Hello
I’m Peter Cluff, Chairman of Guildford Philanthropy and this is the third instalment of my blog, a place to keep you up to date on everything we are doing and will be doing to help and transform the lives of those in need in our special borough.
Philanthropy is defined as the desire to promote the well-being of others, and since its establishment by Guildford Borough Council and the Community Foundation for Surrey in early 2014, Guildford Philanthropy has sought to raise awareness and improve the lives of disadvantaged people across the borough.
The last 12 months will be remembered as a year that most people want to forget – or wish never happened. The human, economic and social costs are still being counted, and will be felt for years to come. It is also the year that Guildford Philanthropy, thanks to its donors, volunteers and the council, came of age and rose to the unprecedented challenge of the pandemic.
Since the start of 2020 we have awarded an incredible 13 grants totalling £141,406.
In the past year we have:
Worked with Foodwise TLC to help provide over 30,000 cooked meals to over 300 vulnerable families from the start of the pandemic to the end of August 2020. We also trained volunteers to work in Foodwise kitchens and deliver the food. We continue to work with Foodwise TLC providing meals and other support in 2021.
Supported a number of local charities to help them continue to raise funds and support those in need during the pandemic. These include:
• Guildford Action for Community Care
• North Guildford Food Bank
• The Matrix Trust
• The Big Leaf Foundation
• Helped Surrey Lifelong Learning Partnership establish and expand its Community Hub activities
Helped to fund a new Business Manager for mental health charity Oakleaf Enterprise to increase the opportunities available to its clients.
Provided 50 laptops for students at Kings College as well as equipment for Guildford Grove Primary School and Christ’s College, to help digitally disadvantaged children continue their studies from home. We are continuing to help local schools and colleges with online lessons.
Continued to help carers through Carers Support Guildford and Guildford Young Carers, two funds managed by Guildford Philanthropy to support an often hidden and under-represented part of society.
This has only been possible thanks to the hard work of the Guildford Philanthropy Panel – run entirely by volunteers – as well as the incredible generosity of our donors and the inspirational match-funding provided by Guildford Borough Council.
In the last year, over £250,000 has been pledged to allow the grant programme to be delivered and the endowment fund to be increased, from which future grants can be provided.
This has also been made possible by the success of our Corporate Ambassador scheme, which was launched in 2019. We now have 25 local organisations supporting us with an annual donation and in many cases helping us with volunteers, mentoring and other free services.
You can read more about our Corporate Ambassadors here. Most of our 25 ambassadors have signed up for a second year, and some have increased their donations to give us extra support in this most challenging year.
Click for information on how to become a Corporate Ambassador.
Guildford Philanthropy has now raised over £850,000 to create opportunities and tackle poverty and improve the lives of people across our borough. We have much to be proud of, thanks to the vision and commitment of the council, the work of our volunteers and generosity of our donors and Ambassadors.
There is, though, so much more that needs to be done. The events of the past year have only increased disadvantage and social inequality, and it is our collective responsibility to address this.
