Our Vision
RESILIENT COMMUNITIES that value LOCAL EXPERIENCE and encourage people’s FREEDOM TO ACT & CONNECTION WITH OTHERS in shaping the places in which they live.
WHY WE EXIST
For many people economic, social or physical pressures prevent any sense of belonging. Instead they feel excluded and insecure and have little influence on what happens around them.
Huge investment in regeneration, made in the belief that places are best shaped from outside, often fuels distrust and disconnection and fails to stimulate community cohesion. And even where resilience and motivation exist, this force is undervalued and therefore wasted.
so there is an important opportunity to be grasped ...
to identify and support LOCAL SOCIAL INNOVATORS to turn their BOLD IDEAS into lasting positive change for PEOPLE & PLACES.
Our purpose
ideas like Sheila's ...
Sheila saw the need to house and support the homeless in London ‘whoever they are, wherever they come from’ and hopes that one day charities like theirs won’t be necessary. This means responding to the needs of individuals, however complex and supporting them to work towards a safe, sustainable and happy future.
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What we believe
It's our belief that living your life well means feeling you belong within a place; having strong relationships with the people around you; and being able to contribute to shaping the place where you live.
FREEDOM TO ACT
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CONNECTION WITH OTHERS
the ability & confidence to shape & contribute to the place where you live and call home
the ability & confidence to amplify the voices of those around you and work together to bring about change
RESILIENT COMMUNITIES
When people have the freedom to act, to connect with others and to be heard they can together help communities to thrive. This is most powerful when fuelled by people from within and built - over time - from a strong social base.
OUR GOALS
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Build a network of local innovators who have the skills, confidence and support to do their very best and to attain greater social reach and impact.
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Fund great projects that unlock a freedom to act and strengthen the connection needed to build resilient communities.
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Build a knowledge base to demonstrate the valuable expertise and motivation that local people bring to transforming places for the better.
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Share this knowledge to raise awareness and rebuild trust; and to educate and influence all those involved in place-making.