If successful, the CWB funding would allow us to bring in a consultant to strengthen our branding and marketing. As a charity, we have grown significantly in both our size and the support we provide, and we want to make sure we can fully showcase the breadth of our work in ways that are clear, accessible, and inclusive, ensuring no one is left out.

As a not-for-profit organisation, every penny we earn/raise goes straight back into the charity, the communities, and the people we support. Our charity is a a social care chairty and the teams go above and beyond every day to meet increasing demand. At present, they create resources using the tools available to them, but this takes up valuable time. With this funding, we would be able to produce professional, accessible materials that reach a much wider audience, easing pressure on our teams while ensuring our information and support are inclusive for all.

By voting for us, you’re helping us continue to grow, remain accessible, and make a bigger difference for the people and communities who need us most.

Radio Adverts - £500

Flyers - £250

Subline heat transfers with logo for handmade products - £150

Online/paper Adverts - £250

Pop Up Banner -£150

Logos for car - vinal transfers-£200

We will use local businesses to provide our marketing materials such as Three Towns Radio & Ardrossan Printers and Ardrossan Herald

Historically, most villages on the Isle of Arran had at least one tennis court, reflecting a vibrant local interest in the sport. However, over the years, many of these courts have fallen into disrepair or been lost altogether, leading to a significant decline in accessible playing spaces. At present, there are no organised coaching sessions available on the island. This, combined with limited facilities, presents a substantial barrier for those wishing to take up the sport—particularly beginners, individuals with additional needs, and anyone requiring adapted coaching methods or specialist equipment.  Brodick Tennis Club are committed to reversing this trend and are working alongside Tennis Scotland and the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) to achieve this. Our vision is to create a welcoming, inclusive tennis environment that is accessible to all, regardless of age, gender, ability, or background. We aim to:

Offer regular, structured sessions for all skill levels

• Provide disability-inclusive coaching, led by appropriately trained instructors
• Promote participation among under represented groups
• Ensure that both our club culture and physical facilities meet high standards of accessibility

By actively championing inclusion, we hope not only to revitalise interest in tennis on Arran but also to foster a sense of community, wellbeing, and shared enjoyment of sport.

Having successfully secured funding to resurface three public courts in Brodick village, we have also begun a programme of training LTA qualified coaches on the island. The courts will shortly be ready to welcome players back and, upon accreditation, our newly trained LTA Level 1 Assistant Coaches will be able to begin providing inclusive tennis sessions for our community. We are applying for funding to cover the costs of acquiring equipment. This will enable us to offer tailored sessions and ensure everyone has the opportunity to participate meaningfully.

Bucket of Orange stage balls (n=96) £102, bucket of Green stage balls (n=96) £102, 27” adult size rackets x 12 £252, grips x 12 £15, throw down lines (48 yellow) £78, blue marker spots (30cm) x 12 £39, red marker spots (30cm) x 12 £39, set of six blue hoops (30cm diameter) x 2 £30, set of six red hoops (30cm diameter) x 2 £30, large court number signs x 3 £42, portable metal baskets to hold tennis balls x 3 £144, large secure metal storage container for equipment £800, delivery and assembly of container £150.

We also recognise the value of learning from others. As part of our commitment to best practice, we are also applying for funding to carry out knowledge-sharing visits to established, inclusive tennis clubs across Scotland, including:

• Prestwick Tennis Club – LTA Disability Club of the Year (2020), offering wheelchair tennis and sessions for adults and juniors with learning difficulties
• Strathgryffe Tennis Club – runs weekly disability classes for players with both learning and physical support needs
• Irvine Tennis Club – provides a broad programme with dedicated sessions for women, men, and players aged 50+, in addition to social tennis and general coaching

These exchanges will inform the development of our own inclusive practice and help us build a strong, sustainable, and welcoming tennis culture on Arran.

Return trip to Prestwick £66.05*, return trip to Irvine £65.90*, return trip to Strathgryffe £74.30*     

*(cost of two passengers and car on the ferry plus mileage)

Total requested = £1999.25

Mecoco means "Meaningful Contribution in the Community". We make beautifully hand-crafted home fragrance products-candles, wax melts, and reed diffusers-but our real purpose is about people. Our volunteers, most of whom are profoundly disabled and have complex communication and support needs, are involved in every stage of the process, creating products that are as unique, colourful, and creative as they are.

