Norfolk Year of Celebrations 2012 Fund

Norfolk County Council has launched a fund to help residents to come together to mark a number of major events taking place during 2012.  The council is making a pot of £30,000 available for the ‘Norfolk Year of Celebrations 2012 Fund’, which community groups or organisations and town and parish councils can bid for a maximum of £500 from, to help mark the following sporting and cultural occasions:

- the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Weekend (June 2 to 5).

- the Olympic Torch being run through Norfolk as part of the London 2012 Torch Relay (July 4 and 5).

- the Paralympic Torch Festival (August 28 and 29).

- the final weekend of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad (September 8 and 9).

- the planned return of the Tour of Britain cycle race (date to be confirmed in September).

The fund will help support costs associated directly with staging and promoting the event or activity, with Norfolk County Council looking for events and activities that are community focussed, accessible and open to everyone, which engage volunteers and leave a positive legacy.

The council are especially looking for activities that are new and add value to existing activity.

To help those interested in submitting an application for funding, Norfolk County Council has also produced an Event Planner. The event planner covers the first steps to take when beginning to plan an event, followed by a timeline of things to do as the event date draws closer.  Further useful guidance found within the handbook ranges from accessing funding, to organising road closures and licences, through to undertaking risk assessments and marketing an event.  Finally, the handbook stresses the importance of effectively evaluating an event in order to help with future planning.

Both the application form for funding from ‘Norfolk’s Year of Celebrations 2012 Fund’ and the Event Planner can be downloaded by visiting www.norfolk.gov.uk/events2012

The deadline for the first round of funding for ‘Norfolk’s Year of Celebrations 2012 Fund’ is Friday February 24, with the closing date for the second round on Friday April 27.