Co-Ownership announces return of Annual Community Fund

Co-Ownership, the shared ownership provider for Northern Ireland, has announced the recipients of its annual Community Fund for 2023. This year, three community groups have been selected to receive a share of the £20,000 fund.

Open Arts Luminous Soul Dance group, the only contemporary dance development programme for disabled people in Northern Ireland, based in South Belfast, Charis, a club that helps families of children with learning difficulties and is run by Bloomfield Presbyterian Church in East Belfast and West Wellbeing, a mental health charity based in Dunmurry.

In the current economic climate, community groups need funding support more than ever, but as Mark Graham, Chief Executive of Co-Ownership explains, the Community Fund has been supporting local communities since 2017 and is now in its seventh year.

Community Fund

Mark said, “As an organisation rooted in bringing about positive societal impact, our Community Fund is incredibly important to us, and to date have supported more than 17 good causes and provided more than £115,000. The fund reflects our aim to improve the wellbeing of as many people as we can. With financial pressures impacting on communities across Northern Ireland, we’re proud to support 2023’s selected recipients – all incredibly worthy causes that make a significant difference to the people and the communities they serve.”

Open Arts dance group Luminous soul will use its share of the fund to continue helping people with and without disabilities to participate in the arts. The fund will also support the group to identify new dancers, following a drop in numbers during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Eileen Branagh, Chief Executive and Artistic Director at Open Arts, said, “We are delighted our unique dance development programme for disabled people has been acknowledged by Co-Ownership’s Community Fund. Creative expression is for everyone, and Luminous Soul has had great success empowering people with disabilities to get involved over the past 14 years. This much-needed financial boost will help us to continue to connect people to the power of dance and provide training and performance opportunities to our talent.”

Karen Hamilton at Charis said the club will use the grant to help their team of experienced volunteers continue to provide a range of activities for club members, such as soft play, games, crafts, walks, outings, and inclusive cycling. Karen said, “As a small, family-focused charity, we’re incredibly proud to provide the activities and resources that we do. We are thrilled to have received the generous grant from Co-Ownership. We have already had one group outing to Funtastic, Carryduff and have purchased some much-needed new equipment and toys.”

The third and final recipient is West Wellbeing, whose suicide and self-harm prevention initiative delivers care services to those with complex issues or distress, assisting service users to achieve positive mental health.

According to the Office of the Mental Health Champion for Northern Ireland, findings from the 2023 Kids’ Life and Times survey shows that the wellbeing of 11-year-olds across the province has declined to its lowest score since 2016, as Gerard Mallon, Operations Director at West Wellbeing highlighted.

He said, “A huge thank you to the Co-Ownership’s Community Fund for supporting our services. We are exceeding capacity due to funding issues, so this money allows us to provide the children and young people currently on our waiting lists with immediate help through one-to-one counselling.”

Co-Ownership helps people into home ownership who are unable to buy a home by themselves. Since 1978 it has helped over 32,000 make the step into home ownership, with 745 supported in the last year through its main product, Co-Own and its newest offering, Co-Own for Over 55s.

For more information on the Co-Ownership Community Fund visit co-ownership.org/about/social-responsibility/community-fund/