Norfolk Freegle: Difference between revisions
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====Background==== | |||
The Norfolk Freegle groups have always worked closely together and they decided in 2010 to raise funds to commission their own platform. Waveney Freegle (bordering Norfolk in north Suffolk) also joined the project. The idea had been around a long time and often discussed, but the move from Freecycle to Freegle liberated the groups and encouraged local development. | The Norfolk Freegle groups have always worked closely together and they decided in 2010 to raise funds to commission their own platform. Waveney Freegle (bordering Norfolk in north Suffolk) also joined the project. The idea had been around a long time and often discussed, but the move from Freecycle to Freegle liberated the groups and encouraged local development. | ||
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====Initial Funding==== | ====Initial Funding==== | ||
*£10,000 - Awards for All programme run by the Big Lottery Fund | *£10,000 - Awards for All programme run by the Big Lottery Fund | ||
*£2,000 - Norfolk County Council | *£2,000 - Norfolk County Council | ||
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*Computer Service Centre provided hosting for the website as in-kind support | *Computer Service Centre provided hosting for the website as in-kind support | ||
====Key Features of System==== | ====Key Features of System for Members==== | ||
*Easy to join | *Easy to join | ||
*Clear help at every stage of using the system | *Clear help at every stage of using the system | ||
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*The ability of freeglers to set their own area of interest | *The ability of freeglers to set their own area of interest | ||
*Statistics can be produced to demonstrate reuse | *Statistics can be produced to demonstrate reuse | ||
*Security of personal details which eliminates spam | |||
==== | ====Key Features of System for Volunteers==== | ||
*Clear 'queues' of pending moderation | |||
*System encourages correct information to be inputted by members so very little moderation needed | |||
*Internal mail system which offers security and information for volunteers | |||
*Volunteers can moderate just their community or can cover a wider area | |||
====Links==== | |||
*website http://norfolkfreegle.org | |||
*contact [mailto:help@norfolkfreegle.org help@norfolkfreegle.org] | |||
Back to [[Potted History]] or [[Group Facilities]] | Back to [[Potted History]] or [[Group Facilities]] | ||
[[category:The Basics]] | [[category:The Basics]] | ||
Revision as of 11:04, 11 February 2015
Background
The Norfolk Freegle groups have always worked closely together and they decided in 2010 to raise funds to commission their own platform. Waveney Freegle (bordering Norfolk in north Suffolk) also joined the project. The idea had been around a long time and often discussed, but the move from Freecycle to Freegle liberated the groups and encouraged local development.
The reasoning behind providing a new platform was that the moderators spent a significant amount of time helping new (and some not so new) members to use the system, because Yahoo! Groups was not designed for Freegle purposes. They felt strongly that Freegle's use and growth had become increasingly limited by this, so they wanted to develop a customised online re-use system for Norfolk and Waveney.
The local team of moderators had been working together for a long time, with an active and supportive local mods group and also meeting up in person on a regular basis. They produced a written case for the development, adopted a constitution, opened a bank account, obtained charitable status for tax purposes from the HMRC and registered for VAT.
On the basis of being a properly constituted group and in support of a better platform than Yahoo, Norfolk County Council promised £2000 to get the project underway, with a letter of recommendation that the group could use to support other grant applications.
Whilst Norfolk was commissioning, testing and implementing the system, Freegle was nationally developing the Freegle Direct interface which has allowed all groups to have similar facilities to the Norfolk system whilst still being hosted on Yahoo Groups.
Initial Funding
- £10,000 - Awards for All programme run by the Big Lottery Fund
- £2,000 - Norfolk County Council
- £5,000 - South Norfolk District Council Greenest Communities Competition
- £1,994 - Saffron Community Foundation
- £1,000 from 3 individual Waveney Councillor grants from Suffolk County Council
- £500 from the Co-operative Bank
- Heaser Business Consulting Ltd provided website development and support (partly funded by the above grants and partly given as in-kind support)
- Computer Service Centre provided hosting for the website as in-kind support
Key Features of System for Members
- Easy to join
- Clear help at every stage of using the system
- Smart categorisation and location awareness allows matching of requests and offers
- Underlying Norfolk and Waveney wide system, but with localised home pages gives flexibility and sense of community
- Events and local recycling/reuse information facility
- Positive feedback system for transactions
- All transactions take place within the system
- The ability of freeglers to set their own area of interest
- Statistics can be produced to demonstrate reuse
- Security of personal details which eliminates spam
Key Features of System for Volunteers
- Clear 'queues' of pending moderation
- System encourages correct information to be inputted by members so very little moderation needed
- Internal mail system which offers security and information for volunteers
- Volunteers can moderate just their community or can cover a wider area
Links
- website http://norfolkfreegle.org
- contact help@norfolkfreegle.org
Back to Potted History or Group Facilities
