Inspiring GIVING WINTER 2015 Dear supporter, It seems that the last few months have been a particularly busy time at Sussex Community Foundation. Our role is to inspire local giving to meet local needs and it is clear that there are increasing immediate and longer term needs which need to be addressed. The many applications we receive from charities show that local groups are finding it ever harder to raise funds for their vital work in our communities. I have been able to visit several charities we have funded recently and they tell a consistent story of increasing demand and decreasing funding. Things are getting tougher for local charities and we believe that philanthropy can play a vital role in helping to maintain the fabric of our communities and sustain those services which help the most vulnerable in our society. We have also been moved by the tremendous response from the local community to the terrible accident at the Shoreham Air Show. In managing the Shoreham Air Show Fund, we have been able to translate this spontaneous demonstration of compassion into direct help for bereaved families. So the work of Sussex Community Foundation becomes ever more important. In the coming years, we expect there to be even more demand for funding so we are re-doubling our efforts to raise more funds for Sussex, to address the needs of today and the long-term. Thank you to all our trustees, ambassadors, donors and staff for your steadfast support. I look forward to working with you over the next year to support local communities to address the issues they face.
News in brief STAFF CHANGES There have been a few changes to the team at Sussex Community Foundation recently. Mary Carruthers and Janet Ormerod have both decided to move on after being with us for several years. We are grateful to them both for all their hard work and wish them well for the future. We are pleased to welcome new members to the team. In September, Lauren Lloyd joined us as Development Manager and Paula Blezard as Grants Administrator. Laura Williams will be starting as our new Programme Manager in January 2016. We are also recruiting another Development Manager who we hope will start in the New Year.
ANNUAL MEETING We held a successful annual meeting at the Rotunda CafĂŠ in Preston Park, Brighton in September. The topic for the day was: The role of philanthropy in an age of austerity: can private donors plug the gaps in public funding? We were delighted to welcome speakers Becky Shaw, Chief Executive of East Sussex County Council, Sally Polanski, Chief Officer of Brighton & Hove Community Works, and Andrew Wright, Communications and Grants Manager at Arcadia Fund. A lively Q&A session followed when guests from voluntary groups across Sussex grappled with the issues.
NEWSLETTER DELIVERY Would you prefer to get this newsletter by email? If so, you can sign up here www.sussexgiving.org.uk/newsletter
Kevin Richmond, Chief Executive, Sussex Community Foundation Š SUSSEX COMMUNITY FOUNDATION Inspiring Giving WINTER 2015
WHAT WE’VE BEEN DOING
On Saturday 22 August, a Hawker Hunter jet crashed onto the A27 (which runs along the Sussex coast) during an aerial display at the Shoreham Air Show. Eleven people lost their lives.
Office Search
On the Monday morning after the disaster, West Sussex County Council called us and asked us to manage the public donations that were already coming in, on behalf of themselves and all the other councils in the area Adur District Council, Brighton & Hove City Council and Worthing Borough Council. We’ve worked closely with the local authorities, police family liaison officers and others to identify the immediate needs of the people and families most affected by the tragedy, creating a grants panel, process and criteria to enable the quick and efficient distribution of funds to those who need it. The wider community have pulled together in an incredible way and we have been moved by all the amazing fundraising efforts that have been made by a community so touched by the plight of the families of those that died. The fund now stands at £130,000. There are simply too many people, organisations and companies who have pulled together to raise funds to mention here and so we’ve published a fuller list is on our website at www. sussexgiving.org.uk/shoreham and want to thank each and every person who has donated – thank you. Pictured right (top to bottom) are our CEO Kevin Richmond on a very wet and windy bonfire night with the sports commentator Graham Woodward at Sussex County Cricket Club’s fundraising fireworks; Trustee Keith Hollis receiving over £10,300 from Cooperative Food Stores in Sussex; and Ambassador Caroline Nicholls receiving a cheque for £300 from Bakers Court retirement home in Worthing.
St Johns Tuesday Club St John’s Tuesday Club, a family drop-in group in St Leonards-on-Sea, received a grant of £2,000 from our Amy Hart Fund in June to take low-income families on a day trip to Knockhatch Adventure Park plus picnic.
Salaam FC Salaam FC, a multi-ethnic football club for children and young people in Brighton, received a £3,000 grant (£1,500 from our Sussex Community Foundation Grassroots Fund and £1,500 from the Brighton & Hove Community Health Fund) in September to help meet the costs of running 48 Saturday training sessions, taking part in 20 Sunday matches and running at least one team-building day.
© SUSSEX COMMUNITY FOUNDATION Inspiring Giving WINTER 2015
Reaching Families Reaching Families, a parent-led support group for parents and families of children with special needs in West Sussex, received a £3,500 grant from the Rooney Foundation Fund in June to continue the post of two-day per week Rural Outreach Worker plus some travel costs.
