We are so thrilled to have been selected as a worthy recipient of some funding.
Rethink Ireland have awarded us with €9k as part of their Accelerator Programme. There were 800 applicants for this particular fund with only 25 lucky successful applicants, The B!G Idea being one. We know we have so much to offer but it’s so rewarding to see others recognising that too.
The Rethink Accelerator Programme is a fantastic initiative run by the Department of Rural and Community Development. The purpose of the fund is to set us up for success. How bad! There are three building blocks:
So Rethink helps us to build a plan so we can grow sustainably and then helps us to articulate our impact and present it in a way that can be easily understood and respected.
The business support model pairs us with a consultant who will help to lead us through the programme. A little bit like one of our B!G Mentors no doubt.
The focus will be on strategic planning and we have already been given homework to do! We need to produce a strategic document for a period of 12 months. This document will measure the impact of The B!G Idea and help to direct and guide us in the best way possible.
There will be workshops to attend over the coming months too. These start with Business Model; followed by Diversity & Inclusion; Theory of Change; Stakeholder & Design Thinking; Communication. We have already attended the Business Model and Diversity & Inclusion ones which gave us an overview of the strategic supports and was followed by a workshop delivered by a social enterprise, Dialogue Social Enterprise, who work with experts on an inclusive culture in everyday decision making. We have 2066 students on board the programme for 2022 and so we are looking for as much support and funding as possible. Rethink Ireland are doing some amazing work and we are so excited to be going along for the ride with them.
