The Community Foundation Network (CFN) has raised £17m for community projects with the aid of government match funding.

CFN raised £8.7m as part of the Community First funding programme which was then matched by the government bringing the total to £17m. The programme will run till April 2015 with the aim of raising £100m to be matched with £50m of government investment. Some £15m of matched funding is still available over 2012/13.

The Community First programme is being delivered by the Community Development Foundation (CDF) alongside partners CFN, CCLA, Asda, the Social Investment Business and the Adventure Capital Fund. Community First is a government-funded project with a £30m small grants programme for deprived areas of the country and a national £50m endowment match challenge.

New and existing community groups and projects will be funded with the aim of becoming self-sustaining in the future.

Stephen Hammersley CFN’s chief executive said: “The aim of the Community First programme is to help neighbourhoods become more self-reliant and grow their capacity to make the changes they want to see in their area, and this first £17m of endowed funding is a great start.”