Leeds Christian Community Trust (LCCT) exists to release Christian people into their dreams and visions of community transformation. If you have even an inkling of an idea 
for making a difference amongst a certain community/people group/interest area, we may be able to help you to turn it into reality.
LCCT can meet people at the very birth of a vision, and walk with them along an absolutely individualised path towards whatever the right destination for that initiative is...
For some, this begins as the vision of one individual, and LCCT will come alongside that person, help them to identify people who can develop that vision, and journey with them to a point of maturity. An example of this is The Joanna Project (link to http://www.joannaleeds.org
), which started with the vision of one woman, fresh out of the Transform (link to http://transformcity.org.uk) year out course, who just had a passion for the most disadvantaged women in our city. LCCT was able to offer support in exploring this field, formation of a project, policy development, expansion and now in helping them to ‘fly the nest’ and become a separate charity. Since 2003, LCCT has helped 27 individual Christians from Leeds to turn their dreams of social and spiritual change into real transformation, including Farsley Youth Development Project (link to http://fydp.org.uk), Onside Sports (link to http://onsidesports.ning.com/) and Involve (link to http://www.involveleeds.org.uk/).
Other projects we support have been born out of the unity of different church groups, who wanted to work together in areas of common concern, to avoid duplication and waste of resources. An example of this is The Three Churches Project (link to http://www.threechurches.org.uk/), which began life as conversations between Stainbeck URC, St. Matthew’s Chapel Allerton and Holy Trinity Meanwood, all of whom had a desire to make a difference in the surrounding Beckhill and Miles Hill estates. LCCT was able to offer start-up funding, development support and a neutral legal structure to assist in the growth of the Three Churches Project, which is now very much part of a wider regeneration strategy in North East Leeds. Since 2003, LCCT has supported 25 projects that began from a position of congregational unity, including Leeds Youth Cell Network (link to http://www.leedsyouthcells.co.uk/), The Oastler Centre (link to http://www.oastlercentre.org.uk) and the City-wide Alpha Launch in 2009.
Another category of projects we have supported are pre-existing projects, which may have been brought into existence without the help of LCCT, but which have nevertheless benefitted from financial support. Since 2003, LCCT has supported 33 projects that already existed, but which met the criteria of our grants programmes, including Leeds Faith in Schools (http://www.lfis.org), Kidz Klub (http://www.kidzklubleeds.org.uk), Friends International (http://www.friendsinternational.org.uk) and Arts@Trinity (http://www.artsattrinity.co.uk).
Things we like at LCCT include: Partnership; Faith; Creativity; Transformation; Passion. If you or your project fit the bill, please feel free to get in touch with Tim on 0113 3508622 or email tim@lcct.org.uk. If you have read this and thought of someone you know who needs a helping hand in getting running with their visions, don’t be shy, forward this article to them and play a role in their story of impacting Leeds.
