Both Greg Scorzo and Lizzie Soden manage differing mental health conditions. Whilst resistant to the labels ‘Autistic and Bipolar,’ sometimes those labels are a shortcut to other people’s understanding. However these conditions affect everyone differently. They obviously don’t define them, but they do impact their ability to work full-time in paid employment. COTO does however need money for running costs to keep going.
COTO raised money through a successful crowd funding campaign to enable them to have rent for office space for a year. Just before lockdown COTO were settled in to Leicester Creative Business Depot which enabled them to start to build a team with interns and volunteers in partnership with DMU graduate placement scheme and the University of Leicester’s Innovation Hub. They were on the verge of getting ‘investment ready’ for sponsorship, donations grant funding and supportive financial backers helped by a fantastic Social Enterprise Business Mentor – Tobias Gould. As there can be inconsistency of productivity due to their disabilities, a larger team would help navigate the gaps in terms of output and keep things ticking over. The reason this enterprise can be so productive and meaningful is that we can fit the work around these episodes, and be totally flexible.
During the COVID lockdown COTO ran out of the crowdfunded office rent, and had to move out of the office. It was bad timing, and we ha to work from home for 8 months out of that year.
We are not discouraged. Onwards and upwards.
No pressure, but would you like to help by giving us a general financial donation for our enterprise? If you enjoy our venture and would like to see it grow, every little helps. You will get discounted and priority tickets to our talks and events, as well as discounts on our future books of articles and essays…..and OUR UNDYING APPRECIATION AND LOVE
Your donations will help:
- pay our interns the rate they deserve.
- enable us to promote and expand awareness of our work to a much wider audience
- give the project and it’s vision a sense of continuity.
- Self-publish books and produce podcasts.
- Provide a workspace where the project can grow.
YOU CAN DONATE A ONE-OFF AMOUNT, OR SET UP REGULAR DONATIONS THROUGH PAYPAL. ANY AMOUNT WOULD BE REALLY APPRECIATED.
PLEASE NOTE WE APOLOGISE THAT FOR THOSE OUTSIDE THE UK, PAYMENTS CAN ONLY BE MADE THROUGH PAYPAL AND NOT USING CREDIT CARDS.
The core-team has been working voluntarily on this project which has resulted in many valued people having to leave in order to earn a crust elsewhere. We thank-you all. You know who you are.
