A local charitable fund which donates to deserving Hatfield causes is struggling to find takers for its money.

A staggering £10,000 is available but only a handful of organisations have applied for a share.

The ARISE Hatfield Fund is an alliance of five business partners comprising Landsec (The Galleria), Ocado, Gascoyne Estates, Incentive FM and LA Metalworks. It was set up in 2013 to provide an annual fund of money to support initiatives and socially-based activities that improve the lives of groups or individuals in Hatfield.

Since its launch, it has helped support 111 different projects in the Hatfield area donating over £90,000 to worthy causes. Groups such as Hatfield Brownies, Friends of Countess Anne School and Young Life International have all benefited.

The committee meets every quarter and a maximum of £1,500 can be awarded to any group, organisation or individual based or living in the Hatfield area.

The success of the fund has recently led to it achieving full charitable status which helps strengthen its position as a major community catalyst in the area. Charitable status means the group can benefit from additional financial advantages from the government. It also brings the reassurance and support of The Charity Commission as the organisation focusses on growing its support of local community projects.

With this in mind, ARISE Hatfield currently has £10,000 available to donate and is looking for worthy causes to support in its next round of funding this spring.

Trustee Suzanne Westlake from Ocado said: “As we emerge from the Covid pandemic we know that local clubs and groups are starting to re-launch their activities. Budgets are increasingly tight so a grant of up to £1500 per project could be very useful to get a community activity off the ground”.

In order to be considered, applicants are required to complete a simple application form and provide the names of two referees, who will be contacted for reference purposes. In addition to the form, applicants can further bolster their bid for funding by providing other materials like newsletters, testimonials and videos.

To find out more about what type of projects are eligible and how to apply, see the website www.arisehatfield.com