Wexford Local Development is hosting a seminar on Thursday 28th April on the topic of Financing Your Community Organisation. The seminar will be held in the Riverside Park Hotel, Enniscorthy.
This seminar will be of interest to all community organisations including local development groups, sports clubs and social enterprises. The seminar will examine a wide range of options to finance and fundraise for developments in your local community. It will be of particular interest to groups who are interested in applying for grant aid under the forthcoming LEADER programme and who wish to look at sources of matched funding to assist their application. Sports clubs who hope to apply for grant aid under next year’s Sports Capital Grant scheme could also benefit from this seminar.
From 6:00pm onwards representatives will be available from a range of financial institutions to discuss loans and other supports that may be available to community organisations.
At 7:30pm we will host a workshop which will see a number of expert speakers give interesting presentations on all aspects of fundraising and financing for community and not-for-profit organisations. The speakers will also take part in a Questions & Answers session with the audience to allow audience members gain from their experience.
The speakers who will give presentations on the night are:
John Everett – Using Finance to Build Communities
John Everett is an actuary by profession who has spent the past twenty years advising and assisting community, voluntary and social enterprise organisations throughout Ireland on various matters relating to the achievement of their core missions, particularly their financial sustainability. John has supported the establishment and strategic development of a wide range of not for profit organisations in all parts of Ireland and the United States, ranging from small voluntary groups to some of the most prominent social enterprises in the country. John will use his decades of experience to provide an overview of the importance of the proper use of finance to support the development of sustainable communities. He will describe the key components he believes a social enterprise requires to successfully finance its operations as well as explaining some of the pitfalls that community organisations should avoid.
Jennifer Hennessy – Social Finance for Communities
Jennifer Hennessy has been a Social Finance Executive with Clann Credo, the Social Investment Fund, since 2008. Clann Credo is the leading provider of ethical loans to community groups, social enterprises, charities and amateur sports clubs. They have a team of experts who understand the voluntary and community sectors and aim to use their financial resources for community good. Clann Credo is celebrating its 20 year anniversary this year and wants to make a difference in communities in Wexford. Jennifer works to ensure that the community and voluntary sector has access to affordable finance to invest, grow, and achieve their social goals.
Philip Wallace – Fundraising in a Community Organisation
Philip Wallace is a founder and leading committee member of Duncannon Village Renewal. Duncannon Village Renewal was formed in 2012 following a series of meetings between Wexford Local Development and local residents. Since then they have become one of the most active and successful community fundraising groups in the South East. Duncannon Village Renewal undertook a 5 year community development plan which gave them ambitious targets to improve their community. They have undertaken their work with support from Wexford Local Development under the LEADER programme and an imaginative series of community fundraising efforts. Philip will explain the fundraising they have undertaken and how it has united their community.
Michael Kelly – Crowdfunding for Community & Not for Profit Organisations
In 2008 Michael Kelly founded GIY (Grow it Yourself), a social enterprise that supports people to grow some of their own food at home, school, work or in the community as a lever to a healthier and more sustainable life. This year GIY will support over 150,000 people to grow their own food for the first time in over 5,500 community food projects, schools and workplaces in Ireland and the UK. GIY is currently developing the headquarters of the GIY movement, a food education centre called GROW HQ, which is scheduled to open in 2016. The development of GROW HQ is being funded by an ongoing an ambitious fundraising campaign which aims to raise €1.5 million. Much of this fundraising has been undertaken through innovative crowdfunding measures which have capitalised on community support for this initiative. Michael will explain the crowdfunding initiatives they has undertaken and which could be replicated by community organisations in Co. Wexford.
Wexford Local Development would strongly encourage all community organisations and not-for-profit entities in the county to attend this event. Each of the speakers brings a wealth of knowledge and experience which could inspire local communities to replicate their successes. The next LEADER programme will see an investment of almost €4 million of grant aid into community organisations in Co. Wexford and Wexford Local Development believes this seminar will help local communities prepare to take advantage of this opportunity.
To find out more information, or to register your interest in attending, please contact Séamus Doran, Wexford Local Development on 053-9155800 or sdoran@wld.ie