Community Café Enhancement**

We are seeking funding to enhance the visibility and functionality of our Community Café, which plays a vital role in our local area yet remains underutilised. Many local workers and residents are unaware that our café is open to everyone, resulting in missed opportunities for community engagement and funding generation for our local initiatives.

Our  Goals

1. Increase awareness of the café among local residents and passing workers.

2. Boost visitor numbers to generate income for our community projects.

3. Create a welcoming and inclusive environment through improved outdoor seating and signage.

Impact- The café serves as a cornerstone of community wellbeing. It provides affordable meals, a friendly meeting place, and a safe space for all residents. Our café hosts various activities aimed at reducing social isolation, and an increase in visitor numbers will enable us to diversify and expand our event offerings, providing further benefits to the local area.

By adding outdoor seating, we will attract more customers, particularly during the summer months. This will not only accommodate dog walkers and families but also create opportunities for increased income that can be reinvested into improving our services.

Benefits of Increased Footfall

- Sustained and enhanced community events. - Greater income flow to support more activities.

- A stronger sense of community cohesion and engagement.

Cost Breakdown

To realise our vision of a bustling Community Café, we require funding for the following items:

Signage Costs:

- Circle Stamp: £10.37  - Mesh Banners: £58.98  - Outdoor A-Frame Signs: £94.51 

- Indoor Banner Without Eyelets: £121.48  Total Signage Costs: £342.41 (Inc VAT) 

Outdoor Seating Costs: - 16 Stacking Bistro Seats: £260  - 8 Bistro Tables: £320 

- Delivery: £45.00  - Total Outdoor Seating Costs: £624.88 

Total Funding Request: £967.41

 Investing in improved signage and outdoor seating is a cost-effective strategy to capitalise on the café’s potential. With this funding, we can transform our Community Café into an inviting hub of activity, fostering greater community interaction and enhancing the overall quality of life for residents. We appreciate your consideration and support in helping us realise this vision.

The Isle of Arran Pipe Band is at the heart of the island’s traditions, carrying its music and spirit into every local gathering, parade, and celebration. 

Replacements for pipe chanters, reeds, sticks, and drum skins (£1000) ensure that the music the band produces is clear, tuneful, and powerful enough to fill the open air of island events. These items wear out quickly through constant use, and keeping them in good condition is not a luxury but a necessity. With the right equipment, the band can deliver stirring performances that honour both tradition and community pride.

Benefits for Members

• Being part of the band gives members a sense of belonging, discipline, and pride.

• It allows people of all ages to develop musical skills, teamwork, and confidence.

• For younger players, it provides mentoring from experienced musicians and a positive outlet for their energy and creativity.

• For adults, it offers a meaningful way to contribute to island life while deepening friendships and community ties.

Benefits for the Community

• The band is a source of cultural identity, keeping alive Scotland’s iconic pipe and drum traditions for future generations.

• Their performances bring people together at fairs, memorials, parades, and celebrations, turning events into moments of shared pride.

• The sound of the pipes and drums is woven into the island’s atmosphere, marking its history and seasons with music that unites residents and visitors alike.

• By nurturing local talent, the band strengthens intergenerational bonds and creates experiences that children, families, and elders all enjoy.

Supporting the hall hire and essential instrument upkeep is not just about covering costs—it is about safeguarding a living tradition and ensuring that the Isle of Arran Pipe Band continues to enrich island life with its music, spirit, and sense of togetherness.

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.

We allocate tickets and a time slot via our groups Fagebook page in the lead up to each event.Our events are family orientated, where there is always laughter and smiles, with no financial burden on families. 

Our Easter event has families taking a wonder around our site in search of baskets of treats left by the Easter Bunny, who likes to make an appearance along the way.

This year we would like to host a Colour run event where participants will get showered in bursts if brightly coloured powder. 

We ask for £1000 to be split between the two events.

