Record breaking event hailed a success

(Date of issue: Wednesday, 24 February 2010)

A Carlisle Funding Fair, that welcomed a record number of delegates late last month (28 January) has been hailed as a fantastic success after receiving excellent reviews.

Evaluation forms were completed by the majority of the 175 delegates and almost 90% rated the day as ‘very good to excellent’. Advice from funders also rated highly, along with the presentations and workshops that took place.

The annual Carlisle Funding Fair aims to provide local voluntary and community groups with access to grant givers and other support groups, and every year, these groups benefit from thousands of pounds worth of grants from contacts made at the Fair. More than 20 local, regional and national funders and support groups, including the Big Lottery Fund and Esmee Fairbairn Foundation attended this day-long event, which also included a range of training sessions.

This year’s event also doubled up as the launch of new regional grant priorities for one of the North’s leading independant charitable funders. Penny Wilkinson, Chief Executive, Northern Rock Foundation launched their new funding priorities, which are aimed specifically at tackling homelessness and communities that are experiencing financial exclusion.

Carlisle City Councillor Olwyn Luckley, Portfolio holder for Health & Community Development, said:

“The Funding Fair provides the best opportunity of the year to obtain funding for voluntary and community projects. Its reputation has always being high and in recent years the numbers attending has grown. Even in the current economic climate funding is still available for good quality projects – the Funding Fair not only gave direct access to funders but also provided a range of training and information that can help groups write a great application. I’d like to congratulate the organisers of the event and thank all those who gave their time to support and advise the community groups and individuals who attended.”

Mark Costello, Cumbria CVS, said:

“The Funding Fair provided an invaluable opportunity for groups to have face to face conversations with funders and to gain from the experience of fellow participants. We and our partners are delighted that it was such a success.”

All places were allocated at the free event which was a partnership between Carlisle City Council, Cumbria County Council and Cumbria CVS. The event took place between 9.15am and 3pm on Thursday, 28 January at Carlisle Racecourse, Durdar Road, Carlisle.