The team behind the Rudd Awards and Ruddington Village Market will move a step closer to granting funds to a range of projects in the village this month, as they invite residents to choose their favourites at a public voting event on Friday 16th May from 4pm at St Peter’s Church.
By ringfencing pitch fee revenue from the market over a number of years, the Ruddington Village Community Partnership (RVCP) launched their first ever Community Fund for Ruddington in January, inviting clubs, groups, indie businesses, schools, churches and individuals in Ruddington to apply for a share of £10,000.
Applicants were able to bid for up to £2000 each, for projects that meet one or more of the fund’s five aims:
- Developing opportunities for improved community wellbeing
- Developing opportunities for the community to work together
- Developing a vibrant and/or active community
- Developing an attractive independent high street
- Developing a prosperous independent business sector.
Applications closed at the end of March, and the team passed the completed bids to an independent panel of judges in April. Eight projects have now been shortlisted for residents to vote on.
“We had over 20 brilliant applications for a total of more than £30,000 in grants, all competing for our £10,000 fund,” said Mike Ader, Chair of RVCP. “We’d like to say a huge ‘thank you’ to all the groups that spent time researching and completing their applications – we wish we could fund more!”
“A special thank you also goes to our judges from Nottinghamshire Hospice, Frank Key Ltd, and Okarno,” added Mike. “Only eight projects could go through to the public vote, so the judges had some very difficult choices to make!”
Now, the final choice is down to Ruddington.
All eight projects will receive a share of the £10,000, but a public vote will decide just how much funding each project receives. The finalists are:
- 1st Ruddington Scouts, for new tents to support camping trips
- Friends of St Peter’s School, for a new oven for Basecamp
- The Hermitage Preschool, for play equipment
- Ruddington Art & Craft Society, to display artwork on Openreach cabinets
- Ruddington Bowls Club, for equipment to attract younger players
- Ruddington Handmade Craft Market, for equipment and promotion
- The Ruddington Pantry, for a new fridge freezer.
- Stems At 24, to enhance their high street presence with a new awning.
Voting will take place at St Peter’s Church on Friday 16th May from 4pm, where Ruddington residents can meet the applicants, find out about the projects, and those aged 18+ can choose their top five. Votes will close at 7pm, be counted and verified by 7.15pm, and all eight groups will then find out how much they’ve been awarded – three projects will receive up to £2000, and five projects up to £800.
So, who will you vote for? For more details about the fund, visit www.rvcp.org.uk, and follow @ruddvcp on Facebook or Instagram to read more about the finalists.