30 years of Grapevine! Here’s our story of deep social change

Three decades of Grapevine! Over those 30 years we have become a nationally acclaimed example of deep social change.

Today we’re proud to share a special new report which tells our story – from the mid-nineties to the present day – with lots of input and stories from our staff team, former colleagues, beneficiaries and supporters.

A colourful front cover of a report about 30 years of Grapevine featuring yellow, pink and purple pathways woven with photos over the decades. The title is 'Deep Social Change: The Grapevine Story. Three decades of Grapevine'.
Three Decades of Deep Social Change: The Grapevine Story. Click the image to read our story. Accessible text version below.

Founded in 1994, Grapevine strengthens people, sparks community and shifts power across Coventry and Warwickshire.

Our work illustrates how people and communities can meet one another’s needs, claim power and take action on what matters to them – and transform services and systems along the way.

We’ve invested time and energy capturing how we’ve gone from a small single-issue charity to an organisation at the centre of work to build power, build belonging and strengthen people across our region.

In the process, we’ve grappled with many of the knottiest questions facing our communities and social systems and developed boundary-pushing responses.

Click here to read ‘The Grapevine Story: three decades of deep social change’.

A double page spread from Grapevine's 30 years story shows text across the bottom half and newspaper cuttings across the top about some of Grapevine's campaigns.

Told in three parts – decade by decade up to today – our story includes moving away from “places to hold people”, a co-operative ethos, Blackpool to Bruges, solutions beyond services, campaign successes, The Power of The Ordinary, weathering austerity, living our values, connecting at scale, a global pandemic, and what we think decade four might look like.

Please grab a cuppa and get to know what we’re all about.

Please click on this link to read an accessible text-only version of our story.

A double page spread from Grapevine's 30 years story shows half the page dedicated to a photo of a young smiling brunette woman sitting next to a young boy who has Down's Syndrome and is holding a microphone aloft. The other page is text.

Acknowledgements

We are very grateful for the warmth, generosity and openness of everyone who shared their story. Thanks also to writer Matt Lloyd-Rose and designer Katie Slee for helping us build our story ready to share.

Heartfelt thanks also to everyone who has supported and funded Grapevine’s work over the last three decades.

To read our strategy for change and other impact reports, please follow this link.