£250 for treats for Easter 

£75 for decoration for events

£100 games for events

£75 crafts for events

 £500 for colour run powers

The Ukrainian Community in North Ayrshire will deliver two intercultural workshops designed to strengthen community spirit, reduce social isolation, and celebrate cultural diversity. Ukrainian Pysanka Workshop (£600): Two invited masters will lead a traditional Ukrainian egg-decorating session for up to 40 participants. The workshop includes full sets of materials, demonstrations, hands-on practice, and opportunities for participants to learn about Ukrainian heritage. The session will also include refreshments and a chance to socialise. Joint Dumpling and Pelmeni Making Workshop (£400): A practical cooking event for around 40–50 participants. Community members will work together to prepare and share traditional Ukrainian dumplings, supported by facilitators. The activity will promote intercultural exchange, teamwork, and create a welcoming space where people can connect over food. Together, these workshops will provide creative and inclusive opportunities for local residents of all backgrounds, including New Scots from Hong Kong, Syria, Ukraine, and the wider community to come together, share traditions, and build meaningful connections. Total budget: £1000 Workshop “Ukrainian Pysanka”  £600 Invited masters with materials  £350 Two masters will be involved in the workshop. The amount includes: • provision of a complete set of materials for 40 participants (eggs, dyes, wax, styluses, candles, gloves, napkins); • travel costs from Glasgow and back; • preparation (1 hour), conducting the workshop (5 hours), and completion (1 hour for packing materials and tidying up); • decorative arrangements and photo/video recording of the event for reporting and promotion. Hall rental (7 hours × £10/hour)  £70 Tea, coffee, light refreshments for participants  £130 Comfort and safety (additional materials: containers, napkins, candles, etc.)  £50 Total: £600

Workshop “Joint Dumpling and Pelmeni Making”  £400 Food products for ~40–50 servings: flour, potatoes, mushrooms/cabbage, minced meat, sour cream, spices £180 Disposable tableware and consumables: plates, cups, napkins, gloves, containers £40 Kitchen/hall rental for the workshop  £50. Drinks: tea, coffee, water, and juice £40 Facilitators/leaders £90 will provide process organisation, assist participants during cooking, ensure safety, and supervise cleaning after the event. Total: £400

Our Festival of Light parade is a fantastic community event, aimed at bringing light & sound to the streets of Irvine ahead of our fireworks display. We would like to give free light up merchansie for all of the community. Previously we have had external trader  turning up and selling ligiht ups at a much higher rate ( £10 per light up). We would like all of the community and young people to take part of the festival of light and make this an inclusive event.  We aim to have a station to give out our light ups at the towns house where the parade departs. We will continue to give the light ups and merchansie through the parade and at the moor. This means we will be able to cover as many young people and families within the community. This will save community members a cost if they'd like a light up and they are able to join in on the festivities.

Foam light ups - £0.50 x 1904 individual light ups = £952

Light up lanterns -  £4 x 12 lantens for parade = £48

Community Gala day.  Some costs based on 2025 costs.

Costings - 

Kids entertainers - £560

First Aid - £300

Public Liability - £200

further costs but these are associated with paid for wristbands for inflatables and fairground rides that are sold ay the event. 

Festive Celebration for People Affected by Substance Use

Cafe Solace in collaboration with Fullarton Connexions

We are applying for funding to deliver a festive meal and celebration for people in our community who are affected by substance use and/or lonlieness. Many of our service users face stigma, poverty and social isolation, particularly over the festive period when most services are closed. We have facilitated an event over the past 2 years with great success. This project will provide an inclusive, welcoming space where individuals can enjoy a freshly prepared meal, participate in activities and celebrate together with dignity and respect. Ideally, the meal would be held on Christmas Day, however, due to the limitations of availability of payment on time, the event can be held anytime throughout the festive period up until 4th January.

Aims & Objectives

• To provide a safe, stigma-free environment where people affected by substance use can come together and celebrate the festive season.

• To reduce isolation and loneliness by creating opportunities for social connection and shared experience.

• To promote dignity, inclusion and wellbeing by ensuring everyone has access to a festive meal and celebration.

• To strengthen community partnerships through collaboration with Fullarton Connexions Church who are allowing us to use their facility for this event 

• We are hoping that the event will be attended by approx 40 enjoying a high-quality festive meal and activities.

• Attendees will report feeling less isolated and more connected to their community.

• The event will help challenge stigma by creating a positive, welcoming space where people can be valued and included.

• Stronger links will be built between service users, local community, our organisation and community partners.  

The event will be hosted at Fullarton Connexions, who have generously offered the use of their facilities. Our volunteers, will prepare and serve a festive meal, with entertainment, music and activities to create a celebration. Transport support will be provided for those who would otherwise struggle to attend. Each guest will also receive a small festive gift to take away.

Budget Breakdown

• Food & refreshments: £450 

• Decorations & festive items: £150

• Entertainment & activities: £150

• Small festive gifts / wellbeing packs: £100

• Venue hire: £100 

• Essential Travel Costs £50

Total funding requested: £1,000