PEOPLE THROUGHOUT MORAY have just one week remaining to stake their claim for a share of a £24,000 community funding pot.
Bids can still be made in the participatory budgeting initiative #YouChoose2 that seeks to provide financial backing for projects and programmes that make a positive difference to drugs and alcohol or improving mental health and wellbeing in Moray.
Expressions of Interest were invited in September with the deadline closing in one week on November 21. Applicants do not need a full proposal at this stage. Participatory Budgeting is a process by which the community is invited to both write and choose project proposals to fund.
Ideas for projects will then be considered by a group of stakeholders on November 23 and feedback provided on each proposal. Together, this group will put forward the projects that meet the funding criteria.
The whole of Moray will then be invited to choose what they consider to be the most valuable projects, which will be done via a vote on December 7 at Elgin Youth Cafe.
A number of successful PB events have already been held across Moray in recent years and this latest initiative will invite bids of up to £3000 from groups and individuals to tackle issues relating to drugs and alcohol and bids of up to £1000 to fund mental health innovation.
Moray Alcohol and Drug Partnership and the Scottish Government’s Mental Health Innovation Fund via the Moray Mental Health and Wellbeing Partnership are jointly funding the £24,000 Participatory Budgeting initiative facilitated by tsiMORAY.
Fabio Villani, Chief Officer at tsiMORAY said: “Our participatory budgeting events have been hugely successful and I’m delighted that people now have the chance to bid for projects which will make a real difference to the mental health and wellbeing of many people across Moray.
“We look forward to hearing what the bidders have to say and seeing how they can use this money to really make a difference to our communities and the lives of those within them.
“We would like to encourage people to come along to The Big Vote at Elgin Youth Café on December 7, even if they have not submitted a proposal, as they will get to vote on how the money is spent.”
Further details are available at www.tsimoray.org.uk/youchoose