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The Manuka Club has chosen to focus on supporting local groups for good reason. Schemes that threaten the countryside are usually proposed and approved, piecemeal, at a local authority level. Local groups are best placed to oppose plans for airport expansion, road-building, urban sprawl and incineration facilities as and where they occur.
By engaging people from the bottom-up, local campaigns complement the work of national environmental groups whose main objectives are to influence Government policy from the top-down. Campaigns set up and run by the community increase the legitimacy of groups working at a national level, providing a popular mandate for change. MPs are answerable to their constituents concerns. Those who receive hundreds of letters opposing a new road or waste incinerator may be prepared to explore alternative policies for the local area and for the nation as a whole.
Community campaigns also make sense for funders seeking to fill a gap in the grants market. Research into environmental funding patterns reveals that very little money is available to the types of campaigning supported by the Manuka Club. This is not because local campaigning is ineffective, but because funders may find it hard to identify grantees. Local groups typically require small sums of money, delivered at short notice as campaign opportunities arise. With hundreds of groups in existence, it can be difficult to sort the best from the rest without incurring extra costs that eat into the small grant.
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In short, the style of grant-making required is small, frequent and flexible, with light administration to keep costs down. This model differs from that of many trusts and foundations, which tend to offer much larger grants after a lengthy period of research. The Manuka Club has risen to the challenge through a series of innovations, including a network of 'gatekeepers' experienced campaigners who recommend groups to the Small Grants Programme.
Grant-makers that do engage with community groups find this a rewarding area in which to fund. A little money goes a long way in supporting local groups, whose greatest assets are the freely-given time, skills and determination of volunteers. A campaign can be enhanced with relatively small sums of money, for instance to cover the printing of information leaflets or premises hire for a public meeting. A short survey carried out for the Manuka Club suggests that for every £1 local groups receive in income, they carry out at least £10 worth of unpaid work. In this and many other ways, funding local campaigns offers great value for money.
For more information on patterns of environmental grant-making in the UK, please refer to the Environmental Funders Network.
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