Celebrating Our National Lottery Funding and an Exciting Year of Growth!

We’re thrilled to share some wonderful news — in November 2024, we received two years of Company Development funding from the National Lottery Community Fund.

We’re happy to report that over the last year this funding has been able to support us in several different ways, growing our team and allowing us to firmly consolidate our business plans. The support has given us the opportunity to strengthen our foundations and really allowed us to dream big with our vision for dance and health within hospitals and communities.

Building Strong Foundations

Thanks to this funding, we’ve been able to bring on two new freelance roles — a Business Development Lead and an Administrator — as well as cover essential core costs. These roles have already had a big impact on how we work and how we plan for the future.

Over the first year, the focus of our Business Development Lead Bianca Bertalot has been to develop a robust business plan, create a clear marketing and fundraising strategy, and to forge partnerships within our community and across the healthcare sector. With growing demand for our work in hospitals, we’re now in a stronger position to expand our reach and create sustainable growth for the years ahead.

Our Administrator provides vital support with accounts, communications, networking, and social media — helping us stay connected and organised as our workload increases.

Strengthening Our Vision

We’ve also been lucky to receive incredible support and guidance from several partners:

• Voscur, whose consultancy helped us identify new directions for business development.
• Social Economy West, where we benefited from six hours of mentorship with Richard Reddrop and access to workshops that boosted our confidence and business skills.
• Pilotlight Direction, whose team of Pilotlighters guided us through an inspiring process that helped us gain clarity on our strategy, funding goals, and long-term vision.

Through these collaborations, we’ve developed a deeper understanding of funding opportunities, grown confidence in our organisational direction, and begun to see a clear roadmap for our short, medium, and long-term growth.

Expanding Our Impact

Alongside the new business plans and marketing and fundraising strategies, our Business Development Lead has also been networking with organisations delivering similar work. Together, we’re expanding our connections and amplifying our collective impact.

Looking Ahead

Now nearly half-way through his two-year journey, we’re thrilled with our progress so far. We’ve laid down solid foundations, gained valuable insights, and built our confidence both as a team and as an organisation.

As we move into the next phase of development, we’re excited to continue growing — increasing the number of artists we work with, expanding our dance and health projects in Bristol and Weston-super-Mare, and reaching even more patients, hospital staff, visitors, volunteers and people in the community through our joyful, restorative movement sessions.

This funding has been truly transformative. It’s given us the breathing space and support we needed to dream bigger, plan smarter, and step boldly into our future.

We’re deeply grateful to The National Lottery Community Fund and to all the partners, mentors, and supporters who have helped us along the way. Here’s to the next chapter — one filled with growth, creativity and even more magical moments of connection through movement and music.