Clackmannanshire Make It Happen Fund

What Matter to You (WM2U) and The Make It Happen Fund (MIHF).

WM2U seeks to support both immediate and long term sustainable impacts by working at both a national and local level to shift power, budgets, and control into the hands of communities, driven by the people living within them.

WM2U works alongside Clackmannanshire Council, the Family Wellbeing Partnership, Education, Health and Forth Valley Police. We also work alongside individual Third Sector organisations and social enterprises.

As Co – Ordinator for What Matters to You , Jane Carter appointed in January 2025, has been taking the time to get to know local people and families around Clackmannanshire and asked who would like to come together, talk about what matters to them and look at possibilities for working together to achieve change in their communities.

She has been listening to local communities about what resources they have, what they need and she observed the strength that communities have when local people come together to benefit those people who live within them.
The WM2U Board comprised of our funders The Hunter Foundation and BBC Children in Need has agreed to introduce the Make it Happen Fund (The MIHF) to Clackmannanshire from June 2025. This follows some early testing of grant funding through WM2U in 2024.

The Make it Happen Fund, initially established by The Hunter Foundation and BBC Children in Need has developed into a collaborative of funders including The  Robertson Trust and The William Grant Foundation.
 

The MIHF is based on the Funders’ belief that:

• Outcomes for individuals and communities who face greatest inequality improve when parents, carers, children and young people are seen as the experts in their own lives, and critically, have agency.
• If people can decide how funds are spent, they will spend those funds on different things and /or in different ways to services.
• In doing so, outcomes will improve, and services will learn about what individuals and communities can do for themselves and where services might better fit in the longer term, creating a new form of public service.

Working on the MIHF will build the confidence and skills of both parents and professional partners and support more equitable relationships between families and professionals. This approach offers lessons for public services about what will need to change in the system to sustain and grow this potential.

The MIHF is intended to add value to funds already available for families, including statutory and voluntary sources, and will not duplicate these offers. We are, however, interested in why existing funds cannot always get to families in the way they need.

The Make It Happen Fund Clackmannanshire Decision-Makers

The Make it Happen Fund will be established in Clackmannanshire and led by three decision-making forums made up of community members only and covering Alloa, Alva and Lornshill.

These three will, will develop, lead and oversee the Fund for their locality. Including strategy, agreeing the purpose and aims of the fund in their locality, establishing the grant criteria, grant application and decision-making es. Support and training will be provided throughout by the Corra Foundation and What Matters to You. There will be no previous experience needed.

To ensure each Forum’s work can achieve wide impact, each will be well connected to local practitioners, stakeholders and wider local structures within the Family Wellbeing Partnership .

WM2U anticipates that by placing community members - adults, parents, carers, children, and young people - in charge of deciding how funds are spent, investment will be directed towards projects for their communities that otherwise may be overlooked by traditional funding schemes. Any local initiative that that meets the grant criteria set by the community panel will be eligible to apply for the Make It Happen Fund.

Jane Carter, the WM2U co-ordinator and Debbie Kaney ,the Corra Foundation lead will ensure this group is supported in the right ways and as required by each group. Clackmannanshire’s Community Development Team will also attend the training session in a support and advisory role.

This map shows the geographical area to be covered by each Forum.

These three clusters can be seen on the map and would comprise of:
1. Alloa Hawkhill (Green)
2. Alva (Yellow)
➢ Tillicoultry
➢ Pool of Muckart
➢ Dollar
➢ Coalsnaughton
➢ Menstrie
3. Lornshill (Purple)
➢ Clackmannan
➢ Fishcross
➢ Sauchie
➢ Glenochil village
➢ Devonside
➢ Cambus
➢ Forestmill
➢ Fairfield
➢ Hallpark

These groupings are based on Jane’s assessment from talking to community members and projects about setting up this Fund and seeking advice on the arrangements that would make sense for establishing community-based decision-making, including a gathering on 12th March.

Jane was also given a strong steer on the systemic issues which these three forums are likely to be concerned with:

“ Child poverty is at too high in Clackmannanshire “being the smallest county in Scotland we should not be the poorest. Something must change.”

➢ ‘Local people who live in their community know what they have and what they need: ‘living in your area you know what goes on.’
➢ ‘Due to the poverty in Alloa it receives the most funding. But there are places in Alloa that get forgotten about like heading to Lornshill, Fairyburn, Inglewood, and Ashley Terrace.
➢ All the resources are in Alloa, people must come into Alloa for the shops. But not all resources / services or transport support disability access.

➢ Young people do not always want or feel able to travel out of their area to access club’s activities. Transport is also an issue in communities like Clackmannan.
➢ Geographically communities like Coalsnaughton would like more happening for children, families, and adults in Fishcross and the areas between Sauchie and Alloa can feel ‘forgotten.’

On 21st May, we will set out this proposition to community members and ask for their approval and seek members to each of the Forums. Training dates have been identified in June and will be confirmed following the 21st May.

For more information please contact Jane Carter