McConnell and Lovell back East Midlands community projects as Match My Project marks first year

The East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) has marked the first 12 months of its Match My Project social value platform, with contractors McConnell and Lovell East Midlands among the suppliers matched with community groups across the region.

EMCCA, which is led by Mayor of the East Midlands Claire Ward, said the platform pairs businesses with community projects needing support. Community groups post requests for funding, volunteers, materials or expertise, and suppliers browse the projects, match with those they can help and deliver the support free of charge.

Claire Ward, Mayor of the East Midlands, said: "Businesses have been generous, sharing surplus materials, as well as their time, skills and funding, and the results have been as diverse and interesting as our communities."

She added that she hoped EMCCA could help many more businesses and community organisations find each other and work together over the year ahead.

The construction matches

Lovell East Midlands contributed £1,000 and five hours of time to build a chicken coop at a YMCA Robin Hood Group home in Nottinghamshire that supports children and young people in care, EMCCA said. The firm worked with a specialist joiner from Full On Joinery.

According to EMCCA, the request came from the children and young people themselves, and the YMCA said the build gave them the chance to develop communication, teamwork, confidence and practical construction skills.

McConnell, which describes itself as a provider of refurbishment, planned maintenance, retrofit, energy efficiency, cladding and fire remediation services, made two matches. It provided the full £1,000 requested by The Tin Hat Centre in Selston towards core running costs, and supplied 20 branded running vests and an hour of time to the Will Garvey Trust Foundation, which works to prevent young suicide through early intervention.

The Tin Hat Centre, which EMCCA said has 24 years of experience providing community services, said the contribution helped it continue providing essential services and support. The Will Garvey Trust Foundation had asked for the vests for young people fundraising for the charity.

McConnell says on its own website that it was established in 1929 and uses directly employed skilled tradespeople.

Timber for a tree nursery

TalarMade contributed £508 towards timber and fittings, plus five hours of volunteering, for Sherwood Forest Trust's community tree nursery. EMCCA said the nursery had collected more than 30,000 acorns after a mast year but had no budget for the timber needed to build additional raised beds.

The trust says on its own site that it has been building raised beds at the nursery, at Feel Good Gardens, so that people who cannot work at ground level can take part. About 50 people are expected to volunteer at the nursery each year, with more than 200 reached through schools and learning events, according to EMCCA.

EMCCA itself answered a request from Sharewear Clothing Scheme with a clothing donation. Sharewear recorded more than 23,000 clothing interventions last year, supporting more than 9,000 people, EMCCA said.

Project	Supplier	Cash contribution
YMCA Robin Hood Group chicken coop	Lovell East Midlands	£1,000
The Tin Hat Centre, Selston	McConnell	£1,000
Sherwood Forest Trust tree nursery	TalarMade	£508

Background

EMCCA announced the launch of Match My Project on 11 September 2025 at Nottinghamshire County Council's County Hall in West Bridgford, before more than 150 representatives of contracted suppliers and local voluntary, community and social enterprises. The scheme covers EMCCA and its four constituent councils: Derby City, Nottingham City, Derbyshire County and Nottinghamshire County.

Councillor Mick Barton, Nottinghamshire County Council leader, said at the launch: "This is the first time Match My Project has been implemented as a region-wide approach."

At launch EMCCA said the platform had already been used by other local authorities, including Birmingham and Cambridge, and had helped more than 1,000 community projects. EMCCA funds the platform, so it is free for community organisations and suppliers to use.

Match My Project says every project is verified by the contracting authority before it goes live, and that community organisations take eight minutes on average to add a project.

Alongside community-led requests, EMCCA said suppliers can post resources directly, such as available volunteer hours or surplus materials, for community organisations to match against. EMCCA gave no regional total for matches made or value delivered over the 12 months.