EVENTS A number of events have been hosted on our behalf by supporters since we last wrote. Our events aim to introduce new people to the work of the Foundation and we want to thank all the people who open up their homes for our guests. In June, Phyllida Earle invited guests to Great Dixter, a house, garden and a place of pilgrimage for horticulturalists from around the world. Phyllida is a trustee of the Great Dixter Charitable Trust and, along with husband Glenn, has a fund with us that helps young people achieve their potential and promotes groups supporting vulnerable people. Also in June, Carola Godman Irvine invited us to her home, Great Ote Hall, which has been in the Godman family for over 500 years. Pictured are guests Peter Young and Caroline Lucas with our Chairman David Allam. In July, Denise Patterson, High Sheriff of West Sussex held a wonderful party for our guests at her home in Bognor Regis and we were delighted to be joined by actress Patricia Routledge CBE, pictured with Kevin Richmond and David Allam. Later in the summer, our friends David and Sarah Kowitz hosted a dinner party at their home in Fairlight, near Rye which was enjoyed by all those present and there was much interesting conversation about philanthropy and its role in our society. Thank you, David and Sarah.
AMBASSADORS Our Ambassadors met in late October to hear how they can be our ‘eyes and ears on the ground’ in their particular area of Sussex, help us to draw in new supporters, as well as being a link with local groups.
Ex-Foundation trustee Kathy Gore DL is heading up the scheme. If you want to know more, you can email us at ambassadors@sussexgiving.org.uk
NEW FUNDS
Since our last newsletter, we have welcomed a number of new funders on board who have asked us to help them maximise their local giving. They include the Hastings & Rother Reducing Inequalities Fund which will support groups tackling health issues in their neighbourhoods; the Sussex Lund Fund which will support small, practical projects that improve the present day landscape of the High Weald AONB; the Friends of the Elderly Fund which will help groups combating loneliness and isolation in older people; and the ARDIS Fund which launches in 2016 which will support research and services for people with dementia who live in Brighton & Hove.
© SUSSEX COMMUNITY FOUNDATION Inspiring Giving WINTER 2015
Summersdale Afternoon Club Summersdale Afternoon Club is a weekly club for older people on the outskirts of Chichester.It’s the sort of project that the new Friends of the Elderly Fund has been set up to support. Most members are over 80 who meet to play Scrabble and card games and to have a cup of tea and a chat. Lifelong friendships have been formed, enabling members to feel part of a community and supported by one another. Members keep an eye out for one another if they become ill or have any difficulties.
GRANT NEWS Representation of grant funding by area:
We gave out grants totalling £174,881.34 to 53 organisations and individuals in September. Have a look at the map on the homepage of our website for more information on who the groups were, what they got and why: www.sussexgiving.org.uk. 45% went to Brighton & Hove groups, 30% to West Sussex and 25% to East Sussex.
Brighton & Hove 45% West Sussex 30% East Sussex 25%
The next deadline (Round 4 2015) is Friday 15th January 2016, 5pm and groups will hear the outcome, successful or otherwise, by Friday 11 March 2016. Remember, in most cases, you don’t need to apply to a particular fund when you put in a grant application. Call our Grants Team on 01273 409440 for more information or visit www.sussexgiving.org.uk/apply
FUNDS THIS ROUND
Amounts given out in the last round by our funds
In addition to applications for our usual general funds, in Round 4 (deadline 15 January), we are also calling for applications to: • Lewes Fund. Grants are available for small voluntary groups working to address disadvantage and building a sustainable community in Lewes and surrounding villages. • Meads Fund. One grant of up to £20,000 each year for three years is available to an Eastbourne-based community group. • William Alexander Fund. Grants for small groups in Brighton & Hove supporting disadvantaged young children and people, older people, refugees and asylum seekers, those suffering from drug and alcohol misuse, and support groups for veterans. • Brighton & Hove Community Health Fund. Grants of up to £1,500 awarded to small community groups in Brighton & Hove with an income of £35,000 working on community-led health improvement projects. Guidance notes at www.sussexgiving.org.uk/howitworks The deadline for applications to the Little Cheyne Court Wind Farm is Friday 26 February 2016. Call our friendly Grants Team on 01273 409440 if you need more info. – we’re more than happy to help or visit www.sussexgiving.org.uk/apply
Name of fund B&H Community Health Fund Brenda Ford Fund
£20,505 £5,000
Cullum Family Fund
£20,000
Fangorn Fund
£11,068
Ganas Fund
£11,258
Innes Fund
£33,249.34
Marit & Hans Rausing Fund
£33,547
Rooney Family Fund
£11,088
Sussex Community Foundation Grassroots
£13,934
Westdene Fund
£2,400
William Alexander Fund
£5,995
William Reed Fund
£5,364
“My wife and I would like to thank you for the help, support and advice you and your staff provided us. You were very helpful and nice to us. It was great and excellent quality of service. So thank you very, very much . We were both very stressed but, with your help, it relieved us. Again, we thank you very much.” A Shaftesbury Centre Shinewater client. The Centre received a £20,000 grant from our Meads Fund last year.
Sussex Community Foundation raises funds for and gives grants to smaller charities and community groups across East Sussex, West Sussex and Brighton & Hove. We make it easy for Sussex people to give money to local causes close to their hearts and ensure that those donations reach the people that need them. Our endowment fund enables our donors to benefit Sussex people for generations to come. Sussex Community Foundation, 15 Western Road, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 1RL 01273 409440 / info@sussexgiving.org.uk / www.sussexgiving.org.uk
© SUSSEX COMMUNITY FOUNDATION Inspiring Giving WINTER 2015
Amount
REGISTERED CHARITY 1113226