A new fund has been set up in a partnership between Talbot Village Trust and Dorset Community Foundation (DCF) to benefit local community and voluntary organisations across Dorset.

Talbot Village trust has donated £25,000 to support DCF’s inaugural Living Legacy Fund, which now totals £100,000 with further support from BCP Council and other individual donors.

The Fund is set to be an annual grant-making programme attracting philanthropists and donors who have a shared interest in supporting communities within the BCP area.

Tom Flood, chairman elect of the Dorset Community Foundation, said: “It is a wonderful vote of confidence in the Dorset Community Foundation that such a respected funder, as the Talbot Village Trust, has invested in our Living Legacy Fund.

“We are so pleased and proud that the Trust recognises our ability to use its money in the most effective way and that its desire to help people in need can be best served by working with us.”

This year’s Living Legacy Fund has prioritised applications supporting the recovery and strengthening of local communities following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, there is a focus on isolation, loneliness, poverty, health and wellbeing.

The Earl of Shaftesbury, Nicholas Ashley-Cooper, chairman of Talbot Village Trust, said: “We don’t typically partner with other grant-giving charities, but we felt this was a unique and incredibly worthy opportunity that would help expand our reach across the county.

“We are aware that there are many organisations within the conurbation that we may not have come into contact with before as an organisation. Through our partnership with the Dorset Community Foundation, we hope to reach and provide help to more people.”