A decade of charitable giving
14th March 2022
Over the past decade Saffron Building Society has awarded £100,000 to a wide range of local charities and voluntary groups.
In 2011, the local mutual established the Saffron Building Society Community Fund with the independent charitable trust, Essex Community Foundation, to support local communities now and in the future.
Claire Hunnable, Community Business Partner from Saffron, said: “This is a significant milestone which we are pleased to celebrate, but it also reflects the continuing needs in our local communities.
“Setting up our endowed charitable fund with ECF 10 years ago has enabled us to bring all our giving under one banner and have a long-term approach. ECF takes care of all the administration and presents us with details of groups looking for support. A panel made up of our staff and members are then involved in discussions about which grants we will award.”
This year, the Fund has awarded £19,327 to nine local organisations. Among them are those that are helping people with a disability, are bringing people together to tackle isolation and supporting those experiencing financial hardship.
One of the recent funding recipients is Ending Life’s Taboo which offers rapid access to counselling and vital support for young adults aged 18 – 40 who have been told they have a life-limiting or end of life diagnosis.
Another grant went to the community Toy Library in Colchester, which gives local families access to free toys to aid the development and overall well-being of children. This funding has helped to cover their rent and insurance costs.
Claire added: “Every year, our Fund supports charities that are local to our branches and provide an essential service to people in their community.
“Working with ECF is helping us to learn about the wide range of charities and voluntary organisations and understand where our funding can have the most impact.
“Helping smaller, lesser-known charities is really important to us and our Fund is just one way that we give support. We have launched Saffron Community Link a community space in Saffron Walden that can be used free of charge by local charities.”
To find out about ECF and how your business can give back locally in Essex, click here.
Enhancing the environment in Dedham Vale and Stour Valley
Charities and community groups that are helping to enhance the environment in the Dedham Vale and Stour Valley areas are encouraged to apply to the Stour Valley Environment Fund (SVEF) for grants to support their work.
The Fund was set up by the Dedham Vale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and Stour Valley, and is managed by the independent charitable trust Essex Community Foundation.
It provides grants of up to £2,500 to charities and voluntary groups that help to enhance the local environment, on both Essex and Suffolk sides of the river Stour.
Since the Fund was set up 10 years ago, it has awarded nearly £30,000 to a wide range of charitable groups that work to maintain the area as one of outstanding natural beauty. The Fund can support core running costs, capital items, and project costs.
A previous grant recipient is Friends of East Town Park. They received £1,500 to replace a wheelchair accessible viewing platform that overlooks the River Stour, at Haverhill. This has helped residents to connect with the environment and provided a calming space people could visit throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Another supported charity, A Rocha UK, reported a 200% increase in visitors using the public footpaths in Foxearth Meadows during the COVID-19 lockdowns, which is home to 50 species of bird, 20 species of dragonfly, and over 150 different species of plants. We awarded them £1,250 to buy the gardening equipment needed to maintain Foxearth’s waterways and help get the local community involved in maintaining the area.
Helen, who volunteers alongside her son Jonathan at Foxearth Meadows, shared how beneficial the project has been for them both: “Jonathan is autistic and has severe learning difficulties, but loves being active and being outdoors, so the volunteer mornings have been brilliant for him.
“What has blessed me most has been to see him regarded as a valuable part of the team and treated as a regular person.”
Also supported is Witham Boys’ and Girls’ Brigade who received £1,400 to replace a boardwalk in Peter’s Vale that had become unsafe. They used 100% recycled plastic decking boards instead of traditional wood.
Who can apply:
How to apply
The application guidelines for the SVEF Fund can be found on the Dedham Vale & Stour Valley website here
Donations can be made to the SVEF Fund here.
Grants help tackle pandemic impact in Braintree district
Grants have been awarded to six Braintree-based charities to help hundreds of local people to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic.
Parents who have struggled with loneliness, children who are anxious about returning to school and older people who have not been able to enjoy fun activities with others are among those who will benefit from the Braintree District and Eastlight Community Fund.
The fund, set up in 2015 by Braintree District Council and Eastlight Community Homes with Essex Community Foundation (ECF), has now awarded £1 million to local charities and causes.
The latest awards include £26,700 for Families in Focus, which provides advice and emotional support to Braintree families who have children with special educational needs or disabilities.
Families supported by the charity include those who have struggled with reduced income during the pandemic and many whose children have struggled to return to education because of increased anxiety.
Home Start Essex’s funding boost of £13,210 means 60 parents and carers in Braintree who are facing challenges with raising young children will attend weekly peer support sessions over the next two years.
While their children play, parents and carers, many of whom have struggled with isolation and loneliness during the pandemic, have the opportunity to connect with others while receiving support and enjoying well-being sessions.
