We have come a long way since our humble beginnings. The first community foundation originated in 1914. It was the brainchild of Cleveland, Ohio lawyer, Frederick Harris Goff, who was concerned about philanthropic gifts which had outlived their original purposes. His idea was to develop charitable endowments that would be flexible enough to respond to changing community needs.
The National Emergencies Trust launched in 2019 as a single, trusted place to donate in the event of a national emergency. Within four hours of a disaster, the Trust will mobilise an emergency fundraising appeal and start working with local funding partners, like community foundations, to distribute funds quickly and fairly, to those most in need.
While on my travels in Chile to visit my family in April 2023, I also had the absolute pleasure of meeting with Matías Sáenz Maritano from Comunidad de Organizaciones Solidarias (COS) and Rodrigo Villar from Centro de Filantropia e Inversiones Sociales (CEFIS).
Tuesday 27th June 2023 saw the official launch of the Northamptonshire Anchor Institutions Network, bringing together organisations who have a significant impact in the county to work together to address important social and economic inequalities to make Northamptonshire a great place for people to live, work and visit.
Northamptonshire Community Foundation has been administering dedicated funds on behalf of KHL Big Local for nine years to support the Hazel Leys and Kingswood Estates in Corby. I went on a walkabout with KHL partner and Community Foundation Ambassador George Hill to reflect on the work that’s been achieved through the fund and some of the ongoing challenges for supporting local neighbourhoods.
Last week, we celebrated a huge milestone: we've awarded over £20 million in grants since the foundation’s inception in 2001!
As part of this weekend’s Coronation celebrations, The Big Help Out will take place on Monday 8th May. This nation-wide initiative will highlight the impact of volunteering, and the importance of giving back to your local community. Residents are being encouraged to sign up and help out in their local communities.
Charities and community groups across Northamptonshire are hosting various activities, from flower festivals to Moses basket-making sessions, to show local residents the great work that’s being done by organisations across the county, and to demonstrate volunteering opportunities on our doorstep.
As the financial year ends, we’re extending a huge, heartfelt thank you to all our donors.
Thanks to you, this has been our biggest grant-making year since Northamptonshire Community Foundation was first established 22 years ago, outside of delivering emergency funds during the Covid-19 pandemic. We’ve awarded over £2.5 million in grants.
The McCarthy-Dixon Foundation was established by a grant from the Northamptonshire Community Foundation during the pandemic. One simple phone call from Teresa, the landlady of the Swan and Helmet pub, set off the trajectory from a local tavern to be transformed into a powerhouse of food aid and social clubs.
In October 2022, 18 community foundations attended the Romanian Community Foundations National Conference, which coincided with the 10th anniversary of the Romanian Federation of Community Foundations (FFCR). The FFCR represents community foundations at a national level, supporting its members, much like our national equivalent: UK Community Foundations.
June is a time to recognise and celebrate the many different characteristics and identities that make up who we are as individuals and contributes to the diversity of Northamptonshire. This month there have been events and awareness days such as Pride, Power of Youth Day, Windrush Day, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller history month, Refugee week and many more. Therefore, it is only fitting that we use this time to focus on UN SDG 10: Reduce Inequalities.
These are challenging times for many living within our local communities amidst an uncertain and worrying era in the world. It’s at difficult moments like this, that’s it’s reassuring to know we are connected to a global network of 1800 community foundations. Each is striving hard in their locality to harness the power of local philanthropy and generosity to ensure small charities, community groups and caring residents can help support and sustain services that change lives and provide a safety net of support.