Eight Hertfordshire women and girls projects share in £3.4 million of national funding

Hertfordshire projects working with some of society’s most vulnerable women and girls have received a much-needed funding boost

Eight small local charities and community groups have received grants of between £5,000 - £10,000 from the Tampon Tax Community Fund. Projects receiving funding will help women and girls get into work, raise awareness about health issues and help them develop social networks.

As one of the UK’s largest grant-giving organisations, UK Community Foundations (UKCF) was asked by government to distribute the largest share of the funding raised through the levy on sanitary products in 2017/18 to small, local projects across the country by working with the network of Community Foundations. Hertfordshire Community Foundation is distributing the funds available (£55,738) within Hertfordshire.

Helen Gray, Director for HCF said: “We are delighted to be delivering the Tampon Tax Community Fund in Hertfordshire. The programme is funding some amazing local interventions which will make a considerable difference to the lives and prospects of Hertfordshire women and girls who need it most.”

Examples of some of the projects being funded are:

Practical skills and advice workshops for victims of domestic abuse (Future Living Hertford received a grant of £10,000)

Targeted early intervention home visits to vulnerable women with young children to help prevent family crisis and breakdowns (Home-Start Watford received a grant of £5,000)

Safety awareness and resilience building programmes at for school aged girls (St Albans Educational Partnership StEPs - received a grant of £9,519)

A range of skills development courses and programmes to target unemployed and economically inactive women (North Herts Minority Ethnic Forum received a grant of £5,930)

Community Foundations were oversubscribed in all areas for the Tampon Tax Community Fund. Only a quarter of the 1,500 applications for vital women and girls projects could be supported from this stream of funding.

Community Foundations are independent charities that make grants to support grassroots groups. They work with local businesses, funders and government to create tailored programmes of grant-making that respond to the needs and assets of communities. They also distribute funding secured through national programmes, including the Tampon Tax Community Fund.