People and Place 2025 | Footwork Trust has £5k for a mentoring programme and a supporting restricted grant are available to enable community innovators to turn their bold ideas into projects that deliver long-term change for their neighbourhoods. The programme provides community innovators with the funding, support and connections they need to get their project off the ground, or scale it to increase its impact. This is a way to encourage people’s freedom to act and to collaborate, strengthening the connection between people and place. The programme is specifically intended to support people who are working to transform their neighbourhoods for the better. Projects need to address one or more of the challenges:
- Ensuring facilities, land and buildings are used and/or owned by local people.
- Ensuring local people have a say or can act in how their neighbourhood is being transformed.
- Ensuring local people can gain access to resources such as greener energy, materials or finance so they can live more sustainably and affordably.
Community innovators are defined for this programme as people with home-grown solutions to local problems and the sense of agency and urgency to make positive change within their neighbourhoods. Footwork covers 100% of the running costs the People and Place programme, such as mentor fees and travel to field trips. This free mentoring programme offers the following to each of the 10 programme participants in 2025:
- An unrestricted grant of £5,000 to give participants the time to think and the freedom to take part in the programme.
- One to one mentoring support
- Meeting fellow collaborators (field trips and online)
- Place visits by the Footwork team
- Access to Footwork’s space in London
- Connection with a network of fellow community innovators
Local voluntary and community groups and organisations who have innovative ideas to deliver long-term change for their community can apply. Applicants will need to commit 12 days in total to the People and Place programme, spread out over 12 months.
⏰ Deadline: 9th Sept 24
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