Free delegate places for East Midlands Community Groups wishing to attend the DTA

Sponsors help community groups think big!

Three top businesses have demonstrated their commitment to stronger East Midlands communities by helping local community groups to attend a major national conference on community enterprise and regeneration.

Toyota is sponsoring three places for new or smaller Derby-based groups who would otherwise be unable to attend the Development Trusts Association conference, ‘Inspiring Places - the art of the possible', while two others, NatWest and Triodos are sponsoring another six groups from the wider East Midlands area.

Eligible groups will be chosen on a first-come, first-served basis to attend the conference, as a way of introducing fledgling community groups to national debate and to stimulate their imaginations by showcasing a wide variety of inspiring community enterprises that have already changed communities forever.

The DTA is expecting around 500 delegates to attend the event in Derby and DTA East Midlands Regional Manager Naomi Diamond said, "We are delighted that these community-minded sponsors have come forward to help smaller groups attend the conference which seeks to provide inspiration, information and a real focus for groups interested in working together for local good.

"We currently represent 492 development trusts, each of which is working hard to provide leadership in their local areas. Basically they use self help, community enterprise and ownership of land or buildings to transform their communities for good. The East Midlands has some particularly good examples and we thought it would be a great encouragement to local groups if they could come along to our conference and take a look at the possibilities for themselves.

"This is the leading event of its kind in the field of community regeneration and we are delighted to be holding it in Derby this year. We are anxious to help smaller community organisations to move up the ladder, to take on new challenges and to think big. This is really important for the region because now, with economic recovery at last beginning to look like a reality, community enterprise really is one of the keys to a brighter future for the East Midlands as a whole."

The conference will be held on September 12 - 14th. The sponsored places are available East Midlands community groups turning over less than £50,000 a year. The deadline for applications is September 3rd, 2010. Groups interested in applying for sponsored places should contact Deepa Mistry on 0845 458 8336 or at d.mistry@dta.org.uk for an application form.