Hello Experts Online! This is my first time using this service so here goes... Firstly here is a brief bit of background information. I work for a self advocacy group called 'Gateshead People' which is run by and for people with a learning disability. The groups aims are to support group members to speak up for its members rights and to work towards equality and inclusion for all people with learning disabilities. We achieve these aims by campaigning around issues that are important to us, training other people with learning disabilities and the people who support or provide services for them (such as council or PCT staff) and by consulting with the local authority on how services for people with learning disabilities should be delivered. We also work with several regional and national learning disability and user involvement networks to influence policy around learning disablity on a regional and national level. The group is not a registered charity, they have their own constitution and managment committee. They employ 2 part time support staff to help them achive their aims of which I am one. We rely on funding from grants and trusts. At the moment we are coming to the end of 3 years funding from The Big Lottery and Northern Rock Foundation our rent is payed for by Gateshead Council at source on top of this they give us an additional £300 or so a quarter. I am in the process of helping the group fundraise for a further 3 years. I am relatively inexperienced at this and as you can appreciate it is becoming more difficult for groups like ours to secure funding from an ever decreasing pot of money. Its become clear to us that the group need to work towards becoming more sustainable than they already are. So this then is our question: "How might groups like our work towards becoming more sustainable and less reliant from grants and trust?" Our initial ideas have been around maximising the income we generate from the training we deliver. We feel that in term of demonstarting a service user perspective there is a lot we can offer as a group. We want to look at perhaps drawing more statutory funding from the local authority or the health service. Can you suggest any funding streams within loacal authorities or the health service that we might take advantage of? Finally, as I have said I am relativley inexperienced at fundraising. I have been to our local voluntary organisation council for some support and am following up some suggestions they have made but I would welcome any advice you might have about sourcing and succesfully drawing funding for the group. I hope this question is not to vague or long winded! Thankyou in advance for any hep and advice you might be able to offer.

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