Drinkaware: new grants programme

In what appears to be a major shake up of its grants programme and a rebranding of the Drinkaware Trust, Drinkaware is soon to release details of grants schemes offering dedicated funding to local and national projects working to tackle alcohol misuse, promote responsible drinking and raise awareness about the negative effects of alcohol. The schemes are open to projects working primarily with under 18s and 25-44 year olds in any part of the UK and will encompass three levels of award:    

• Ideas Fund, sums up to £2,000
• Drinkwise Projects, sums up to £25,000
• Big Impact Award, sums up to £100,000

Project costs are available for many types of alcohol awareness projects including community based work, alcohol education, including peer-led education, and awareness raising work with disadvantaged people who are at risk of harm from alcohol misuse. 

Funding will focus on work that delivers the most impact for beneficiaries and work that contributes to learning, for example the development of replicable models of effective working. Detailed funding guidelines and the application form will be available from the end of October from the Drinkaware website: www.drinkaware.co.uk.

Drinkaware aims "to positively change public behaviour and the UK’s drinking culture to help reduce alcohol misuse and minimise alcohol-related harm".

Comments

[Steve Rolles]

As Transform argue in their submisison to the recent DoH consultation (linked in your previous blog) the alcohol industry make huge amounts of money, arguably even most of their money, from unhealthy drinking behaviours. The idea that they are serious about investing substantial amounts in reducing consumption - and therefore sales and profits - is not credible.

They are playing a delicately balanced PR game at the moment. Keen to avoid any mandatory regulation they are ramping up their efforts to be seen to addressing issues of alcohol misuse. These efforts are the minimum they think they can get away with that will avert the fear dregulation - that they know would cost them substantially more than the pitiful amounts they throw at tokens like the frankly laughable drinkaware project.

The industry representative bodies and lobbyists fight regulation and control at every juncture. Their interest is solely in profits and not in any way public health. We should not delude ourselves that these are socially responsible corporate entities.