Community Come Together: Funding Our Future

Mutual Gain and Abri will offer £17,000 worth of funding to Swaythling residents for neighbourhood initiative

Community Come Together: Funding Our Future is an initiative set up by Mutual Gain and supported by Abri, Hampshire Constabulary and its partners and is offering Swaythling £17,000 to make locally conceived ideas to improve the community and reduce crime, a reality, and bidding starts on Monday 8 February 2021.

The funding has been provided by Mutual Gain and Abri, one of the south of England’s largest housing providers, which is committed to improving health and wellbeing, increasing employment and empowering it’s communities.

The focus is to reduce crime and the fear of crime by adopting a community led and problem-solving approach to making neighbourhoods a better place to live called ‘Community Come Together: Funding Our Future.'

“Swaythling is a great place to live, with great people, a great friendly neighbourly spirit and some fantastic facilities and businesses”

This was the view of many who attended the World Café event in February 2020, an event which was full with enthusiasm and passion for the Swaythling community.

The World Café was an engagement event that heard the voices of those living in the community. World Cafés are a great way to start a conversation in an informal café setting. This one gave people the opportunity to be part of a conversation about their community and how they can improve it.

Full World Café report: world-cafe-report-final-edition.pdf 

Since November 2020, another £2000 has been donated to the cause, making the total to bid for £17,000.

Initially bidders will need to get an application form from [email protected]

This will go live on Monday 8 February, 2021

All bids must be submitted by 30 March 2021.

All bidders must be available to attend the Community Come Together: Funding Our Future event on Saturday 24th April 2021 between 1pm – 3pm

PC Gail Salley said: “This was a fantastic event last year where the community came together to talk about issues and provide practical solutions in a positive setting. Now, they have the opportunity to win funding for a home grown initiative that can help improve the lives of people in their neighbourhood.

“I would ask those who live in Swaythling to get together with friends, neighbours and colleagues and bid for the money. Tell your community how you want to be part of the solution and tell them how they can get involved and help each other make a difference.”

Eligibility Criteria

• The maximum bid limit is £4,000 (smaller bids are welcome)

• Organisations/ groups can make either a single bid or can make multiple bids - however, the maximum any one organisation can bid for is £4,000

• Community Come Together: Funding Our Future is aimed to offer funding to local independent groups. The ethos of the process is to offer funding for groups who would not be able to access or apply for funds via other avenues - as a result the process is only open to local groups/individuals/organisations who can already evidence a connection to the Swaythling community

• Small /non-statutory/voluntary groups working under the umbrella of a larger local organisation may be considered but public authorities and large private/commercial organisations cannot apply

• All bids must be for projects which will benefit the Swaythling community

• Bidders can be from outside Swaythling, but if they are from outside they must be able to evidence a local connection to the area

• Both constituted and unestablished groups can apply. Unestablished groups who are bidding must discuss the potential of having a local ‘sponsor’ who can support the group in receiving the funding – this can be discussed at the on-line workshop

• Bidders must be aged 11 years or above. Any bidder under the age of 18 years will have to have a nominated Mentor to support the bid. We can offer advice as to who can mentor a young person

• All bidders must be available to attend the Community Come Together: Funding Our Future event on Saturday 24 April 2021 between 1pm – 3pm

• As this event will be an online event, all bidders will need to prepare a short video outlining their bid – we will guide and support those who are not confident in making such a video

• Successful bids will be informed on the day of the PB event

• Any supporters of a bidder attending the bid event have to vote on all bids presented on the day

• Online workshops will be offered to all bidders to answer questions, guide applicants on the bid criteria and help to make your bid as good as it can be. We will offer three online workshops to support those submitting a bid.

• All submitted bids will be subject to a paper sift against the criteria, they will be informed if they are successful.

• After this we will offer assistance to bidders who need help with putting their video together, which will be played at the online event on the 24 April.

• We will offer to mentor bidders through the process where this is required.

• We also need Swaythling residents to join in on the online event on 24 April so they can vote for the projects that they feel would be most beneficial in the area.

• All bids must be submitted by 4pm on Tuesday 30 March.

Want get involved? Just email: [email protected]

Good luck!