[cma-l] Inspiring Voices Awards (England only)

[Office - ccr-fm]

Dear All

A very quick Monday observation.

First question on the questionaire and one that we face on an extremely
regular basis -----    any thoughts ----

We are in Rural East Cheshire, not a particularly thriving community if
compared to Chelsea or Mayfair or Kensington but nevertheless viewed as not
particularly disadvantaged .......... however, ''here comes the tricky
sticky bit''

Question <> Is your community disadvantaged ?  If so please explain why ?

CERTAINLY ......... We are disadvantaged both in our community and with
reference to our project because = everyone thinks that we are NOT
disadvantaged and therefore receive no grants. We don't get a look in and
very rarely get past the first hurdle and yet we are doing an equally good a
job as most other not-for-profit community groups. Perhaps we have now
become disadvantaged due to the fact that we apparently weren't
disadvantaged but are now as we have run out of money. We have run out of
money because people assumed that we had money, and by assuming that we had
money meant that we didn't get any money. If we put the money that we don't
get on top of the money that we never had in the first place because
Macclesfield 'alledgedly' isn't disadvantaged then the result is 0 + 0 = 0

I would argue that if you have an impoverished inner city area that applies
for 6 grants and gets awarded 4, each for 40,000 total = 160,000 and our
rural well off area applies for 6 and gets nowt'   then the disadvantaged
area isn't exactly as disadvantaged as it makes out.
The same area then applies again next year and the end result is the same
.......... the fact that the area still seems to be disadvanted confuses me
somewhat ............. what is it doing with it's money ......... is it Silk
purses and sows ears that spring to mind ??

Before anyone jumps down my throat, I am not a snob, I am a working class
guy and proud of it. We never had a lot of money during my upbringing and I
know the value of money, so in this instance I am playing devils advocate.

Am I waffling again or am I making at least a point and a valid observation.
Things won't change I know !   but at least it's another nonsense off my
chest.

Today, we have been working with people who have epilepsy ..... literally 2
minutes ago one of our young lads had a seizure ..... he lives in this area
along with the others on the course ............ ah but ... we are a wealthy
area so we don't count.
You only qualify if you have a disability and are in a disadvantaged area.
What's the answer then, do we all up sticks and move to a slum ?? or easier
still, turn the area that we live in into a slum so that we can earn some
money to turn it back into what we have already got ......... I simply don't
get it ?

Dunno' ?       I'm all at sea at present and money is running out FAST !

It's the old adage again I'm afraid ........ 100 applicants and £1000
available .... everyone gets £10.

Did you know that in 6 years of community radio and a community project we
haven't had tuppence from the National Lottery ?!    not a sausage !

We've just applied to the community fund (again) we got £6,000 2 years ago
and yet we are in the Band B (NO ADVERTISING) .... if we get it ((((if))))
it goes against my principles TO BE HONEST, as I don't believe it should
work like this. I would much rather receive a £1000 every month 'guaranteed'
and have our girls doing something constructive with our group (children
with disabilities for example) than wasting their time on grant applications
.... MOST OF THEM POINTLESS AND FRUITLESS ........ the whole grant system
needs a FULL overhaul ! both in house and elsewhere

Whinge over

Regards

Nick

-----Original Message-----
From: cma-l-bounces at mailman.commedia.org.uk
[mailto:cma-l-bounces at mailman.commedia.org.uk] On Behalf Of CMA-L
Sent: 15 November 2010 11:17
To: cma-l at commedia.org.uk
Subject: [cma-l] Inspiring Voices Awards (England only)

The Media Trust is offering ten awards of £500 each to communities
whose work is helping to give the community a voice through digital
media.

The Inspiring Voices Awards will be given to the applicants deemed to
have made the strongest case for their project.

Voting opened on 9 November and closes on 3 December at noon. To
nominate an individual or community that you feel deserves an award go
to:

http://communitychannel.mediatrust.org/featured/inspiring-voices-1/

To apply you'll need to create a blog entry and answer the following
three questions:

- Is your community disadvantaged? Please explain how.
- Does your community use, or has your community used in the last
twelve months, digital media to address its needs in terms of its
disadvantage?  If so, please explain what form of digital media was
used and why?
- Can you demonstrate how this digital media work improves the lives
of the people in your community? Please explain how.

You can use a mixture of text and digital media (photo or video) in
your entry. The closing date for all applications is 3rd December 2010
at noon, and the successful applicants will be announced in the week
commencing 13th December 2010.

\\

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