Forty thousand pounds is on offer to community groups in north Norfolk.

The Victory Housing Community Fund is celebrating its 10th anniversary by offering the money in its latest grants round – and one lucky recipient organisation will walk away with a £10,000 grant.

The fund was set up in 2008 to support charities and voluntary organisations that make a difference in communities. It has given out more than £425,000 to over 150 local community groups.

Charities, community organisations and parish councils have until September 28 to apply for a share of the £40,000 pot.

Applications are invited for grants up to £5,000, which can be used for a variety of purposes, including capital projects, venue hire, equipment, start-up expenses and training. To mark the anniversary, one successful applicant will see their grant boosted to £10,000.

In the last round of grants in May, nine community groups, including Catfield Shopper Bus, received grants of between £500 and £5,000 to help with projects as diverse as equipping community first responders, improving disabled access to a coast watch lookout premises, constructing a building to house a playgroup and supporting the operation of a touring play van for rural communities.

The trust's director of housing Christine Candlish said: 'We are very proud of the difference that our Community Fund has made over the past decade, and we wanted to mark the anniversary with something a bit special.

'All community groups are welcome to apply, but we would particularly encourage bids from organisations that have not applied before – the application process is deliberately simple and user-friendly.'

Applications for grants can be made by any organisation or group established for charitable purposes, provided there is a formal structure which allows for monitoring of activity and feedback – official charitable status is not necessary. Once bids close, the decision about where the money goes will be made by a panel consisting of Victory Housing Trust tenants, advised by the grants team at Norfolk Community Foundation, which administers the fund on behalf of Victory.

Full details can be found at www.norfolkfoundation.com/funds/victory-housing-trust-community-fund.