Are you making the most of Match My Project? Find out from Match My Project’s most prolific community beneficiary how to maximise the resources available on the platform.
I spoke to Rachel, the Assistant Head of Henry Fawcett Primary School, the most active community organisation on Match My Project. The school has an impressive history of using our platform to channel the best resources and opportunities into the local community. This has earned them a reputation for excellence in the community.
Our mission at Match My Project is to help communities flourish. We do this by matching community organisations with businesses that want to deliver Social Value and CSR.
Rachel said, “The support that we’ve had via [Hyde Housing Association] from Match My Project compared to the support we get from other organisations … it’s not even comparable”.
Rachel provided some invaluable tips and principles which could help you enhance your impact within the community you serve.
Here are the top 5 tips for Community-Based Organisations on Match My Project:
- Build strong relationships
- Have a look around
- Frame asks clearly
- Go the extra mile
- Go for it!
1. Build strong relationships
Match My Project exists for people and communities.
That’s the heart of what we do.
It’s all about relationships – so naturally, having strong ones will set you up well to create flourishing communities through the platform.
Rachel identifies two key ways to achieve this:
a. Keep in touch with the authority
“If there are things I put on there and I start getting a bit panicky that I might not get them, I would contact the Social Value person at Hyde and just say … ‘is there anyone you can poke to help us with this?’.”
The authority could be a bridge between you and a new community partnership – they may be able to put your project in front of the right people. Reaching out to them could help you get the resources you need for your community.
b. Understand the businesses on the platform
Rachel puts her success on Match My Project down to her savviness when it comes to understanding the different focuses and preferences of the business users on the platform. She says: “I’ve understood what sort of things they might be looking for.”
She goes on to explain that, when creating new projects, community-based organisations should consider: “What kind of organisations might want to do them? And framing them in a way that is going to be appealing to them.”
While this may require some initial effort, it’s worth the fruitful relationships that could follow:
“I generally end up getting more than I ask for … once you’re engaged with the supplier and they come and have a look and they’ve come to move the furniture but then they go ‘oh but now you need some carpets in here don’t you? We’ll do that’.”
Taking some time to get your head around the outcomes that suppliers are looking for can go a long way in receiving the right support for your projects.
Remember that suppliers will be looking for projects that contribute to the shared goals or outcomes selected by the authority, for example, “safeguarding the environment” or “promoting jobs and skills” – you will see these outcomes listed when creating a new project.
2. Have a Look Around
In the same spirit of working towards shared goals, Rachel also suggests having a look at other organisations’ projects on Match My Project.
She says, “It’s worth having a little bit of a look around to see what other people are doing and who’s being successful.”
I asked Rachel about the type of resources Henry Fawcett Primary has requested on Match My Project and was impressed by the broad range of projects they have completed. These vary from physical things like chairs to volunteers and funding. She notes that their Breakfast Club is subsidised by suppliers on Match My Project, as is a member of staff (a 1-1 mentor for the children), therapeutic residentials, and a boxing club.
To view other organisations’ projects, log in to your account and navigate to the “Directory” on the left-hand side tab. Here you can see community projects, supplier offers, jobs & training opportunities, as well as a list of all organisations under the “organisations” tab.
3. Frame Asks Clearly
“That’s the important thing: being clear.”
Rachel stresses the importance of framing resource requests clearly.
There are three main elements to this.
a. Be specific
“Try and think about framing the narrative in your request. What you put as your heading – that’s the one-line thing that comes up – is really important … if you can make the title show the benefit and paint a nice narrative, I think that’s helpful. And be specific in what you’re asking for.”
b. Prioritise projects
“You’re always playing a game of prioritising what you put on there and not putting too many things up at the same time. And being clear about which ones are really important to you and which ones are nice to have.”
“I try and keep the requests middling and then find that people are very helpful after the fact.”
c. Separate requests
“There is also an art to … separating things out in the requests. So, rather than saying ‘I need my library redone’ [say], ‘I need the walls painting’; ‘I need the furniture moving’; ‘I need somebody to pay for books.’ Because there might be different organisations that are able to help with those things separately.”
The wording you use in your project request is crucial to the success of the project. Remember to be specific in the title, be clear about your priorities, and try to separate larger projects into smaller, more workable ones.
4. Go the extra mile
Providing as much information as possible, and consistently engaging with community partners, makes a big difference to the impact of projects on Match My Project.
What could you do to get the attention your projects need?
Here are some ideas that have worked for Rachel in the past:
“We always try and contact the supplier directly, send photos of what’s going on, say ‘would you like to come visit the project?’ … I don’t have to do these things, but I chose to.”
Little actions like contacting suppliers directly and sending them photographs can have a huge ripple effect. Fortune favours the bold!
5. Go for It!
As the old adage goes … if you don’t ask, you don’t get. Rachel puts it this way: “Ask, because you just don’t know. Somebody might give it to you.”
Or, you’ve got nothing to lose.
In Rachel’s words: “Realistically, I could spend 15 minutes writing a Match My Project request and get £4000.”
Insights on Impact
At Match My Project we are dedicated to getting the best resources and opportunities into the communities that need them most. We are so inspired by community users like Rachel who are using Match My Project to make a real difference in the local community. Listen to our full conversation with Rachel here – you’ll come away with plenty of insight.
You can also watch some highlights of the conversation here:
Do you have any tips or pieces of advice for other community users? Please get in touch – we’d love to hear from you about how to make the biggest impact in communities.
