THE business arm of a Launceston-based grant awarding charity has invested more than £22,000 in communities throughout the county in the first funding round of the year.

The Cornwall 100 Club, the business arm of the Cornwall Community Foundation, was established eight years ago in March 2008, and since its inception the business club has invested more than £200,000 into communities in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, supporting more than 100 local projects.

On March 22, 14 groups were awarded grants ranging from £300 to £3,000. The money is being used to improve community spaces, provide activities that bring communities together and support charitable organisations helping children and young people.

The groups that benefited from the first round of funding in 2016 included Cornwall Life Recycle, Exercising For Mobility, based in Bude, Marhamchurch Pre School, St Germans Eliot Hall, St Keverne Playing Field Committee, and Urban Biodiversity CIC.

The fund was more oversubscribed than usual with 22 groups applying for a total of £46,506.

A second round of funding will be available later this year.

The CCF’s business arm, the Cornwall 100 Club is a group of like-minded businesses, which, along with taking corporate social responsibility seriously, also wants to invest in its community.

The funding from the club helps local people make their communities better places to live — in particular they encourage projects that incorporate a combination of the following themes:

• Improving community spaces (village halls and outside recreational spaces);

• Providing a service the whole community can benefit from;

• Business and communities working together;

• Charitable organisations that support children and young people.

To find out how to apply or contribute, visit www.cornwallfoundation.com