Community First is a registered charity (288117) based in Devizes. As a member of Action with Communities in Rural England, we support communities across Wiltshire and Swindon. Our Patron is Her Majesty The Queen.

Tackling Disadvantage and Building Resilience

Community First works tirelessly to help people overcome challenges and build resilience in their lives. We support young people through our national award-winning ‘youth arm’ Youth Action Wiltshire, including Youth Action Wiltshire Young Carers Service, Splash and youth club support. Many of our activities for young people take place at our dedicated outdoor education centres at Oxenwood and Linkenholt.

Community First is the managing partner for the Building Bridges Programme, which aims to improve wellbeing and help people overcome their barriers to employment and education. The programme is funded by The National Lottery Community Fund.

We also support unpaid Carers (including Parent Carers and Young Adult Carers) through the Carers Together Wiltshire partnership which is led by Age UK Wiltshire.

Connecting Communities

We offer rural support and community development through advisory services for village halls and local councils. We manage projects to support people and places including community transport, community led housing and community engagement. We administer grants through the Landfill Communities Fund, Bradenstoke Solar Park Community Benefit Fund and the Household Support Fund. These grant funding programmes help enhance community facilities, offer cost-of-living support, reduce fuel poverty and support sustainability and environmental priorities.

Strengthening Voice, Advocacy and Sector Leadership

We are recognised as a leading local charity in the management and development of partnership working across the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Sector. We work with partner organisations to ensure communities and the voluntary sector are heard, represented and involved in decisions that affect them.

Trading Services

Our trading services provide tailored support and value to schools, groups and organisations. This includes Community Insurance for village halls, local councils and playing fields and Minibus Driver Awareness (MiDAS) training. Surplus from trading services is reinvested into our charitable work which directly benefits local communities.