pebbles Archives - The Rank Foundation

About

ShapeShifter Productions is a not-for-profit art organisation, aiming to provide the community with high quality art and encourage people to get involved. Due to their fantastic work, The Rank Foundation supported the organisation with their Smiling Sessions programme.

The Smiling Sessions

The Smiling Sessions project was spread over 20 weeks, delivering 39 sessions at 8 different care homes and care services. The project reached approximately 180 elderly people, often facing social isolation with complex needs, long term health problems and disabilities. During the Smiling Sessions, elderly people were assisted to sing songs by the project coordinators and members of staff from the care homes (see photos of Smiling Sessions).

The sessions made a significant impact on the participant’s quality of life, as group singing stimulates memories, creates a sense of belonging and enhances social, emotional and cognitive well-being, whilst connecting and interacting people. The support staff assisting the sessions noted a vast improvement since the residents started attending, in particular, increased self-esteem, improved social cohesiveness between the residents within the schemes and improved concentration and memory. The staff also noted that shy, disinterested residents gradually light up, start to smile, tap their toe and start singing!

The project clearly facilitated communication between in-house residents and staff at the care homes; enabling social contact within a different environment, in which elderly people were seen in a fresh light. This has not only generated a new respect and understanding, but strengthened the internal community of the housing schemes, where people tend to feel very isolated.

Another event, which particularly brought staff and residents together, was the Tea Dance. Eversheds International Law Firm contacted Shapeshifter Productions in 2015, having identified the organisation as a charity they wanted to support. As a result, a Tea Dance was organised, with Eversheds supplying volunteers to bake cakes, decorate the hall and befriend attendees. The event was really well attended, with over 50 participants present in good spirits, feeling very happy and uplifted.

For more Information

For further information on Shapeshifter Productions, please visit their website here

The Rank Foundation only accepts applications for a small percentage of its grant making. The Pebble grants (formerly known as “small appeals”) equates to under 5% of the money that the Foundation spends on charitable activities. This can seem surprising to some who are keen to let the Foundation know of its work, particularly when they are aware of the Rank Foundation funding projects nearby.

Why do you not accept applications for the other funding?
The Rank Foundation operates a model of engaged philanthropy; this differs from traditional philanthropy in the level of involvement that we as a grant making body undertake. This includes social and intellectual, as well as financial capital, management support, and access to our wider network (soon to be known as RankNet).
Our experience suggests that by concentrating funding, knowledge and expertise in a very focused way, promoting stronger partnerships and increased collaboration, helps to ‘add value’ where the outcome is greater than the sum of each part. It is therefore vital that each project is chosen by our executives, not only for the good practice and performance that it singularly provides, but also for the benefit of the network as a whole. Our focus on three distinct issues (leadership, enterprise and care) means that we can leverage greater input in these discrete areas, working with grant recipients to maximise their impact and good practice.

How are the projects chosen?
The Rank Foundation follows a specific form of engaged philanthropy, which is research led by its executive directors. Each of our key areas is headed up by a director, which enables the Foundation to draw not only on their expertise, but also on the big picture view of the funded projects in the area. They are therefore uniquely placed to advise trustees and fellow executives on areas for further development, which can then be researched and brought to the Foundation’s attention. We are consequently able to invite only organisations which are a particularly good fit, and have a greater likelihood of a success, to go through the time consuming process of completing an application and the necessary due diligence.

How can I find out more?
For further information on other models of engaged philanthropy, please see the European Venture Philanthropy Association, of which the Rank Foundation is a member.