Progress…..

Over the past few months, the community of Speke have developed by the bucket load. New relationships have been built, connections have been made and people are actually working together . This to some people may not seem like much of a result but to the people of Speke it is a massive achievement, it will prevent duplications in services, open the groups up to larger funding pots and most importantly it will increase their ability to become sustainable as the saying is true “there is strength in numbers”

 

Speak out Speke Winners 2011

 

Lets Get Together…… shortly after the seed funding had been awarded the groups got together to share their stories and get to know one another. We also produced some certificates for the winners and arranged for Talk about Local to come and do some training on the community blog ‘Speke your mind’ so overall it was an action packed day. The groups all came which was brilliant and the room was really buzzing, and then it hit home exactly what was happening….all of these groups/projects/organisations had been working literally within feet of one another and this was the first time that some of them had come together. Each group introduced themselves and gave the others a little information about their project and what it is they aim to achieve through the Neighbourhood challenge. This was really lovely to hear because some of these project twelve months ago had been nothing more than an idea or a pipe dream and thanks to the Neighbourhood Challenge and the support in the community they are now a part of a thriving provision for the Speke, the other well-known projects also go their time to shine because not only was this their first opportunity to information share but it gave them a real platform to share what they have been doing in the community and pass on their wisdom to the other projects.

Attitude Drama, Kimberley Preston

As a result of the training day, many of  the groups decided to work together rather than alone and going forward to the final stage of the awards there will hopefully be some collaborative projects, this is fantastic not just because it will reinforce the projects but because it will also have a greater impact on the community and show other potential funders that they can achieve really value for money by investing in these groups/projects.

Throughout the challenge we have  continued to learn and progress along with the groups, we as the Community Foundation are used to being grant makers, we have never had the opportunity to steer away from this and actually get out their into communities . Because of this we have had to constantly remind ourselves of the difference between a PRIZE and a GRANT, here are some of the differences we came up with which have really helped us to keep on track with our  PRIZE CHALLENGE.

Grants

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•  

 

• Grants are awarded/ Declined
• Applicants Apply
• Grant Makers/ Donors are in control
• Certain aspects are expected
• They are process driven/ structured
• Restrictive
• Slower/Longer Process
• Traditional
• Accountable
• There is less risk involved
• They are assessed
• Less Flexible

Prize

 

• There are winners and losers
• Rewards and Awards
• People are more empowered
• Celebrated both privately and publicly
• Innovative
• open to all
• Looser criteria
• Quick
• New
• They create real opportunities for real people
• They require a level of bravery
• There is more at risk for the applicant
• Judging
• Nerve Wracking
• More Flexible approach
  

  The Growing Old together project with John McEvatt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moving onto the final stage of judging we know that the criteria need to be robust and clear, still taking into account the differences between a prize and a grant so we have decided to create a support pack which will have documents the groups can continue to use once the programmes ends as tools for other funding streams etc but also providing the judges with as much information as possible, showing the groups innovation and visions but ensuring its in keeping with the criteria.

Liverpool, Garston Handball Club

 

 We will be hosting the final stage of judging around the 16th April, all groups will be present on the day along with the judges. They will all have the opportunity to showcase their packs and their projects whilst being available to answer any questions the judges may have, presentations are optional but not essential.

The judges will then have a week to make their decisions, a prize pot of £80,000.00is not something to be taken lightly and will require a thorough thought process. The following week we have managed to secure with the support of NESTA a two-day conference with the wonderful Cormac Russell who will be delivering the ABCD training to the community of Speke, this should lift the spirits of  the groups and reiterate all of the hard work we have done over the months show casing the assets that have always been right there in their community. And just to make things extra special we will be hosting a final celebration event at the end of April to showcase all of the hard work the groups have been doing.

Laura and Georgie, The Parent Hub

We would also like to make a short film capturing the opinions of the groups/projects and also any comments from the community, this is something we will be looking into over the next few weeks. VERY exciting times but I think I will be saying on behalf of the whole community it is such a shame this project is coming to an end so soon, however I think its legacy will remain for years to come.

Five for Families