We had seven groups at the evening and one groups asked us to read out their application in their absence. Each group spoke for five minutes about their grant proposal and answered questions. Each group then used a score card and ranked from 1-10 which group they thought should receive all of the grant they had requested-10 being the one they thought should get all the money. Then everyone mingled and ate biscuits while the votes were counted. During this time Susannah from Southend Association of Voluntary Services spoke about the different relevant funding streams groups could apply for. Groups said this was a very useful part of the evening and it was great to find out about what other local groups were doing. Every group which participated in the evening had a full and transparent say in how the money was allocated. It took away the decision making from just the panel members and allowed the groups themselves with the panel members to allocate the grant.