COMMUNITY GROUPS HAIL FUNDING FAYRE IN SALTCOATS A SUCCESS

Kenneth Gibson MSP and I were delighted by the response to the Funding Fayre we jointly organised in Saltcoats Town Hall last week.

It was great to have 22 potential funders of community groups participate in this Saltcoats, Ayrshire event as well as representatives of over 120 community groups from across North Ayrshire turning up on the day to discuss finding opportunities face to face with funding bodies.

Thanks to Cllr Anthea Dickson and Cllr Margaret Johnson from Garnock Valley for attending the event and to Cafe Solace Kilbirnie for providing teas and coffees to attendees.

Although scheduled to run for two and a half hours the event lasted over three, with numerous contacts and applications for funding made.

The feedback from attendees has been hugely positive. The goal is for this event to bring significant additional funding to groups across our constituencies.”

We have held four previous funding fayres but this was the first in person since 2019 due to the pandemic.

It’s a simple concept; community organisations come along, speak to the funders to say who they are, who they represent, what they seek funding for and how much.

The funders community projects most closely match with – there could be several – then go through the funding process and applications. Support is provided throughout the process by the funder."

It’s an event we plan to repeat again next year.