcoming vaccine hesitancy.

The fund will provide one-off grants for activities that can get up and running quickly and focus on areas of deprivation and vulnerable groups where COVID-19 has had a significant impact. Examples of how the grants can be used, include, but are not limited to, costs relating to community meetings; production and distribution of printed materials, including signage; translation services; volunteer expenses or additional staff costs directly related to overcoming vaccine hesitancy; website modifications; information sharing and befriending services and transport to vaccination services.

Applications for grants are invited from the voluntary and  community sector and match funding is not required for applications submitted under the scheme. The scheme will run from September 13 2021 until December 13 2021.

Central Bedfordshire Council is inviting applications from a wide range of groups – go to the council’s website https://www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/vaccine-fund for more information about the scheme and details on how to apply.