The Wilderness Foundation’s Brave Futures programme, which will receive £38,400, offers group therapy out in nature to people of all ages who have experienced grief, trauma, addiction, isolation and other experiences which have affected their mental health.
A spokesperson from the charity said: “We are incredibly grateful to the Braintree District and Eastlight Community Fund for their support which will make a huge difference to so many vulnerable people who seek our support each year.”
The £15,000 grant awarded to Halstead Day Centre is a “tremendous boost” for residents aged 60 or over facing isolation, according to manager Veronica Harman. The grant will fund fun activities ranging from bingo games to music classes as well as morale-boosting trips to the centre’s beach hut in Brightlingsea.
A £26,841 grant will help Witham Boys’ and Girls’ Brigade turn 11 acres of forest near Twinstead into a space where children from across the region can discover the great outdoors. The funding will help make the area safe and accessible and allow the brigade to hire an education officer to put on activities such as “minibeast hunts” and building birdboxes.
Hearing Help Essex will receive £22,110 to help fund Hearing Help Sessions in the district, where trained volunteers clean and maintain NHS hearing aids while offering advice and support. Last year, the charity helped 597 of the 20,000 Braintree district residents with hearing difficulties and visited a further 67 homes to meet residents who could not travel to them.
James Green, Eastlight’s Community Investment Director, said: “Charities are doing brilliant work in Braintree district and it’s our privilege to support some inspiring organisations who are helping residents begin connecting again and recover from the impacts the pandemic has had on so many.”
Cllr Frankie Ricci, Cabinet Member for Communities at Braintree District Council, said: “The Braintree District and Eastlight Community Fund is a great example of partnership working and provides grants to wonderful causes throughout the district, helping to provide support to those who need it most as we work to recover from the disruption Covid has had to us all across the past two years. Along with our Councillor Community Grants, they are a great way of providing much needed funding to community groups and organisations.”
Caroline Taylor, chief executive of ECF, said: “There are so many smaller, local voluntary organisations that work in the heart of Braintree communities. By working with the decision-making panel for this Fund, we are able to give many of them the financial support they need so they can either continue their work or expand it”.
If your charitable project in Braintree District is in need of financial support, please call us on 01245 356018. You can see a selection of what we have funded previously here.
High Sheriff Awards celebrates the work of local charities
3rd March 2022
Local charities and voluntary organisations that contribute to community safety and crime prevention received thanks and recognition at the prestigious High Sheriffs’ Awards.
Among the projects receiving support are an innovative digital platform to help people who are homeless to access support, a counselling service for women and children who have experienced domestic abuse, activities to keep young people off the streets and a project to raise awareness of drink “spiking”.
Around 180 guests attended this year’s ceremony held at Hylands House in Chelmsford with support from Essex County Council and Chelmsford City Council. BBC Essex presenters, Steve Scruton and Ian Wyatt, announced the award winners and conversations were broadcast live throughout the Evening Show.
Trophies, certificates and grants totalling £40,500 were presented by the outgoing High Sheriff of Essex, Simon Brice.
The grants came from the High Sheriffs’ Fund, which was established to give credit to local initiatives that address crime, community safety and anti-social behaviour, and is managed by the independent charitable trust Essex Community Foundation (ECF).
Simon Brice, the 841st of High Sheriff of Essex, has visited voluntary organisations around the County during his year of office. Simon said, “Over the last 12 months I have met with over 100 voluntary and community organisations across the County.
“It has been a privilege to learn about the wide scope of their work and I hope that I have helped to raise their profile and recognise their dedication and commitment to improve the lives of local people and make Essex a safer place.”
He added, “It is wonderful that so many people from across the County were able to come together to celebrate the achievements of our amazing voluntary and community groups in Essex. This is nothing less than they thoroughly deserve”.
The five main Award winners are:
- The High Sheriffs’ Cup was presented to UTurn4Support. Their youth workers are helping young people in Clacton to build life skills and develop resilience to prevent them from becoming a victim of crime. They also received £3,000.
- The Essex County Council Bowl which recognises voluntary organisations that work in partnership to deliver programmes, was awarded to Safe Steps. Based in Southend, Safe Steps works in partnership with Essex Police, local agencies and other charities to help women and children who have experienced domestic abuse get the support they need. They also received £2,000.
- The Essex County Fire & Rescue Shield, which recognises an organisation’s work with young people, was awarded to Kaos Youth Club. The Rochford youth club has become a focal point for young people, playing a significant role in keeping them off the streets and helping them to use their free time positively. A grant of £1,500 will help cover their running costs.
- The Essex Police Cup was given to African Families in the UK which provides activities and support to young people from ethnic communities in Colchester. They also educate them in how to keep safe and make positive life choices which could affect their future. A grant of £3,000 will support this work.
