We Ready Now...!

Dear Members, we are delighted to announce that ASKaND has been successful in securing our very first funding bid from the National Lottery Community Fund !

We have received funding for all the activities we identified that we want to achieve in 2023. This includes: the St Kitts-Nevis Heritage Day, the Health & Wellbeing Day, a Fireside Chat, our ASKaND Children's Christmas Party; along with funding to build our own bespoke ASKaND website.

Although we had submitted the bid, we did not want to count chickens and assume we would receive the requested funding. Therefore, we have planned a fundraising activity, which we do fully intend to carry on with. However, the National Lottery Community Fund has allowed us to not only deliver the activities we wanted to do this year; but it

In this issue has given us a cushion to allow us to start to build our own revenue pot. This is so we can begin the process of building a sustainable financial basis on which to move ASKaND forward with.

It will also allow ASKaND to make a name for itself in the city. We are going to be able to fulfil our commitments to our community because we have been able to access funding. It also means we can plan more coherently for 2024; seek out further funding from other sources to deliver on our action plan to build a strong community by bringing all sections together, and highlight and share our St Kitts-Nevis heritage with the wider

Birmingham community.

So, in real terms, what this means for ASKaND is that we now have to upgrade our organisational structure and cease being an ‘unincorporated group’ and become a Community Incorporated Company (CIC). We have seen tremendous growth over the last eight months and our successful National Lottery Community Fund bid is a testimony to all the hard work and dedication our members have put into ASKaND’s development and growth.

Therefore, a heartfelt “Thank You” goes out to all of members for your belief and support in our ethos and endeavours. Long may it continue.