Our new Community Connect Fund is proving that spending a little money in the community goes a long way to strengthening neighbourhoods and bringing people together.

We have invested £15,000 through the fund in local community projects during the past year and committed another £15,000 to support a further cluster of grassroots groups in the coming year.

The way money is allocated from the fund is decided by tenants themselves. They review applications, identify local priorities, and decide how funding should be distributed to projects that deliver meaningful benefits within their communities.

Over the past year, grants have supported a diverse range of initiatives, from youth sports teams and community centres to carers’ organisations, wellbeing programmes, heritage projects and activities tackling social isolation.

Impact statements submitted by these funded groups demonstrate to us how relatively small grants have created significant community benefits, helping hundreds of children and young people access activities, supported older residents to stay active and connected, improved community facilities, and created opportunities for people to build confidence, friendships and skills.

The Community Connect Fund reflects our commitment to strengthening communities and ensuring residents have a direct voice in shaping local investment.

By empowering our tenants to make funding decisions and requiring funded organisations to report on outcomes, the programme ensures resources are directed where they can have the greatest impact.

It is about tenants leading positive change in their own communities. They decide where the money goes, ensuring local priorities are at the heart of every funded activity. The impact statements we’ve received show just how much can be achieved when community groups are given the support they need to grow.

It is all about bringing communities together and encouraging them to take decisions that will build better, stronger neighbourhoods, improving the lives of the people who live there.

Just some examples of this empowerment in action includes Tam’s Brig Judo Club in Ayr. They were granted £1000 to purchase new Judo suits and training equipment to ensure the club was accessible to as many young people as possible, no matter their individual circumstances.

In Maybole, £1,000 was invested in improving the town’s charity shop making the space more appealing for volunteers and customers, and in the Ayr suburb of Heathfield, £500 went some way to pay for essential repairs and maintenance to the local community centre.

While in Dundonald Castle, the Junior Castle Committee used £500 to arrange holiday activities for local young people.

The Fund was a key deliverable of our new Community Engagement Strategy where we wanted to embed our approach to Community Engagement and Participation into our culture of continuous improvement.

It is a real opportunity for us to make a significant difference to the lives of local people, outside our main role as a housing provider and further cements our place as a community anchor within our communities.