COMMUNITY groups in County Durham's former pit areas will be able to apply for grants of up to £10,000.
The Coalfields Regeneration Trust (CRT) has launched a fast-track grant programme called Bridging the Gap.
It is aimed at small voluntary and community groups which, the trust says, have traditionally had difficulty getting small grants quickly.
The trust has run a similar programme in Scotland that attracted a wide range of applicants including community arts groups, miners' welfares, clubs and associations.
Bridging the Gap will run alongside the trust's main grants programme which has spent £7.75m in the North-East since the trust's launch in 1999.
Trust chief executive Alan Wallace said: "Bridging the Gap is designed to ensure CRT funds are available to those groups, which traditionally have had greatest difficulty in attracting funding.''
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