Guildford Philanthropy celebrates five years of local giving

Guildford Philanthropy, which was set up by Guildford Borough Council to encourage local giving is celebrating five years and £500,000 of fundraising. Guildford Philanthropy encourages local giving to tackle local need, and supports projects that deliver training opportunities, work experience, jobs and other benefits to local people who need help. The aim is to build confidence and self-esteem by enabling access into a working environment and by encouraging the development of new skills, through social enterprise initiatives. To encourage support, the Council match funds every £1 of private donations with a further 50p. Projects or charities that require funding support to help address these issues are invited to complete an “Expression of Interest” Form obtained from The Community Foundation for Surrey. Guildford Philanthropy was established and is administered by the Community Foundation for Surrey which reviews these grant applications on its behalf. Peter Cluff, Chairman of Guildford Philanthropy, said: "In the five years since it began, Guildford Philanthropy has raised over £500,000 and made 46 grants to local organisations that have, in turn, benefitted over 3,800 members of our Community. "The first grant was to help launch the Guildford Bike Project and the most recent was to the Matrix Trust, which supports local vulnerable young people, to raise funds for a social enterprise cafe.” Its fifth anniversary was celebrated at a recent event at Guildford Castle, at which a new initiative was also launched - the Corporate Ambassador initiative – which asks businesses that are based or operate locally to sign up to help the disadvantaged people in their community. It is seeking 25 local businesses to support and become part of Guildford Philanthropy, with 15 new Ambassadors unveiled at the anniversary event, with their donations of £2,500 being match-funded by the Council. Cllr Caroline Reeves, Leader of Guildford Borough Council, said: "I am delighted that we have been able to support many to gain access to work and new skills and I would like to thank all those that have worked hard to help people in our community. "Many give their time and expertise for free, meaning that the funds raised can all go to support local causes that provide opportunities for those that need it."   Image: Guildford Castle, by Matt Brown on Flickr, used under Creative Commons CC by 2.0

from UK Fundraising http://bit.ly/2F1xXvl