Essex Community Foundation is an independent charitable trust improving the quality of life of people in our community by investing and distributing funds on behalf of individuals, companies, trusts and public agencies.
The Foundation is one of a growing number of community foundations throughout the UK which exist to improve the quality of life of local people by raising new charitable funds to support grass roots community activity.
Community foundations make it easier and more satisfying for people who want to support local projects. Individuals may prefer to give locally, but can find it quite difficult to know which charity to support; companies and local trusts can face an endless stream of charity appeals. Even though they may be sympathetic to giving something back to their local community, they may not have the resources to explore the most efficient and effective ways to help. Essex Community Foundation works with donors to help them channel support for maximum effect. Flexibility is key and the Foundation responds to donors' wishes with tailor made plans to meet short or long-term objectives.
Since it was set up in April 1996 by local people, Essex Community Foundation has
- Built an endowed fund of over £8 million, the income from which is distributed to voluntary and community organisations based in Essex, Southend and Thurrock
- distributed over £11 million to over 2,500 voluntary and community organisations
- twice commissioned the University of Essex to research into, and subsequently, publish reports on Community and Social Needs in Essex
- managed European Social Funding to address issues of social exclusion
- worked with Essex businesses to target more effectively their charitable donations
- established Named Funds, including the Essex & Suffolk Water Community Fund; the High Sheriffs' Fund and Essex County Council's Millennium Fund
- built close links with statutory and voluntary agencies concerned with social welfare
- researched into the training and development needs of the voluntary sector in Essex
Putting something back into the community
Community foundations draw support from a wide range of donors seeking to actively "put something back" into the community in which they live and work. Companies and individuals - perhaps those who have made money in an area - can achieve great satisfaction from entrusting their gifts for the community to the Foundation in the knowledge that their contribution is being managed efficiently and professionally. Foundations make it possible for individuals or companies to have their own identified charitable fund without needing to establish and manage their own trust.
Essex Community Foundation offers a professional, flexible service to donors so that whatever their area of interest or level of giving, the Foundation will help them to give effectively, and where appropriate, maximise the tax effective ways of giving. By creating a focus for people to become involved and be aware of what is happening in their community, the Foundation becomes a channel through which local people, agencies and businesses can support, and be informed about, local charitable needs. It works to bring together donors and voluntary organisations to increase awareness of each other's roles and contribution.
Additional benefits for a Named Fund
Where a significant donation is made, (a minimum of £25,000 pledged over time) a Named Fund can be established, carrying particular donor benefits:
- An alternative to setting up an independent family or company-named charitable trust
- Increased visibility for donations
- For companies, release of employee time spent on dealing with charitable requests
- For local charitable trusts, a service offered to assist trustees, and solicitors and accountants to administer grant-making in accordance with their clients' wishes
- Consolidation of capital funds from moribund charities based in the county
Effective grant-making
At the heart of the Foundation is a growing endowment fund that provides income for new grants each year, channelling help to where it is most needed. While this is the key objective of community foundations, Essex Community Foundation also seeks to attract funds which can be channelled into immediate grant aid to local groups. Criteria for grants are based on an analysis of local social needs.
The grants programme is publicised to potential applicants twice yearly, and local voluntary and community groups are asked to complete a concise application form. Every application is assessed before consideration by the Foundation's Grants Committee, and by donors if the grants are to be distributed from a donor advised Fund. Projects funded by the Foundation are monitored and their effectiveness evaluated so as to increase understanding of the impact that grant aid can have on local communities.
