Heart of Eden Village Hall Gathering 18.2.12

1. Heart of Eden Village Hall Gathering 18.2.12 What did we say?

2. 1. Challenges and Supports • These are the key challenges we face: • Sustaining funding • Providing evidence for funders • Identifying where to get support • Getting involvement and support from the community – not just the same few • Level of commitment required by village hall committee and challenge of maintaining enthusiasm and momentum • Getting younger committee members • Forward planning • Running events • Lack of specific knowledge or expertise and knowing where to get it • Condition of the building and maintaining it • Lack of storage space • Generating new ideas • Sustaining interest • Second homes/loss of population • Getting teenagers involved • Cliques and factions (e.g. hall, school, church) • Competition from cheaper community spaces • Small population in village/ small numbers in particular age groups

3. 1. Challenges and Supports • These are sources of support to tackle the challenges: • Cumbria County Council Neighbourhood Forum/Grants • Eden District Council Infrastructure Fund • Collaboration with other halls • ACT for advice, training and information about village halls • Cumbria CVS for funding searches, advice and problem solving • Cumbria Waste Management Environment Trust grants • Parish Council • Heart of Eden Development Trust especially use of web-site • Highlights • Big Lottery • People in our own communities • Fellow committee members

4. 2. Top Tips for Effective Village Hall Committees • Set time limit on serving as a trustee • Take a structured but flexible approach • Take a positive outlook - it can be difficult but it can be done attitude • Deal with negativity • Be open minded • Get the right mix -different minded people • Beware of same people all the time – try to get new blood • Leave question in new members minds – ‘why shouldn’t I join the committee’ • Concentrate on a small role/function in first year of involvement • See others points of view • Provide strong leadership • Set structured agenda well before meetings • Form sub-groups for different activities e.g. administration, social, youth • Expect committee members to turn up at meetings • Expect committee members to contribute to discussions • Keep energy up • Make kids part of it • Communicate what you are doing e.g.- newsletters, web sites etc • Use working groups and sub groups -you don’t necessarily need full committee for all activities • Use a task and finish approach i.e. some people can contribute something specific and not feel obliged to do more • Use common sense

5. 3. Top tips for generating income and improving halls • Lettings of halls – weddings, band rehearsals, exercise classes etc • Equipment to hire for anyone using the hall • Income earning from solar panels - FIT (feed in tariff) potential earnings of £700+ per annum over 25 years • Sharing resources with other halls (possibly through Heart of Eden web site) • Run events that attract people from a wider area than just the village • Reducing costs by collaboration with other halls e.g. negotiating group insurance • Sources of advice on funding • -ACT – Voluntary Action Cumbria • -Cumbria CVS including its Funding Fair • Making funding applications • -Sell yourselves • -Be clear and passionate • -Demonstrate a track record to make funder confident • -Develop a relationship with funders • Grants • -Parish precept • -Cumbria Waste Management Environment Trust • -Cumbria County Council Young People’s Fund • -Cumbria County Council Neighbourhood Forum • -Eden District Council • -United Utilities • -Hadfield Trust • -Frieda Scott Trust

6. 3. Top tips for generating income and improving halls (cont) • Fund raising activities: • -BBQ • -Big Breakfast • -Hog Roast • -Village Olympics/sports day • -Bingo • -Village walk and teas • -Fell race (Dufton) • -Duck race • -Mugs and children’s party • -Burns night • -Open gardens • -Village fete • -Guess the weight of the pig • -Village lottery with bonus ball • -Bring and buy/Make, bake and grow (plant and cake sale) • -Concerts/entertainment • -Exhibition • -Table top/car boot sales

7. 4. Top Tips on Exciting and Effective ways to Involve People • Review and learn lessons from what does and doesn’t work • Pick up on trends and fashions • Know about and respond to needs and interests in your community – community surveys can help • Do things that reflect the history and life of your community e.g. local history events, film/photographic exhibitions • Link village hall into Parish Plan • Events for all groups in the community – families, young people, older people, children, women, men etc • Focus on quality events – reputation and image counts • Create a ‘buzz’ about the hall • Encourage regular use by clubs e.g. WI, Open Circle, Mothers Union, Youth Club, Arts club • Build links with other organisations in the village particularly churches and schools • Work with organisations like Highlights and Eden Arts

