New Sligo Partnership Responds to Community Need
Thursday 11th April saw a first of its kind funding event take place in Sligo. The event saw key funders in the county come together in one room to let the community sector know about all the grant options open to them across 2019/2020. Coordinated by Sligo PPN, it is hoped that the event is the first in a series that will support the Sligo community to navigate the increasingly complex maze of funding.
The event arose following a community needs analysis undertaken by Sligo PPN to find out about the key issues and concerns facing their member groups in trying to go about their everyday business. While funding came out on top, there were also a number of other issues identified including social media, public speaking, diversifying and expanding community groups and first aid.
The results of the needs analysis led to the creation of a new training partnership in the county made up of Sligo PPN, Sligo Volunteer Centre, MSLETB, Sligo Leader Partnership, Sligo County Council and Sligo LCDC. The partnership’s first job was to organise the flagship funding event which saw over 120 people came along to hear about the financial opportunities open to them. They also heard about how to achieve good governance and best practice in grant writing from Liam Scollan.
They are now working closely together to try and put together a coordinated training calendar which they are confident will respond to all the priorities raised by the community sector. This calendar will be available soon on the PPN website and will also be promoted through local and social media by all organisations involved.
“ The increasing pressures on the community sector are becoming crippling. Volunteers are being pulled away from their community passions to essentially become business CEOs. They spend more time filling out paperwork than helping the communities they set out to support. We hope that the work of this partnership will go some way in relieving some of this pressure.’ Sarah Wetherald, PPN Coordinator
