Lessons from The Summerfield Community Chest: Embedding Arts and Culture in Everyday Life
Introduction
Between 2023 and 2026, Gloucestershire VCSE Alliance and The Summerfield Charitable Trust partnered on an innovative investment strategy designed to bring grant-making decisions closer to the communities they serve. This blog is part of a series exploring what has been learned along the way and highlighting some of the exciting projects being supported through this approach.
One of those projects is That’s an idea! - a countywide programme, funded by Summerfield, that aims to make arts and culture more accessible, community-led and better connected across Gloucestershire. It brings together Gloucestershire Creative Health Consortium, Gloucester Culture Trust and Together Gloucester Partners to give countywide reach and create a permanent shift in how culture is owned, supported and sustained in Gloucestershire.
Three strands, one shared ambition
The programme is built around three interconnected strands that together aim to strengthen Gloucestershire’s cultural future.
Embedding creativity in everyday life
This strand is all about putting communities at the heart of culture and cultural decision-making, including:
A Citizen Panel making funding decisions
Micro-grants for community-led projects
Pop-up Creative Hubs in everyday spaces
Cultural Connectors embedded within local communities
Strengthening infrastructure for lasting change
To ensure creativity can flourish for the long term, the programme is also developing:
An online Cultural Support Hub
Expert advice and peer learning opportunities
A creative commissioning framework
Shared cultural data for Gloucestershire
Building tomorrow’s creative talent
Supporting the next generation of creative practitioners is another key focus, through:
Paid placements and apprenticeships
Industry days and skills masterclasses
Creative entrepreneurship opportunities
Clear progression pathways into creative careers
By combining community-led decision-making and micro-grants with a joined-up cultural ecosystem and pathways into employment and enterprise, That’s an idea! aims to create lasting and resilient cultural capacity that strengthens neighbourhoods, drives innovation and supports Gloucestershire’s creative future.
As Karen Lawton, from That’s an Idea! explains:
‘For me, the project is about providing seed money for small things to happen, then offering a warm blanket of support for people who want to take their creativity to the next stage. For example, this might mean connecting people to each other, equipping them to apply for other funding or providing information on the practical aspects of setting up a group or event, like getting insurance or writing policies. All the resources will come from the skills and expertise of the partnership at the heart of That’s an Idea!.’ Karen Lawton, CEO Mindsong
Developing a partnership
The organisations within Gloucestershire Creative Health Consortium (Art Shape, Artlift, Mindsong, The Music Works, Cinderford Artspace and Play Gloucestershire) have a long history of collaboration. Working with Gloucester Culture Trust and its network of partners has created new opportunities.
At the heart of the partnership is a shared vision and genuine enthusiasm for what the programme can achieve. An oversight group has been established, and the first six months of the project are focused on creating strong foundations. Clear governance structures, transparent decision-making and shared accountability are helping to ensure the programme is set up for success.
Alongside this, sub-groups are taking forward practical elements such as recruiting the project team, developing the website and planning the Citizen Panel.
However, successful partnerships are about much more than structures and processes. They are built on trust, openness and mutual support. Investing time in these relationships now is creating the conditions for partners to tackle challenges together and celebrate successes collectively for years to come.
Phil Hindson, CEO of Gloucester Culture Trust, observes:
“The new partnership at the heart of this project draws on all the skills and experience of the 12 partner organisations. As we build the trust and systems required to underpin the work, we’re learning so much about what an inspirational group of partners we’re working with. Gloucester Culture Trust has been working on resident-led cultural decision-making for the past four years and the chance to extend this work is an opportunity to put more communities at the heart of decision-making. Wherever you live in Gloucestershire, you will have the opportunity to make funding decisions to shape the cultural offer where you live. You’ll be able to engage in more cultural activity in your neighbourhood thanks to the support of the Summerfield Trust.”
Looking ahead
The project is due to launch in the autumn and has three years’ funding, including six months for development and two and a half years for delivery. Even at this early stage, partners are already thinking beyond the life of the programme and exploring how to build a sustainable future for the work.
Growing community creativity and capacity takes time. It means giving individuals and communities the space to flourish in their own way and at their own pace.
Across the partnership, there is a shared ambition to place resources and decision-making into the hands of communities, embed arts and culture into everyday life, and create lasting cultural capacity across Gloucestershire.
If the early stages are anything to go by, That’s an idea! is much more than a programme name, it is an invitation to communities to shape their own creative future.