The Good Exchange & Sovereign partner to offer £60,000 community investment fund

Not-for-profit online matching platform The Good Exchange has partnered with housing association Sovereign to launch a £60,000 fund for community investment across the south of England. Communities and charities in Hampshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and the Isle of Wight – located within a three-mile radius of the areas where Sovereign has homes – can apply for grants from the organisation’s Community Assets Fund via The Good Exchange platform. Grants will be awarded to support a variety of projects, from community events to upgrading community centres. Additionally, because The Good Exchange platform automatically matches those seeking funding with charitable trusts, corporate givers, fundraisers and public who want to give to those causes, those applying for funds from Sovereign could also be paired with other charitable givers. Heather Bowman, Sovereign’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “We’re working with The Good Exchange across our geography, so that we can support small community organisations to develop, sustain and become ‘anchors’, meeting their community’s aspirations.” “We’ve committed to increasing our funding for communities to £3m a year, because we know that when the drive and passion of a community is harnessed, nothing can stop people from achieving their goals.” Ed Gairdner, COO of The Good Exchange, added: “We’re delighted to welcome Sovereign to our growing list of funding organisations and will be working with them to encourage more good causes in their target regions to apply for funding and to facilitate strategic collaboration with the goal of adding significant value to the Association in their support of multiple communities. “We’ve also seen time and again the power of match funding in maximising the ultimate impact of charitable grants, which in this case should provide a real boost to the new Community Assets Fund as it launches next month.”  

from UK Fundraising https://ift.tt/2N9EJV1