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| Introduction |
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Increasingly,
small Community groups and voluntary sector agencies are coming
under pressure to be 'competitive' in order to attract funding
grants or volunteers to help with their cause.
You
might be asking yourself at this point - is this proposition
true, and if it is why should such small organizations have
to compete and indeed, what are they competing for and against? |
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So,
why should such organizations need to compete and who are
they competing against? |
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| At the
grass roots level all community type groups and / or voluntary
sector agencies are looking for people to join in and help out
at some level. Whether it be helping to campaign for a pedestrian
crossing on a busy road or seeking volunteers to staff a local
charity shop on the high street, all of them are looking for
people to either help steer their organization or to jump in
and help out at the sharp end by getting directly involved. |
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| The problem
then becomes that in any given area their are only so many people
who are keen and willing to give of their free time to join
in. It therefore can often be the case that to attract and persuade
someone to join in with your group will effectively mean that
they are not going to be giving their time to help out with
another group. You are effectively persuading them to join your
group / organization in preference to someone else's - you are
now in competition with those other groups! |
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| Likewise,
should your group or organization decide to make a bid for funding
for whatever reason, you will effectively put yourself into
competition against other local organizations who are competing
for that same pot of funding. |
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| ...but
that's not all!!! |
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| What then
happens when your group decides it wants to 'tell the world'
about your plans or current successes? If you are looking to
be represented through the media (such as the local press, radio
or TV) you are going to have to persuade your targeted 'media'
that your story is both newsworthy AND potentially a better
story to run than someone else's. Surprise...surprise...we are
back in competition! |
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