FIFTEEN local causes got their hands on a slice of a £40,000 pot of cash as a housing association held its second Dragon’s Den style funding event.

North Lincolnshire Homes – which has now invested £80,000 this year to local charitable causes – once again showed its commitment to supporting communities.

At its second community development event, at the New Life Church in Scunthorpe, there was once again a Dragon's Den style scenario where local groups were given three minutes to move from table to table to ‘sell’ their projects to other bidders.

A host of causes were aiming to get cash, ranging from It's My Right, which works to help victims of domestic violence, to boxing clubs and music clubs.

After the 'speed dating' scenario, each of them took to the stage to present their cause, and then it was onto the Eurovision style voting. Rather like in the song contest where countries give their votes in descending order, each group had to list their top six projects. Six points were allocated to their favourites, descending from there. All these points were added up giving a running list.

Twenty seven groups had applied for over £90,000 but with a funding cap of £40,000, some went home empty handed. Fifteen groups though were successful.

Receiving the most votes was 'It's My Right', which asked for and received £2,000.
Trustee Jan Price said: "I am so happy - it's fantastic to receive the money for our cause. But, every one of those projects would deserve it and we hope that they continue to work so hard for their communities."

Mike Pinnock, from the Winteringham Music Project, which played their folk-style music on stage and received £1,000, said: “It was the sort of life affirming day that was a real privilege to be a part of - there's so much excellent work going on. Our day was of course made all the more rewarding by the fact that we got the funding we asked for.  To be absolutely honest, having seen the presentations, we didn't expect to get anything.”<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Scunthorpe MP Nic Dakin, described the event as "outstanding."
He said: "It's an absolute privilege to see so many of the wonderful people doing such important projects across the communities of North Lincolnshire. I want to give a big thank-you to North Lincolnshire Homes for giving these schemes the opportunity to flourish and make a real difference to the lives of many people in the region." 

Chris Baker, Community Investment Coordinator at NLH, said: “We are delighted to be able to invest this cash in local projects. We hope the money will create a legacy in communities and really give them a boost. All the groups at the event showed that they are working tirelessly and all deserved funding, but some had to miss out. We hope the event has inspired them to keep working hard and show them how cherished and important their work is.
“With tough economic times, it can be difficult for groups to get their hand on cash, so our community funding scheme is proving very popular.”

NLH launched its community development funding just over two years ago, and has since donated cash to a diverse range of causes from gardening clubs, sports and youth clubs, to theatre projects.

Groups have to fulfill certain criteria to get cash. They have to be based in North Lincolnshire, have charitable aims, and ensure that their projects show tangible and lasting benefits for their communities – which must include tenants and/or leaseholders from North Lincolnshire Homes.