The Melting Pot E-Bulletin September 2008
Key Concept: From small acorns mighty oaks do grow
Have you ever looked at a tree and wondered how it could be?
From just one seed come a thousand others…
It lays dormant, waiting; then gradually unfolds, is alive, has its own life, and gives life to others...
Our pilot stage ends, and we approach the end of our first year of trading this September.
This vessel is now strong and secure – our tap root is anchored, our branches spreading…
Time stands still for no-one.
It’s time for the next phase of our development – to grow and build our community.
We’re more than an office or events venue; we are for more than profit.
We’re here to incubate social innovation, to inspire and support diverse and dynamic routes to social change.
Join us at this milestone in our Celebration Event – see below.
We look forward to working with you in many ways over the years to come and value your support.
Remember that a thousand candles can be lit from a single flame. Smile, they’re contagious!
News: Tudor Trust backs The Melting Pot as a vital resource for Third Sector organisations in Scotland
We are delighted to announce and thank the Tudor Trust which has awarded The Melting Pot a significant grant to support our development over the next 2 years.
The Trustees agreed that TMP is “a vital resource for the sector… particularly true for smaller organisations or to those who are just starting up as it offers them a secure space, in a good location, which can be used freely without the associated ‘housekeeping’ costs…and are keen on the cross-pollination of ideas that comes from such a workspace and hosts”.
News: Direct Action hits the news at The Melting Pot
You probably saw Ian Thom on the news this August, campaigning for a free Tibet from atop a 120 foot pylon near the center of Beijing's Olympic Park.
Months of preparation came to fruition when, on August 6th Ian, alongside fellow campaigner Lucy Fairbrother, scaled the pylons. They unfurled their banners declaring "Tibet Will Be Free", and echoing the Olympic motto, "One World, One Dream: Free Tibet".
Ian's demonstration really caught the public imagination, and media interest was fantastic. Working downstairs at Thorn House, for Friends of the Earth Scotland, Ian popped up to The Melting Pot to put on a press conference...
http://www.studentsforafreetibet.org and http://freetibet2008.org/globalactions/birdsnest for the full story...
... In the meantime, some of The Melting Pot's staff were away taking direct action on climate change at this year's Camp for Climate Action. Celia and Richard, The Melting Pot's Events Coordinator and Membership Assistant, helped shut down Eon's existing coal power station at Kingsnorth.
The two-week Camp weaved four key themes: education, direct action, sustainable living, and building a movement to effectively tackle climate change both resisting climate crimes and developing sustainable solutions. "It was just so inspiring to build a community and take action with thousands of committed people," says Richard. "It felt like the point when a yearly camp turned into a powerful social movement - and we pledged we'd be back."
Campers pledged to return in the new year to stop Eon building a new coal station at Kingsnorth, by a rolling blockade of the building site. "If Kingsnorth gets built, coal power stations and new open cast mines in Scotland follows," says Richard.
"New coal power stations doesn't mean new jobs for coalfield communities - it means importing cheap coal from even more exploited communities abroad. Scottish coal will be strip mined, blighting communities now and meaning a Scotland without enough food or jobs for our children."
Look out for a workshop at The Melting Pot in the new year on how you can get involved in the blockade.
Invitation to The Melting Pot's 1st year celebration
You are invited to a special evening of celebration, drinks, chat, interesting people, interesting ideas on display, and much more...
We've told the story of The Melting Pot in this e-bulletin, as we've come into being, developed and grown. We would love you to join us on our 1st birthday to celebrate everything that's been, and all the possibilities now budding and blooming.
Come and help us cook up something special this evening - bring an ingredient for a better world! It might be an idea, or someone you know who's a social innovator...
To receive your invitation, please follow this link
Great oaks from little acorns: Social Capital at our Members' Lunches...
Every month our members are invited to a private lunch, to get their heads together and hear what we’re each doing, and to give and receive advice. If nothing else we stop working for an hour, and concentrate on relationships that support and connect us.
This month we were talking about community empowerment to thrive and change. It's something everyone working for social, economic or environmental wellbeing cares about.
At The Melting Pot there are a myriad of different people and projects approaching it in different ways - working for communities who are taking action in Scotland, and across the world to Nepal, South East Asia, and Tanzania. We exchanged ideas about what inspired us, useful resources and stategies for communities. Here's a few of the possibilities we came up with...
Neighbourhood Networks
Communities mobilising their strengths rather than playing up their weaknesses - Asset Based Community Development (report by International Association for Community Development)
Finding and restoring Common Good funds in Scotland - a report by Caledonia Centre for Social Development.
Members' Profile: BIG Lottery Fund
It's a little known fact that you get change from your Lottery pound. You might not realise it but when you play the Lottery, your pound coin can make a massive change for the better, for people and communities, across Scotland. The Big Lottery fund gets 14p out of every pound spent on the Lottery by the public and is the largest distributor of Lottery money in Scotland.
We invest over £1 million every week into Scotland's education, health, environment and community sector and have 10 years of learning, from evaluation of previous funding and commissioned research.
Most recently we closed to outline proposal forms for our flagship programme: Investing in Communities. Since launching Investing in Communities in May 2006 we have made just over £76 million worth of investment which has led to 233 Scottish groups embarking on new projects.
In November we will launch a consultation on a new strategic framework to take us beyond our current range of funding programmes, the last of which close for applications in 2009. Through this consultation we want to engage with a wide range of stakeholders in building our future plans. That means we will be seeking the views of a whole host of stakeholders including the general public.
To find out how you can contribute to our consultation log onto www.BigLotteryFund.org.uk from the 17th November.
Member's Profile: First Rait Associates
Philanthropy, Confidence and the Third Sector
In early 2008 I founded First Rait Associates, a consultancy that develops socially innovative services and delivers capacity building for the Third Sector. My career began as a leadership instructor and Royal Marines officer. Prior to First Rait Associates, I was the managing director of Lomond Consulting, an executive search company appointing senior management in various sector in the UK and Internationally.
Whilst the private sector is a vital and fundamental contributor to the health of our nation, I decided that my life needed to be involved in creating and supporting social change. My two main areas of interest are:
1. Working with third sector organisations to improve their performance, services and prospects for a sustainable future.
2. Applied Positive Psychology, via an impending MSc. and increasing work with Dr Carol Craig, CEO of the Centre for Confidence and Well-being.
On behalf of Inspiring Scotland, I have been working with charities that are going through the final stages of Venture Philanthropy funding. The fund will allocate £70m over ten years to the successful organisations looking to help 14-19 year olds who fit with the Scottish Government’s ‘More Choices, More Chances’ strategy. This long-term funding will offer the chance for charities to plan for growth and an increased number of interventions that lead previously hopeless young adults into positive destinations.
We are also currently developing a mentoring programme for violent offenders and hoping to attract funding in the next 8 months for a social enterprise.
www.FirstRait.com
Full Cost Recovery and the Third Sector: a new report from ACEVO
Are you self employed in the third sector and struggle to cover all of your costs?
ACEVO have published a new report on the state of play of Full Cost Recovery in the third sector:
Is time up for Full Cost Recovery?
Our aim is to inspire and support people to realise their ideas for a better world
The Melting Pot: E-bulletin © September 2008