Supporting social and creative opportunities for people with a learning disability
Supporting social and creative opportunities for people with a learning disability
Our Projects
We are Raising the Roof by supporting small groups, small projects, including those involving people with profound and multiple disabilities
Every year RTR distributes nearly £150,000 to projects around the United Kingdom. We support some of the most inspirational and motivating people in society, but who are also amongst the most disadvantaged and isolated. Over the last 40 years we have supported activity that aims to give people greater control of their lives and to be part of their community.
We want to enable things that matter hugely to those who are involved but we recognise are not going to attract most funders. We back people who have ambitions as individuals or as team players or people who seek to build a meaningful social life. The common theme is pushing boundaries and creating opportunities, all the while demonstrating what is possible whilst the participants are having fun.
The groups we support vary enormously in size. For some groups we will be the only source of funding (for example a self-advocacy group), others may be funding a project through a series of smaller grants or are seeking matching funding for a larger grant. We always ensure our funding will deliver a project or we agree a grant in principle until their full funding is available. Our personal approach to streamlining applications ensures we support worthwhile and deliverable projects.
Comments from groups we have funded:
Love4Life
Love4Life
In 2024 Love4Life told us: “over the last year, incredible support from The RTR Foundation has helped us transform inclusion for people with learning disabilities and autism.”
“Through Love4Life, members make friends, find love and increase their self-belief and independence through social activities, chaperoned dates, workshops and one-to-one support. Thank you for your commitment which is creating lasting change. With your assistance, we’ve supported 261 members and we’re delighted to update you on our recent achievements and share news of how your support is helping us grow our network so more members can gain confidence, connections and skills.”
Ydance
Ydance
In 2024, Ydance told us our grant had “helped us to set up 2 new inclusive dance groups”.
As a result “12 young people regularly attended building health, wellbeing, skills and confidence and 5 dance tutors gained inclusive training and experience.”
Wiltshire Live Music Centre
Wiltshire Live Music Centre
In 2023 the Wiltshire Live Music Centre told us our support “has been crucial in keeping the Club viable. With your support, we have been able to not only help Zone Club achieve great things this year, allowing it to continue offering this specific group of participants fulfilling experiences centred around music, but also plan for its future.”
Get2Gether
Get2Gether
In 2023, Get2Gether told us our grant had been used to “ensure that increases in the cost of living did not further the social isolation and loneliness experienced by adults with (learning) disabilities.”
“The funding you have provided allowed us to keep our social events and opportunities accessible to all of our members. Your grant ensured that our members did not lose connection to the support of the get2gether community at a time that they most needed it.”
Drunken Chorus
Drunken Chorus
In 2022, Drunken Chorus told us our grant had “provided us with the resources and capacity to be flexible, resilient and responsive during the easing of restrictions. We were able to tweak and redesign elements of our programmes to work better for our participants in an uncertain and constantly evolving situation.”
“We are very pleased to be able to say that we are now in a stable and robust position, and have since secured a number of multi-year grants to ensure our work can continue into the future. Without project funding from RTR this would not have been possible.”
The Sussex Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus
Sussex Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus
The Sussex Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus told us our grant in 2021 had enabled them to set up and run their hybrid club post-covid, and for “60 people with complex disabilties to engage regularly with Bourne Free and feel less isolated, make and sustain new friendships, to feel more confident and be better informed.”
They also told us that “The support from the RTR Foundation has been invaluable to us and has helped us to secure further funding to keep this much needed club going.”
Carousel
Carousel
Carousel told us that our grants in 2018 & 2021 “supported Creative Minds regional hubs of learning disability arts organisations, LD artists and other cultural organisations.”
“The hubs allowed us to talk about barriers to learning disability arts in the mainstream and to work as a community to share work, ideas and find solutions.” And “helped us establish Carousel TV, a series broadcast on Latest TV featuring a range of creative content made by and for learning disabled people. Carousel TV has become an annual fixture and we’re developing the show for Youtube and more audience participation.”
Projects showcase
Accessible Arts & Media, York
AAM have been running arts and creative media learning projects since 1982.
Their projects help people connect with and contribute to their local community. Part of their work is to help adults and young people with learning disabilities learn new skills, gain confidence, make connections and improve their wellbeing.
‘Movers and Shakers’ and ‘Hands and Voices’ are safe spaces where participants can come together to socialise, build confidence, and learn new skills in a creative environment, with opportunities to go into the wider community to perform or teach workshops.
Photo from Accessible Arts and Media, York
Film Oxford : Shadowlight Artists
A central pillar of Film Oxford’s work is the multi-award winning Shadowlight Artists.
Shadowlight Artists is a unique group of talented and ambitious artists with learning disabilities from Oxfordshire. Each group member has a variety of physical, communication and learning disabilities.
Their latest project enabled them to participate in creative group activities to produce new high-quality work for an exhibition at a professional gallery. They produced a WIKI to showcase their work as part of the follow up pilot offered by the RTR Foundation.
Sheffield Voices is the learning disability arm of Disability Sheffield.
Sheffield Voices is a self-advocacy group who co-produce innovative solutions to the barriers people face in today’s world. In 2022 they received a grant towards ‘The Art of Voice’ which formed part of the ‘This is Us’ art exhibition in Sheffield.
“Our projects help people to connect with each other, make friends and the work we do also helps to make their lives better by giving them the confidence to challenge what is not working for them and also to work with others to have a collective voice.”
