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.
Giving young people a racing start
7th February 2022
A budding sports star from Clacton has received a welcome funding boost to support his dreams of becoming a professional racing driver.
Calum Foster, who is 13 and has autism, found himself unable to afford the £1,000 needed to buy specialist safety equipment, including rib protection, a new helmet, gloves and boots, that would allow him to continue his race training and take part in competitions.
After hearing about the local independent charitable trust, Essex Community Foundation, and the funds they have available to support talented sporting individuals, Calum contacted them to see if they could help.
Calum’s mum, Sara Foster, said: “While I had seen details of grants, I had never applied before as usually they are for charities or businesses, but ECF offer grants for individuals, so we applied.”
“When we heard our application had been successful, we were in complete shock and over the moon. Racing means the world to Calum and keeping him as protected as possible is paramount. Thanks to this grant we can purchase the equipment he needs. We can’t thank ECF enough for their support.”
The funding boost of £1,000 came from the Annabel and Gerald Malton Charitable Fund and the Essex and Southend Sports Charitable Fund which are just two of the charitable funds managed by ECF.
Perry Norton, Head of Development at ECF, said: “Some of our donors want their Funds with us to help young people further their talent and achieve their ambitions in sport, music or performing arts. We connect them with young people in Essex, like Calum, who need support.”
If you would like to discuss how ECF can help you or your business support voluntary and community organisations or individuals in Essex, please contact us 01245 355947. You can also click here for more information.
More than £43,000 in grants awarded to community organisations across Essex
4th February 2022
The region’s largest independent retailer, the East of England Co-op, has awarded £43,978 in grants to 16 organisations supporting the local community in Essex, in the latest round of funding from its Community Cares Fund. The funding is expected to support nearly 20,000 local people.
The East of England Co-op set up the fund in April 2020 in response to the pandemic, and together with this latest round will have donated more than £490,000 to support local communities. The funding is supplemented by East of England Co-op members who contribute through their annual dividend.
Grants were awarded to local voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations that deliver projects supporting community action, food justice or mental health and well-being.
Beneficiaries of the £84,000 awarded across the region this round have ranged from community gardens to counselling services, reaching thousands of people in the community in Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk.
One of the beneficiaries is Inclusion Ventures, who have received a £4,500 grant to create a new community garden in Jaywick, Essex. The new space will be used by both children and adults to grow fruit and vegetables to help promote healthy eating and encourage appreciation for food.
Project Director, Sarah Hannass, comments: “News of this funding was so welcome in January; what a great start to the year. It will enable us to bring some warmth and nourishment to a variety of activities for our children, families and seniors from our brand new community hub in Jaywick.”
Lawford Church of England Primary School in Tendring has also received £1,500 to replace raised beds that help children’s understanding of gardening and how to produce healthy vegetables. The grant is awarded as the school is projected to double in size over the next 7 years.
Headteacher Abbie Fairbairn commented: “I am so pleased that we will be able to replace the raised beds that were lost through the construction process for our new building. The opportunity to support children’s wellbeing by gardening and making the links to where our food comes from will be an invaluable part of the support we can give our children for many years to come.”
Niall O’Keeffe, joint chief executive of the East of England Co-op commented: “Our Community Cares Fund is as important as ever to help support our communities through this challenging time. It was an incredibly difficult decision to choose the recipients as we once again had a large number of applications from lots of impactful and inspiring projects. We look forward to seeing all the work come to life and make a genuine difference at a critical time.”
The East of England Co-op works with the Essex Community Foundation to distribute and deliver the Community Cares Fund.
The next round of funding from the East of England Co-op Community Cares Fund is due to open in late Spring.
If you are in need of funding before then, please visit our apply for support page.
To find out how we can help you to support charities and community groups, click here or call Perry Norton on 01245 355947.
Make a difference where you live – Trustee opportunity
19th January 2022
For over 25 years we have worked passionately to develop the charitable sector in Essex, Southend and Thurrock. We want to create a culture of generosity and support, inspiring charitable giving to provide vital funding to voluntary and community organisations working at the heart of our communities.
On average each year we provide grants to over 400 large and small organisations who are meeting the needs of their communities and making a real difference for local people, with funds provided by over 170 donors and national schemes.
We are recruiting for a number of voluntary positions to join our Board of Trustees to help shape our work now and in the future.
Our Trustees tell us that they feel they can make a real difference through their involvement and applying their skills to support and develop our work. There are a number of skills that we don’t currently have on our Board, so you might be able to support us if you have one of the following skills: accountancy, digital engagement with stakeholders, marketing and communications, and legal skills.
We want to ensure that our Board better reflects the diversity of those who belong to the communities that we support and so we particularly welcome interest and applications from Black, Asian and ethnic minorities, people under 40 years of age, people with disabilities and LGBTQ+ people.
This could be your first Trustee role, or you could already have some experience as a Trustee. We have a full trustee induction process, ongoing training, and a mentor scheme to support you through your first years. You will have the opportunity to develop new skills and knowledge of the charity sector through participating in the work of our Board committees.
Our Board meets four times a year, and participation can be in person or virtually. Trustee positions are unpaid, but we don’t expect trustees to be out of pocket for carrying out their role, so expenses are paid.
How to apply:
Applying couldn’t be simpler. Click here to view our Trustee Recruitment Pack.
The deadline for applications is 5pm on Wednesday 2 March.
We would also like to offer you an opportunity to have an informal conversation with one of our current trustees and/or to attend an informal gathering of trustees to find out more about the role. Just email recruitment@essexcf.org.uk and we will arrange this.
We look forward to hearing from you.