The Future of the Greenham Gift is in your hands

People are being asked to submit their views on the Greenham Gift, as Greenham Common Trust reviews whether or not it will continue with the grant scheme.

The Greenham Gift was introduced in 2006 and offers local organisations the chance to bid for a grant of up to £50,000. However, the chief executive of the Trust, Stuart Tagg, said that the number of applicants each year was only about 20.

He said: "perhaps we have not received the number of applications or the number of new ideas as we might have hoped. We want to pause for thought before we commit to continuing.

"This doesn't mean we are resigned to scrapping the scheme. On the contrary, we are open to running the scheme without any changes for 2011, or doing things differently if there is a demand for change."

The current process involves a committee picking a shortlist of 12, each of which are guaranteed a £500 grant. The public then votes and the four with the most votes then present their bids at the finale evening. Each finalist is guaranteed £8,000 but the audience on the night gets to choose who wins the major award (up to £50,000).

The Trust has suggested that it could be better to select a small community panel to consider applications and allow time for a debate. It has also suggested that each year could focus on a different type of charity, so they can be compared more easily.

Anyone with ideas or comments should:
telephone Julian May on 01635 817407
email julian@greenham-common-trust.co.uk
or fill in our online form