Movema's Easter Dance Club. Photo credit Alastair Brooks

We were able to provide 150 local residents and users of the Trinity Centre supermarket vouchers as part of the Winter Crisis Fund. The support has come at a crucial time when families are grappling with unprecedented costs due to the ongoing cost of living crisis.

To allow for a fair and accessible process, we developed a user-friendly online form where individuals could indicate how they met our four predefined criteria for receiving vouchers. We then worked with key stakeholders to share the scheme, including printing flyers to distribute among resident groups and parents/carers whose children participate in activities at Trinity.

"I am in receipt of a low income. The shopping voucher really helps with everyday shopping, e.g., food, cleaning products. Furthermore, by being awarded the voucher, I feel listened to and valued. Thank you."

This initiative enabled us to offer some relief to the challenges posed by rising living costs, and the distribution of vouchers primarily benefited local residents with caring responsibilities. 78% of the vouchers were allocated to families whose children attend local schools or children's centres or take part in Trinity's Children and Young People program.

About the Winter Crisis Fund:

The Winter Crisis Fund is an initiative of The Society of the Merchant Ventures.

Thanks to the flexibility of funders we have been able to deliver planned works in spite of the challenges of COVID19.

As part of Trinity's Phased Capital Works programme to improve Trinity's spaces, grounds and enable us to increase our cultural offer, we undertook a series of renovation works between 2019-22, supported with funds from Power to Change, Nisbet Trust, Tarmac Landfill Trust, Bristol City Council, private donors and other match funders. ​

“I’ve had the opportunity to work with new people within the art world where I would never before.” Member, Programming Forum

Work included much needed accessibility adaptations to our Community Garden, improvements to Trinity's Graffiti Room and the design and build of a new outdoor event space -  The Den - set in our historic grounds.  ​

As well as carrying out significant capital works, with increased capacity and resources thanks to Power to Change, we were able to strengthen our live events team through a new internship that has enabled us to grow our in-house Trinity Presents Programme - a platform for promoting underrepresented and emerging talent. Through this support we were able to develop a new Community Activities Coordinator role to help rebuild our community activities offer post-pandemic, building meaningful connections with local groups in response to need. ​

We have continued to put people and communities at the heart of decision making, reviewing and updating our democratic tools to ensure our communities influence what we do. Work included a targeted Board recruitment campaign in 2021 and further development of of participatory decision making forums.

Click here to read our Capital Works 2019-22 report.

What's Your Trinity Story? - funded by Heritage Lottery Fund Your Heritage Grant - featured an an oral history and archiving project about Trinity from 1960-today, with specific reference to its role as a music and community venue.

"The Trinity Centre has a fascinating history, and the Heritage Lottery Fund is really pleased to support this inspiring project which will capture what it has meant to people over the last 50 years." Nerys Watts, South West Heritage Lottery Fund Head of Region

Trinity's history

Trinity is probably best known for its role in the music scene of the 1990s, when it played host to some of the biggest domestic and international music stars of the time. Trinity's stage has been graced by the likes of U2, The Wailers and Public Enemy as well as local talents such as Massive Attack. It hosted many famous artists notably from the punk, and reggae genres, and was an important landmark in the globally exported "Bristol Sound" prominent during this era.

The space has also had a number of roles within the community over the years - from a bingo hall to a boxing ring - and is now run as a community arts centre with regular training, projects and events.

The heritage project consisted of workshop activities and sessions designed to engage the community of all ages in sharing their experiences and stories of the space. It involved detailed research to culminate in a final exhibition, book and online archive.

Click here to read the full evaluation report.