Where a hall became a home for community.

Lavender Hope is a Community Interest Company (CIC), which is a social enterprise created to benefit the community.

• We are not a registered charity.
• Any income we generate supports our community purpose and the work we do.
• As a CIC, we have an asset lock, which helps protect assets for community benefit.
• We can receive grants, generate our own income and charge for services such as hall hire.

Running a community building comes with lots of everyday costs, and grants don’t always cover them all.

Income from hall hire helps us to:

• Pay towards utilities and essential running costs.
• Keep the hall clean, safe and welcoming.
• Maintain equipment and the building.
• Pay for insurance, security and essential services.
• Support free or subsidised community activities.
• Continue improving Deronda Hall for everyone who uses it.

So when someone hires the hall, they are also helping us keep a valuable community space going.

Yes, we have successfully received grant funding for particular projects and improvements, but grants are usually provided for a specific purpose.

They don’t necessarily cover all of the everyday costs involved in running Deronda Hall.

That’s why we use a mixture of:

• Grant funding
• Income from hall hire
• Partnerships and donations
• Volunteer support
• Lavender Hope’s own resources

Together, these help us keep the hall running and continue our community work.

We want Deronda Hall to be accessible while also making sure the building is managed safely and fairly.

• Authorised users can access the hall.
• Authorised users simply need to check dates and times with us first.
• This helps prevent clashes with bookings, community activities and private events.
• It also helps us manage security and safeguarding responsibilities.

We’re improving the booking and access system so that this becomes even easier.

Deronda Hall is used by different community groups, hirers, organisations and residents throughout the week.

Checking first means we can:

• Avoid double bookings.
• Protect private events and activities.
• Know who is using the building.
• Manage safeguarding and security.
• Make sure everyone gets fair access to the space.

We’re working towards a shared calendar and secure system for timed access to make this much simpler.

Of course. We’re happy to talk about our work and how Lavender Hope operates.

We keep records relating to areas such as:

• Community activities and outcomes
• Hall use
• Funding and projects
• Policies and procedures
• Risk assessments
• Training and compliance
• Safeguarding
• Partnerships and community work

Some information cannot be published publicly because it contains personal, confidential or safeguarding information.

Where appropriate, we can discuss information during a booked in person or Zoom conversation.

Absolutely. Lavender Hope is here to serve and work alongside the community.

You can:

• Speak to us directly.
• Complete our community survey.
• Suggest an activity or project.
• Ask about volunteering.
• Talk to us about something happening locally.
• Arrange a meeting if you’d like a longer conversation.

Questions and ideas are always welcome.