- The High Sheriffs Shield has been awarded to Open Road. This is in recognition of their outstanding work helping people who are struggling with an addiction, and for their valuable outreach work on the volunteer-run SOS buses. A grant of £2,000 will support their latest awareness and prevention campaign on the issue of drink “spiking”.
Since the High Sheriffs’ Fund came under ECF’s management in 1997 it has distributed grants totalling nearly £700,000.
Caroline Taylor, chief executive of ECF, said, “We are delighted to manage the High Sheriffs’ Fund and work with successive High Sheriffs’, to increase the amount of funding available each year to support voluntary organisations that contribute to community safety in Essex.”
On top of the £40,500 being presented from the High Sheriff’s Fund, ECF will award an additional £132,000 from other funds under its management.
The High Sheriffs’ Award Scheme recognises community initiatives which address crime, community safety and anti-social behaviour. The office of High Sheriff is an independent non-political Royal appointment for a single year. The High Sheriff receives no expenses and the role comes at no cost to the public purse.
View a list of all organisations that received grants from the High Sheriffs’ Fund 2022 here.
To view and download photos of the High Sheriff of Essex with certificates and trophies for each of the groups, visit our Flickr page here.
What our data tells us
15th February 2022
Andy Payne Worpole, Head of Programmes at ECF, reflects on the last six months of our grantmaking:
As we marked the halfway point of our current financial year, we have analysed our grantmaking data to look at where our funding is going in the County and the issues that we are helping local voluntary and community organisations to tackle.
The data reveals interesting trends, highlights emerging issues and helps inform our decision making, and that of our fundholders.
Findings include:
- The number of applications we received from charities requesting funding to provide mental health counselling has increased from 14% last year to 21%. This reflects the ongoing impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on individuals of all ages and includes grants to charities that offer bereavement counselling. Not only are charities experiencing an increase in demand for mental health support, those that have not previously offered counselling, have added this service as part of their offering in response to local needs.
- 43% of those funded have less than £50k income per annum. This highlights our commitment to supporting grassroots organisations.
- 50% of grants awarded for core costs went to organisations with an income of under £50k per annum. Funding core costs remains important to us as it provides stability and enables groups to focus on delivering their work to meet the needs of their communities.
- One third of all applications received were from organisations that were previously unknown to us. This is important as we are always trying to reach out to new groups and encourage them to talk to us about their work and their financial needs.
- The largest proportion of grants awarded went to voluntary organisations working with children and young people. This reflects the wishes of many of our fundholders and includes education and employment skills, after school activities and community engagement activities.
- The number of larger and multi-year grants awarded has increased. This was, in part, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and our funding programmes that helped groups respond and recover.
These are just some of the highlights from the first six months of our financial year. It is reassuring to see that our grantmaking is responding to emerging needs of local communities.
We have also just completed the next stage of our Community Listening Project. This will help us to further understand the needs of our local voluntary and community organisations and consider how our funding can support their work. We look forward to sharing the findings in due course.
Funding available for Southend community groups and charities
9th February 2022
Charities and community groups working in Southend-on-Sea are encouraged to apply to the Southend Community Fund for grants to support their work.
The Fund, is just one of 170 charitable funds that are managed by Essex Community Foundation. Since it was set up 20 years ago, grants totalling over £400,000 have been awarded to a wide range of voluntary and community organisations that are providing vital help to people living in Southend-on-Sea.
Applications are assessed by ECF who then works with a panel of local people to help make decisions about which requests to support.
Among the recipients from previous years is Friends of Dolphin Court (Livability) who received £2,250 to buy a beach accessible wheelchair to help members of their residential care home to enjoy as much freedom as possible at the seaside.
Brenda Verrall, the retired Chair of Dolphin Court, said: “Having an all-terrain wheelchair is a brilliant addition to what we can offer our clients, and the Southend Fund’s generous contribution has meant we were able to buy it far sooner than would otherwise have been possible.”
She added, “Previously those who are wheelchair bound would have had to stay at the home and miss out on the beach fun. We are so grateful”.
Trust Links received £7,000 to set up a community shed project in Shoeburyness to help alleviate isolation and improve the mental health of residents.
Southend Foodbank were awarded £7,700 towards the salary of a project manager who has assisted with their expansion due to increased need during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Andy Payne Worpole, Head of Programmes at ECF, said: “We welcome applications for any charitable work that is improving the lives of local people in Southend-on-Sea and are particularly keen to hear from local organisations that have not applied to us before.
“We manage over 170 charitable funds that can give a wide range of support including core costs, project funding and community activities. Our grants team are on hand to discuss your work, answer any questions you may have and help you to access the funds we have available”.
The deadline for this Fund was 5pm on Tuesday 15 March. Decisions will be made in May.
If you are a local voluntary or community organisation in need of financial support, please call us on 01245 356018.
Donations can be made to the Southend Community Fund by contacting ECF on 01245 355947.