Acumen Legacy Fund

The Acumen Legacy Fund offers grants to unemployed people living in East Durham who are facing barriers to employment, skills development or vocational training programmes. This fund supports individuals who need assistance accessing training or employment opportunities through an application made by an appropriate referrer or sponsor such as a frontline worker, career advisor, social worker, or support worker from a relevant registered charity, housing association or public sector organisation. The fund covers a wide range of support including accredited training programmes, study aids such as books, equipment needed for courses, travel costs toward training, contribution toward childcare costs, clothes and other support for job interviews, bicycles with helmet and locks, driving lessons where a job offer requires a full licence, and laptops where there is evidence of a training placement. Applications are processed within 6 weeks and grants of up to £1,000 are available. The fund does not cover contributions towards course fees if the course fee exceeds £2,000, higher education fees, items which are the responsibility of an employer or third party to provide, any item or activity where there is a statutory obligation to provide such as uniforms or safety equipment, or items that have already been purchased and activities that have already taken place. The fund is managed by Point North (formerly County Durham Community Foundation) and is part of the Acumen Development Trust supporting people out of work in East Durham.