Blue Plaque for James Viscount Bryce

Blue Plaque for James Viscount Bryce
Unveiling the plaque to James Viscount Bryce at 13 Chichester Street, Belfast on Friday 10 May 2013

Friday 3 June 2011

The Circle's funding

The Circle has no independent source of revenue so we have to depend on the generocity of City and District Councils, businesses, organisations and individuals. We have been lucky in that we have always managed to fund our plaques in this way and we know from our discussions with them that these groups and individuals see the merit in commemorating the people who have made a difference through their lives and work.

In 2007 the Heritage Lottery Fund provided a grant for a five-year project the erect 50 plaques, publish an on-line Dictionary of Ulster Biography, provide a Guide to the Plaques, develop the Circle's website, work with the Tourist Board and others to promote the plaques as a cultural tourism asset and develop an outreach programme to involve schools, local history societies etc so as to stimulate wider involvement and participation in our work. The Circle is grateful for this support and is well on the way to achieving all the agreed objectives. We have always found the Fund to be cooperative and helpful and we keep them fully involved in our undertakings.

As a result of this funding, the Circle's public profile has been raised and we get a lot of press, radio and television coverage for our plaque unveiling events. The inevitable result of this heightened awareness is an increase in the number of nominations we get from people both as individuals and as representing Councils, businesses and other organisations. This is great and demonstrates that the Circle's work is valued. However, in the longer term, it means that, unless we can continue to attract resources when the Lottery grant expires, our output will fall from the middle of 2012 onwards.

So we are looking for ideas as to how we might increase our revenues.  Suggestions welcome. I will return to this issue again.

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