8. 4. Top Tips on Exciting and Effective ways to Involve People (cont) • Get people involved by • -Asking people directly to participate and contribute (helping to run an event, moving tables, shopping for prizes or doing washing up actually makes people feel more involved) – don’t let all expectation fall on the committee • - Sharing work by getting sub groups to organise things and spreading responsibility • - ‘Bringing people by the hand’ • -Take a broad view of who might be involved • -Participating in refurbishing their own hall (creates sense of ownership) • -Develop networks in the village but avoid exclusiveness and cliques • -Include outsiders • -Make meetings fun – food and refreshment can help • -Effective communications – newsletters, web sites, posters, newspaper advertisements and word of mouth • -Build up and use a data base of participants – phone numbers, email and addresses • - Challenge yourselves by setting targets for involvement e.g. 20% of residents

9. 4. Top Tips on Exciting and Effective ways to Involve People (cont) • Interesting and varied activities that people will enjoy • -Pudding nights • -Lunch clubs • -Mother and toddler groups • -After school clubs • -Summer play schemes • -Beetle drives • -Weekly café/ Exchange • -Coffee mornings • -Christmas lunch • -Big breakfast • -Teddy bear hunt • -Treasure hunt • -Burns night • -Village walk • -Social events/dances • -Sales and marketing of local produce and crafts • -Craft exhibition • -Ballroom dancing/zumba • -Mini-farmers market • -Apple days • -Information surgeries • -Pottery and arts classes • -Car boot sales

10. 5. Top Tips for Collaborating with Others • Advertising each other’s events • Hiring equipment to or from other halls • Sharing equipment with other halls • Recycling unused/surplus equipment to other halls (e.g. therma fleece)- advertising through ACT gazette or HoE web isite • Committees of Village Halls to meet to exchange ideas and explore issues(at a village hall or a pub) in regular networking sessions across Heart of Eden • Specific events e.g. input from ACT on legislation • Develop networking • Use Heart of Eden Web site to provide a common information source about village halls • Procurement panel/arrangements for shared bulk buying e.g. insulation, insurance, soap, towels, cleaning materials, toilet rolls, cash and carry membership • Combined PAT equipment testing (e.g fire extinguishers, electrical goods) on a specified day and place • Transport to events • Common events diary hosted on HoE website • Co-ordination of event dates with other halls • Links between village web sites and Heart of Eden website • Data base of contact details of hall committees to provide access to network • Better communication between Parish Councils and Hall Committees

11. 5. Top Tips for Collaborating with Others (cont) • But NB • Big is not necessarily beautiful - halls are and should be independent • We don’t just want more meetings • Need to have effective co-ordination systems

12. Involving the community • Good communication and admin • Range of events – regular • and one off, experimental and • tested, indoor and outdoor etc • Food and drink • Recruiting and using volunteers • delegating and giving • responsibility, using people’s • strengths, making it fun • Broad open inclusive events – • Intergenerational, family etc • Creating a ‘buzz’ Heart of Eden Village Halls Gathering: 18.2.12 Summary of Discussion • Collaboration • Share information e.g. • on-line events calendar • on HoE website • Village halls forum • Inter-hall events/networking • Joint marketing • Joint purchasing • Sharing assets/equipment • e.g. projector • Offering advice based on • local experience • Effective Committees • Flexible • Open minded • Positive • Inclusive of everyone- older, • younger, new or long resident etc • Using common sense • Delegating e.g. to working • groups Implications • Build on this event to achieve: • 1. Better communication between • halls and about their activities • using available resources e.g. • Heart of Eden website • 2. Effective collaboration between • halls and Heart of Eden • Development Trust respecting • independence of halls • 3. Meet again to work out a • practical plan of action • Funding • Earning income from events (e.g. • Dufton fell race) lettings, PV panels • recycling etc • Local fundraising e.g. village lottery • Accessing grants from trusts, local • Authorities, lottery etc • Payback e.g. solar panel tariff • Reducing costs by sharing assets • Challenges and supports • Key challenges: funding and • resources, involving community, • effective committees • Sources of support: organisations • (e.g. ACT, Cumbria CVS, local • authorities), other halls, Heart of • Eden Development Trust