Community radio stations from across the country have been awarded grants by Ofcom to help them develop their business strategies,
The Community Radio Fund is allocated by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and administered by Ofcom and is specifically to support the core costs of running community radio stations, which operate on a not-for-profit basis to deliver specific social benefits to a particular geographical area or a community of interest.
For the latest second round, grants were awarded to 15 community radio stations, totalling £261,476 and ranging from £5,752 up to £30,000, with an average of £17,432. The panel considered 80 applications, with the total amount requested £1,852,282.
The grants typically fund paid positions within stations such as business development officer, fundraising officer, community outreach manager, or training consultant.
You can hear more about the fund in the episode of the RADIO CREATORS podcast with Mark Jones, chair of the fund committee who shared loads of great tips about ensuring the sustainability of your station.
Those awarded grants are:
- 1BTN – an underground specialist music station based in Brighton.
- B Radio – a radio station aimed at young adults based in Reading.
- Bedford Radio – broadcasts a mix of shows that contain entertainment, speech, discussion, and current affairs to the Bedford community on the digital platform.
- CamGlen Radio – broadcasts locally-relevant content to Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire.
- Cando FM – a service catering for 16-40 year-olds in the Barrow-in-Furness community.
- Celtic Music Radio – a specialist music radio station broadcasting to people living in the Greater Glasgow area.
- Crescent Community Radio – a grassroots community radio station targeting the Asian Muslim community based in Rochdale.
- Devon Air Radio – broadcasts locally-made news and programmes to Exmouth, Exeter, Torbay and Teignmouth.
- Hope FM – specialises in broadcasting contemporary Christian music and programmes to Christian communities in Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch.
- Radio Dawn – broadcasts to the Muslim community living in Nottingham.
- Radio Newark – a service targeting the general population in Newark on Trent.
- Radio Sangam – a service targeting the Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities of Huddersfield, providing locally produced programming which promotes cultural diversity in the local area.
- Sheppey FM – a community radio station and training centre based on the Isle of Sheppey.
- Soar Sound – broadcasts music and programming on the digital platform to people living in Leicester and the surrounding suburbs.
- Ujima Radio – an African and Caribbean arts and media social enterprise, broadcasting music from Bristol, the Caribbean, Africa and music of Black origin.
