TESCO – Stronger Starts

Stronger Starts is Tesco’s blue token voting scheme in store, where local groups and organisations can apply for funding to complete a project and Tesco customers decide through voting who receives the most funding.
Since 2016, the Tesco Community Grants (Blue token voting) programme has awarded over £100m in funding to over 50,000 local organisations. Insight from Groundwork UK (Tesco’s partner who delivers the grant programme) and their customers, highlighted that focusing donations and partnering with local schools and young children would have genuine and significant impact.
As a result, Tesco will now focus their support on funding schools and projects supporting young children. This programme which is framed in positivity is named Stronger Starts and replaces Tesco’s Community Grants.
Stronger Starts Key Facts

• £5.3m a year funding available in Stronger starts for schools and groups supporting children.
• Over 5,000 schools ad groups supporting young children will be supported
• Across the next 3 years, Tesco aim to support 1 million children with a stronger start in life
• Funding is available to boost funds for healthy food and actives that support physical health and mental wellbeing
• Programme is still in partnership with Groundwork UK
• Customers vote for projects in store using the blue tokens but 2 out of 3 projects will be schools and/or groups supporting children
• £2.7m funding is still available for all other local causes, projects and groups and these will fill the third voting slot in store

How the programme works
Schools and groups can apply for a grant and if successful they will go into the in store vote.
There are four voting rounds each year (dates vary):
January – March
April – June
July – September
October – December
Throughout the three month voting period, customers can pick up a blue token and vote for their favourite project in the voting unit in store.
Grants are based on the voting results
1st Place will receive up to £1,500 (dependent on how much the group applied for)
2nd Place will receive £1,000
3rd place will receive £500
Each store is in a voting region and there are 650 voting regions across the country. Each region consists of a handful of stores, a mix of both Large and Convenience. Some regions, due to their location, are one store regions. Its important to remember that just because a school or group won the vote in your store, this may not mean they won the vote across the region.
All votes are added together and the winners are communicated with via MyWork once they have been verified.
If you are a school or group supporting children, or any other community group, cause or project you can apply to be included in the programme via:
www.tescostrongerstarts.org.uk