Alan Campbell MP has urged local community groups to apply for the Yorkshire Bank Spirit of the Community Awards 2018 which opened today for applications.

This year’s programme -; run with sister organisation Clydesdale Bank -; will take the total funds given out since the awards started in 2013 to more than £1million.

Yorkshire Bank makes donations to recognise and support community projects which are going the extra mile. Registered charities and not for profit organisations are invited to enter their projects into the awards scheme under one of three categories: 1) projects which help people to have a healthy relationship with money 2) projects which help people to improve their local environment and 3) projects which help people into employment.

The awards are open to a range of initiatives across the third sector that can demonstrate support for the local community. This could include projects helping to upskill people for the workplace, ventures promoting healthy relationships with money, or schemes aiming to protect the environment.

Five projects will be selected in each of the three categories and all 15 winners will be awarded £5,000 each.

Alan said “These are a good opportunity for groups such as local credit unions to apply for funding. For further information about the Yorkshire and Clydesdale Bank Foundation’s Spirit of the Community Awards or to enter, people can visit www.ybonline.co.uk/foundation or go into their local Yorkshire Bank branch to receive an application form.”

The closing date for applications is Monday 19 March 2018 and the winners will be announced in summer 2018.