Hello there,
Spring is on the way and there's a real bounce in our step.
We've been so busy since I last wrote. Loads of Keyfund groups have gone panel. We've given out £43k to groups since January and over £256k since April! Together with our Licensees, we've now supported 63% more projects than this time last year. A massive well done to all our facilitators and their young people for this great achievement.
We've had 2 more BLASTS take place, one funded by Udecide in Cowgate and one in South Tyneside funded by Asda. Both pots were matched by the Northern Rock Foundation and we got to work closely with local partners, which was great fun. BLASTS are proving to be a fantastic way to motivate facilitators and young people, as well as build strong community relationships. If you fancy supporting a BLAST in your area, drop your Licensee a line.
Keyfund activity has been so plentiful that the remaining pot funds in some unlicensed areas are already fully spent or ring-fenced for registered groups. We want Keyfund activity to be sustainable in all areas, so we're running an event in April to complete our search for the final 4 Licensees to be funded by ONE. Let us know if you'd like to come.
Congratulations to two Licensees who just secured valuable funding for their areas. North Yorkshire County Council partnered with VOCALINK, while London Youth are running exciting Keyfund initiatives with the Metropolitan Police and Affinity Sutton Housing. Fantastic news!
Speak soon,
Hannah
The queue for the Keyfund Winter Extravaganza started at 8.30am with young people huddled in duvets on the steps of Newcastle City Hall keenly anticipating the spectacular celebration.
Over 1200 young people from far and wide enjoyed fantastic sets from Jamilah, Nick Celino, Kayne, Ruff Diamond, Paradise Point, Etta Smith, Silvar and headline act Joe McElderry. Joe's excitement was evident in the 13 Tweets he posted!
The Young Steering Group were inspirational, saying, "this is something we couldn't have dreamed possible just a few months ago". Josh, 14, from North Tyneside, on BBC Radio Newcastle's drivetime show, likened organising the event to a huge Keyfund project.
It was a fantastic celebration for young people, showcasing their talent and accomplishments. Big Thanks to funder Big Lottery, supporters Go North East, The Gate, Greggs and Accenture, all the acts, staff, especially Keyfund volunteer Fungying Koshy and of course the audience themselves for making it so brilliant.
We've had a few paperwork FAQs recently so hopefully these Key Tips will ensure you have minimal delay in getting your cheque:
- Remember to fill in the project idea on the registration form.
- Please wait until you receive your acknowledgement before organising a panel. We might have sent you a request for missing info from your registration, before an acknowledgement can be authorised.
- Remember to break down the costs as much as possible on your project costs form.
- Please tell us which organisation your cheque is to be made payable to.
- Ensure the facilitator on your panel is from a different organisation. There is a list of facilitators in your area on the website.
- And finally, please send us your skills wheel data, facilitator and group evaluation! This data is vital. We need it to prove and improve the effectiveness of Keyfund.
You might expect that a group with a name like The Gigglers would always look on the bright side. So when they suffered the sad loss of their close friend Rebecca, they wanted to organise an event to celebrate her life.
Rebecca, who suffered from Pulmonary Hypertension, was a talented young artist and had produced some beautiful work. As a tribute her friends put on an exhibition of her art which was attended by around 100 people.
The Gigglers organised invitations, catering and even had to deal with postponing and rearranging the whole event due to bad snow. They sold cards of Rebecca's artwork on the evening, raising money for PHA, the charity that had supported Rebecca and her family. The Giggles also had a book which friends could write tributes in, meaning that they had something else special to remember Rebecca by.
The group said this project really stretched their skills of communication, making decisions and problem solving. Teachers at Rebecca's school and her family remarked that The Gigglers had done Rebecca proud. We certainly agree - well done The Gigglers.
Licensee North Yorkshire County Council has invented a fantastic resource for you to use with your young people - a 'Top Trumps' style game to help you come up with ideas for projects and to consider their benefits. There are also some blank templates for young people to add their own ideas and see how they measure up. These will be available to buy for £7.99 (ex VAT) from our website. They're great fun and beautifully designed so we really hope you'll enjoy using them.