Our volunteers are not defined by what they can't do. Instead, they are recognised and celebrated for what they can. Many are non-verbal, use wheelchairs, or need full-time care-and yet at Mecoco they take on real responsibilities. They clock in, work in teams, wear uniforms, take tea breaks, and receive expenses-just like any workplace. They are proud to be part of something meaningful. And they belong.

Based in our Dalry workshop our opportunties include:

Volunteering for local disabled and non-disabled people for one half day session each week, in small groups throughout the week.

Work experience (6 week placements) for young people from local ASN school, Lockhart School

Long term highly skilled employment for our two Wax Wizards who support volunteers to maximise the range of tasks each volunteer can be involved in and allow volunteers to be involved in more complex tasks. They are also responsible for order production and packing, stock checking and ordering materials, and new product design.

Being part of Mecoco brings huge benefits to our team including:

Health and Wellbeing

In addition to the skills development, job satisfaction, personal fulfillment, and positive sense of identity from completing meaningful tasks that Mecoco work experience provides, it also offers huge social benefits for volunteers who get to experience being part of a team, being involved and contributing within their community.

All volunteers experience the health and wellbeing benefits from meeting new people, making friends, inclusion within the Mecoco team and the wider community, developing new skills, and helping others to learn new skills and fulfill their potential.

Bringing Communties Together

We're proud to say that Mecoco brings together one of the most diverse workforces in the country. Disabled and non-disabled people work side by side, learning from each other in a space that is fun, respectful, and deeply inclusive.

In addition to providing meaningful work experience, volunteering with Mecoco improves social inclusion, helping to overcome the isolation and marginalisation that people with complex needs often experience, particularly after they have left school and do not have access to the opportunities for employment, volunteering and education open to their non disabled peers.

Through the time spent working together in small teams each week, as well as an active WhatsApp chat to bring the whole group together, the volunteers have developed a lovely supportive community and engage in social activities and are also fully included within Sense Scotland events such as our Annual Ball and Staff and Violunteer Awards, with one of the volunteers shortlisted for 2024s Volunteer of the Year.

We also attend markets, fayres and events and volunteers often play a key role in these events, selling their products directly to other members of the community, changing perception of disability and demonstrating their abilities.

To support the sustainability and growth of Mecoco we have been looking at reducing our costs and one way was to move our website from the Shopify platform to WooCommerce, saving £2500 per year. We would like to invest in Facebook advertising for our new website. In particular to offer the following

We have the ability to offer customers a variety of Subscription Plans to guarantee monthly income and an increase in these product sales. We currently offer one subsciption option but would like to add the following (with every 4, 6 and 8 week options):

Surprise Subscription-Different products dependent on the price point chosen. £10/£15/£20 per month

Wax melt only subscription-Wax melts only, quantity dependent on the price point chosen. £5/£10/£15 per month

Diffuser subscription-Refills or new diffusers dependent on the price point chosen. £10/£15/£20 per month

We require to advertise these new products and would like to target customers online. We are requesting a grant of £2000 to cover the cost of the Facebook ads.

We have experience of using Facebook ads to promote our events, with recent examples including:

Abseil-£100 spent, 170 leads generated. This led to 6 participants and £640 fundraised income so far with fundraising still ongoing

Psychic Night-£250 spent, 207 leads generated. This led to 40 ticket sales and an estimated £974 in income, including ticket sales of £650

This experience gives us confidence that this approach would also be effective to boost Mecoco sales.

Supporting this request would enable us to increase our sales income and also offers regular income which allows us to plan ahead in terms of production and volunteer numbers. Most importantly increasing our income will allow us to sustain and grow Mecoco which allows us to continue to bring the benefits of being part of the Mecoco team to our current volunteers and open up the vital opportunties to other disabled young people and adults.

Your support would directly benefit some of the most marginalised individuals in our community. People for whom society often holds very low expectations. People who are seen as a burden, when in reality, they have so much to offer-if given the chance.