About The BRAVO! Trust

The BRAVO! Trust provide education, training and performance opportunities in relation to theatre activities and performing arts for adults with learning difficulties. Many of the beneficiaries will have participated in courses provided by colleges administered by local authorities and will wish to continue those activities elsewhere. The BRAVO! Trust operates as a means of continuing those studies and providing a conduit for the beneficiaries to integrate more fully in their local society and to develop working opportunities as part of their greater participation in the life of the community.

The activities of The BRAVO! Trust are structured on the basis of the three terms of the academic year and classes are held weekly in a working theatre in order to enable the participants to experience the life of theatre activities and the performing arts. The nature of the charity's education and work looks to enhance the personal and social qualities of participants and to provide a basis for greater personal confidence and independence. Among these qualities are growing self respect and respect for others, together with an increasing awareness of their individual strengths and weaknesses and those of others. The importance of personal development in the context of work in the performing arts is a central element of the ethos of The BRAVO! Trust.

The BRAVO! Trust is funded by pledges and sponsorship as well as receipts from performances and events. There is also a small weekly subscription for beneficiaries attending classes. The primary costs are for the hire of the theatre and ancillary expenses of weekly classes and events. The funds of The BRAVO! Trust are applied from time to time towards grants, bursaries and other payments for the development and support of the beneficiaries. These allocations are considered by the trustees in the circumstances of each applicant and in accordance with the objects of the trust. The trustees seek to prioritise those grants which are intended to enhance the life and welfare of the beneficiaries by providing work and other opportunities for paid employment. From time to time and as appropriate, beneficiaries participate in the charity's management and communications teams and are encouraged to fulfil roles which facilitate their steps towards work in the arena of performing arts.

In circumstances where opportunities for physical expression and career development for adults with learning difficulties are so values, The BRAVO! Trust is an accessible avenue to continuing performance and expression as well as a positive stepping stone towards self-sufficiency and career progression. The seeds of The BRAVO! Trust were sown in the courses run by local authority colleges and the charity seeks to continue and grow its links and relationships with those colleges and other bodies providing similar opportunities for adults with learning difficulties.