We asked Philip Edwards from the Leiston Community Land Trust (CLT) about the Leiston Church Square Community Garden Project and how the portal works for him.
“….it quickly helps me to locate relevant funding and I just can’t see a downside.”
We were thrilled to be able to speak with Philip about the Leiston Church Square Community Garden Project which was one of the many recipients of funding after using the Funding4Suffolk portal operated by Community Action Suffolk. Our Financial Sustainability Officer, Andy Cooke was keen to learn from Philip firsthand of the results of the funding available via Funding 4 Suffolk.
Philip’s Mission
Philip and his fellow Trustees had an ambition to make the centre of Leiston a more welcoming place. He told us that so often he saw that people came into Leiston, used the large town centre Co Op supermarket for their shopping and then would leave. Philip told us that he felt that there was nowhere in the centre of Leiston where people could just sit down and drink their coffee and chat with friends and other locals. The garden area of the Leiston United Reform Church was an underused area in the heart of the town and presented itself as an ideal area to help with this vision. Renovating this area was also seen as an enabling project to kickstart their shared vision to make Leiston a more welcoming place.
At the same time the Church saw the opportunity to improve what it could offer the local Leiston Community, and Philip and his fellow Trustees worked in tandem with the Church to help improve their community facilities as well as to make the Church Square space something really special.
So What happened next
Armed with this vision Philip, his fellow Trustees and the Church were able to reach out and bring together the local Leiston community, needing both practical help as well as monetary help. Philip even got the Local Youth Group to join in and offer their labour, as well as asking local businesses to lend their services for free, such as donating the use of cherry pickers, energising the local community. Although everyone was very generous – local donations were between £1,000 and £50,000 – Philip knew these would not be enough in themselves to fund the project and knew that they needed to apply for external funding to make their dream a reality.
How does using the Funding 4 Suffolk portal help find the right grant for you?
Philip and his fellow Trustees turned to the Funding4Suffolk portal to start their funding journey. Using the Filtering Options Philip was able to narrow down his search to find the funders that met the needs he was looking for –
“The ability to filter different funders was excellent, I probably got 40 to 50 funders. Perfectly straightforward”.
Philip and his fellow Trustees found the funding to make their shared vision a reality. In addition, the church had been developing its own plans to refurbish and develop the historic church building. Funding allowed New bi-fold doors to be fitted along with improved accessibility ramping to make access easier. This has opened up a new space which can be equally enjoyed by the congregation, hall users, and the local community.
This was a sizable project and Philip estimates that 85% of the costs came from funding, with a wide range of Funders coming together to help finance the Project.
The wider project was even recognised with an award from East Suffolk Council with the 2023 High Street of the year award.
What difference did the grants make to you?
The funding has really improved things aesthetically in the centre of Leiston, the church uses their church building more, and makes the space more essential to the community. There is a bandstand in the square which has been used as part of the Snape Music Festival, events are being held there as well as plans for plays, and you will now see people using the benches for food and conversation. It is a great Community Space which even has its own free wi-fi!
What are the benefits of using the Funding 4 Suffolk portal?
Philip said that he would strongly recommend every VFCSE organisation using the Funding4Suffolk portal.
“I would recommend others visit Funding4Suffolk because it doesn’t cost me anything to use, it quickly helps me to locate relevant funding and I just can’t see a downside.”
Funding 4 Suffolk is a completely free portal allowing those who use it easy access to hundreds of grant options. It includes a useful filtering system and alerts function. The portal is a great way to save time when looking for grant opportunities and makes the whole process so much easier. To find out more visit https://funding.idoxopen4community.co.uk/suffolk
