Blenheim Bursary Scheme Aims To Help Bring People Together

The £50,000 Blenheim Bursary is available to all charities and organisations based within a 20-mile radius of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Blenheim is encouraging initiatives which are focussed in six main areas; wellbeing and outdoor activities, education, creation of green spaces, social prescribing in the community, collaborative communal projects and community infrastructure support.

Lady Henrietta Spencer-Churchill, who has spent many years supporting and mentoring charity and local projects, will be offering guidance and advice for the bursary application and awarding process.

“Last year was incredibly difficult for so many people as we lived through a global pandemic,” she said.

“We now want to help support the local communities to become re-energised by focussing on activities that support people’s wellbeing and the opportunities to return to integrating together, learning and enjoying their local surroundings,” she added.

Since its launch at the end of 2018, the Blenheim Bursary has distributed in excess of £150,000 to more than 50 different organisations across the local communities.

Among the groups to receive funds in 2020, which ranged from £500 to £5,000, were FarmAbility, Oxfordshire Youth, Stonesfield Allotments, Sustainable Woodstock, Forrest Bathing and West Witney Primary School.

Applications for the 2021 Blenheim Bursary will open on 1st April and close on 14th May. Finalists will be contacted by 18th June and interviews for applications over £5,000 take place in the week commencing 21st June. All bursaries to be confirmed by 1st March.

The bursary scheme is part of Blenheim’s ongoing commitment to more than double its charitable contributions to the community within 10 years.

To find out more about the new bursary, and to apply, go to www.blenheim.org/community/charity-community-bursary/