WCVA has awarded the Walter Dickie Leadership Bursary for the first time since 2019 and this year it will support not one, but two voluntary sector leaders.
The Walter Dickie Leadership Bursary aims to help leaders in the voluntary sector to develop their entrepreneurial leadership skills. The annual award grants £2,500 to support an individual in Wales to become a better leader.
We’re really pleased to announce the first winner of the bursary since 2019, and for the first time ever we are making two awards.
This year’s bursary will support the following recipients:
- Louise Miles-Payne, Director of Creu Cymru will use the bursary to carry out learning visits to similar performing arts focussed organisations across different parts of the UK. Louise will also be completing an advanced fundraising course with a specific arts focus
- Steve Swindon, Founder and Creative Director of TAPE Community Music and Film will use his bursary to visit, train and make international connections with key partners such as Netflix, Universal and Disney. The visits will help TAPE on their journey as pioneers and advocates of Creative Inclusion
LEARNING FROM OTHERS
Creu Cymru champions Wales’ vibrant sector of performing arts, connecting people, audiences and communities. As part of the bursary Director, Louise intends to visit organisations with similar aims such as Federation of Scottish Theatre and Culture Counts (Scotland), Theatre Forum (Ireland), Theatre and Dance NI (Northern Ireland) and House (England).
These visits will help Louise to explore how others are thinking about areas such as funding and membership, bringing back learning into her leadership role. It will also be an opportunity to look at potential collaboration across the nations.
The bursary will also pay for Louise to attend an advanced fundraising course with an arts-focussed training provider.
‘I’m incredibly grateful and thrilled to be chosen to be one of the bursary recipients,’ Louise told us. ‘We’ve been busy redeveloping Creu Cymru over the last couple of years and this bursary will allow me to expand that work and learn from other organisations around the UK and Ireland.
‘The aim of the fundraising course will be to aid the organisation to become more sustainable in the future. I’m really looking forward to getting stuck in with this work and would like to thank WCVA for this opportunity.’
STEPPING ONTO THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE
TAPE Community Music and Film provides high-quality, supportive, person-led opportunities in creative industries, priding itself on accessibility and inclusivity. Founder, Steve intends to use the bursary to connect, train and partner with film industry professionals whose remit includes developing inclusion and increasing opportunities.
Already well established with such individuals in the UK, Steve will travel to meet key international partners and share TAPE’s model and methods. Steve aims to meet with individuals in five international organisations with sights on big players such as Netflix, Universal, Amazon Studios and Disney.
‘With the recent release of our second feature film, Approaching Shadows, the timing of this award could not be more perfect,’ says Steve. ‘We have developed our inclusive practice and have two quality feature films and 14 years of delivery, with which to articulate our work and where we want to go next.
‘The bursary is going to really support the ambitions of the charity and the interests of the people coming through the doors every day. I am hugely grateful.’
The visits will allow Steve to grow his network as a leader and experience pitching the work of the charity at a whole new level. Steve intends to use the opportunity to develop an online forum, moderated by TAPE, in which aspiring creatives can link with professionals from across disciplines, to get help, advice and support.
SHARING LEARNING
We’ll be closely following the progress of Louise and Steve as they use this opportunity to develop as leaders in the voluntary sector. Both will have learning from these activities that they will be able to share with peers in Wales, so watch this space!
ABOUT THE BURSARY
A bursary of £2,500 will be awarded annually to someone in a leadership role within a voluntary organisation in Wales to help them become a more entrepreneurial leader. The parameters of how the bursary can be spent are open and applicants are encouraged to come up with interesting ideas to support their own development.
Read more about the bursary and its previous winners on our Walter Dickie Leadership Bursary page.