Round 2 funding applications must be submitted by 16:00 on 29 April 2022 Decisions expected by 31 May 2022
What does it potentially mean to me if I am a Community Leader, Local Charity, A Key Influencer?
The creation of a Community Outreach Fund will support community led groups, charities and external partners from the black community; by offering them the opportunity to bid for grant funding in the development of initiatives, which will directly support the Met in attracting more women and people from underrepresented groups, with a specific focus upon the black community, where confidence in policing is low.
Why is this funding being made available to external partners and not used by the police themselves?
The Met have invested heavily in recruiting an additional 50 Police officers to be part of 12 Outreach Teams, working across London, to engage with communities to build confidence, inform, inspire and support them when they act in applying to join the Met.
However, through regular community engagement with key influencers and community leaders; the question was regularly being asked “Why would you expect us to work with you in partnership, use our contacts, and yet not pay us for our expertise, knowledge and experience?”
The Community Outreach Fund has been made available to address these points made. We truly believe in order to achieve our goals, we need to do this in genuine partnership and collaboration and this means working with the community.
Why do we need community support?
The offer for funding is being made to support the Mayor’s Action Plan for police officer recruitment and underpins the drive to build a police service that better represents and understands the communities it serves.
A key element of building trust and confidence within the black community, is the need to actively involve key influencers and advocates within the change process. This can be achieved by creating a platform where local community groups and charities can use their own extensive networks, with the support of grant funding, to actively encourage members of their own community to actively consider a career within policing.
