esmeefairbairn
- Project Proposal Summary (max 25 words)
- A brief description of our organisation and its re...
- What we would like you to fund and why it is impor...
- What difference the proposed work will make to our...
- How much the project would cost and how much money...
- How our proposal fits with one or more of your six...
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The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation aims to improve the quality of life throughout the UK.
We do this by funding the charitable activities of organisations that have the ideas and ability to achieve change for the better. We take pride in supporting work that might otherwise be considered difficult to fund.
Our primary interests are in the cultural life of the UK, education and learning, the natural environment and enabling disadvantaged people to participate more fully in society.
Average fund amount: £17.2m / 267 (2010) = £64k
We will prioritise work that:
- Addresses a significant gap in provision
- Develops or strengthens good practice
- Challenges convention or takes a risk in order to address a difficult issue
- Tests out new ideas or practices
- Takes an enterprising approach to achieving its aims
- Sets out to influence policy or change behaviour more widely
- more...
When considering your first stage application we are particularly interested in:
- Why you are the best organisation to undertake the work, including your track record
- The importance of the issue you are seeking to address
- The strength and feasibility of your idea
- The overall difference that your work is likely to make
- How closely your application fits with one or more of our six priorities.
The following application (first stage) must be no more than 1400 words:
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Project Proposal Summary (max 25 words)
- oct, 2010by anewholm9carrots offers a way for community and local business to co-operate in the fight against Climate Change. 9carrots makes every purchase count towards stronger, more sustainable community.
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A brief description of our organisation and its relevant track record
- oct, 2010by anewholm9carrots offers a way for community and local business to co-operate in the fight against climate change. Retailers choose upgrades that will make their business more energy efficient, 9carrots advertises them and consumers support them. Each business commits 10% of the extra revenue they make from the extra 9carrots customers towards their target upgrade.
Our pilot study in conjunction with Transition Town Brockley signed up over 40 diverse local businesses to the scheme. 70% of local businesses approached signed up. 1 business in the pilot study area has already upgraded its lighting to energy efficient lights as a result of the community support. After the pilot study, 9carrots received a millenium award from UnLtd.
The project is now rapidly growing in popularity. Groups around the country have requested our "starter kit" and need our core services. From our news page:
- A steadily increasing number of Transition Towns around the country (currently 12) are waiting to implement the scheme and the founders of the Transition movement are actively promoting the idea. (http://www.transitionnetwork.org/news/2010-07-28/engaging-local-business-9carrots)
- People and Planet are awaiting starter kits to send to their student groups around the UK.
- Goldsmiths University is actively supporting the project.
- EthicalConsumer magazine covered 9carrots in its July edition.
- 1 London Council is actively implementing the scheme and another has proposed it.
- Supporters in the Green Party have spoken publicly in favour of the scheme. (http://greencroftonpark.blogspot.com/2010/02/merry-carrots-mr-lawrence.html)
- The first 9carrots franchise is currently being set up in Canada.
- CarrotMobs from around the world (see below) are contacting 9carrots as their next move.
So that we can show business owners that we're sending them additional customers, we need to keep track of 9carrots sales. To achieve this we give each local business a special receipt book. 9carrots customers must ask for these special "9carrots receipts" when making a purchase. That way we know when the business has hit its stated target and needs to install its green upgrade.
The business has been set up by Annesley Newholm (IT) and Jonathan Melhuish (user experience, marketing) who have strong connections with major organisations within the environmental sector, key to the national implementation of the project. We developed the idea from our successful CarrotMobs in 2008 (http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/sep/18/activists.carrotmobbing) and have a strong belief in community run, not-for-profit, grass roots initiatives.
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What we would like you to fund and why it is important
- oct, 2010by anewholmWe need to develop the necessary core services for the growing number of local environmental groups that wish to start the scheme in their community. This includes:
- the website: providing functionality for the local groups that run the scheme in their area, 9carrots franchises, participating local businesses, 9carrots prefered suppliers and consumers (the current website already provides some of this)
- communication: graphic design and copy - we badly need to explain the scheme better
- marketing: developing, testing, printing and distributing of local group materials
- networking: with major environmental groups to spread the idea further, e.g. People and Planet, Transition Towns, etc. - this has been key so far and a very successful part of our marketing strategy
- initial receipt book printing and provision (allowing local businesses to track the extra 9carrots income) - these are required to run the scheme
- management, development and analysis of the ongoing South London pilot area - we need a successful example of the scheme to promote it
We currently have 2 revenue models that we are focussing on which will bring in additional funds once the scheme has become popular:
- Supplier sales commission: when a local business installs its energy efficient upgrade, we offer to organise it and charge the supplier sales commission. Almost all business owners in the scheme have expressed interest in this service
- Permission based advertising: between local businesses and consumer. This can be extra updates on progress towards targets or specific offers (community vetted)
These revenue models will more than cover the ongoing costs of receipt book printing once the scheme is popular. We intend to allow environmental groups themselves to own and develop the system as far as possible, as can be seen from the open community area on the website (http://9carrots.org/community). However, funding is crucial for the first year in order to put the core infrastructure in place and grow the organisation to a sustainable size.
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What difference the proposed work will make to our organisation and life in the UK (either locally, regionally or nationally)
- oct, 2010by anewholm9carrots is all about a return to local. Local Businesses are an enormously important part of a community, making its supply decisions, providing communication hubs and employing people. They also have great resources and energy. By strengthening the supportive relationships between consumers and local business, communities can become more resilient to peak oil and Climate Change and re-vitalise their areas with all sorts of projects supported by local businesses.
So far 9carrots has been developed by volunteers. Financial pressures and volume of work mean that funding is now required to continue.
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How much the project would cost and how much money we are asking Esmée Fairbairn for
- oct, 2010by anewholm9carrots estimates that it needs £100k to cover the next 2 years of core services development. This roughly equates to 2 full-time workers on a £20k pro-rata self-employed contract basis. Also some receipt book printing (£5k) and shared office space (£10k).
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How our proposal fits with one or more of your six funding priorities
- oct, 2010by anewholmCommunity groups around the country have always been trying to engage local businesses around Climate Change and other community priorities, but with little success. 9carrots provides a very effective model for them to now achieve this with over 70% of businesses approached signing up.
9carrots uses consumer power in a simple and accessible local way to influence business behavior. We intend to extend this concept to all shopping and introduce brand based ethical consumption as the next step. To this end we are also working with EthicalConsumer.org and have run widely recognised international conferences on ethical consumer behavior involving 15 other organisations (http://www.easyethical.org/conference)
There has been much negative discussion, denial and blame around Climate Change. 9carrots represents a positive, easy way for people to express their concerns and enter a wider world of community involvement. It is part of a positive way of thinking that we hope will start other projects with similar positivity.
9carrots has successfully signed up 70% of businesses approached in a poor area of London during a recession. These businesses are now combining long term environmental thinking with short term cash flow decision making.
We plan to leverage viral growth of the project by using new movement building techniques. The structure of the business and the marketing are based around bottom-up ownership by the groups who use the scheme. By giving them ownership of the project and developing it with them to their agenda they will become supporters and advocates and work to implement, extend and spread the idea with us.
