We opened our Poverty Hurts Fund at the end of October 2023, to support Gloucestershire’s most vulnerable people with food, heating and energy costs, clothing and to support organisations offering essential advice to deal with the ongoing high costs of living.

Within two weeks we received applications for over £50,000 from organisations on the frontline of supporting those in need across Gloucestershire.

The stories we read in the applications were of children, young people, families, older people and people living with disabilities across Gloucestershire facing great need – for food, for warmth, for shelter, for advice and for emotional support.

We have been able to award the following grants in November/December 2023:

Cheltenham Housing Aid Centre – to deliver their housing advice service to the most vulnerable people in Cheltenham

Cirencester Opportunity Group – to offer support to the families who use their services with essential items and energy

The Door Youth Project, Stroud – to offer disadvantaged young people access to personal hygiene products and warm coats

The Family Haven, Gloucester – to offer a hot nutritious meal to the children and families they work with

Goals Beyond Grass – to support a warm space and social hub for vulnerable people in Churchdown

GL11, Stroud district – to support the coordination and delivery of warm hubs in the south of Stroud district

GL Communities – to run a community cafe with advice services in Matson and Robinswood

Gloucester City Mission – to run activities that improve the mental health and emotional wellbeing of homeless people in Gloucester

Gloucester Foodbank – to support additional purchases of food to meet increased demand

Heart Heroes – to support to vulnerable families supporting children with heart conditions through the cost-of-living crisis by providing financial support with energy costs, food parcels and transport.

Listening Post – to support counselling services for people with complex needs in deprived areas of Cheltenham

Lumbs Educational Foundation – to support students struggling with the increased cost of living

The Keepers – towards the provision of a warm space and food over the Christmas period

Taynton and Tibberton WI – towards the provision of toiletries in their foodbank

We continue to receive applications for funds from across the county and are processing these as quickly as we can.

“Charities all over Gloucestershire are coming to us for vital funding to help people who need it urgently. It’s absolutely essential that we raise the funds to help them.  We can’t let them down, we must ensure that people’s basic needs around heating and eating are met in the face of poverty.”  Talitha Nelson, CEO.

In just over a year (since October 2022), through our Cost of Living and Poverty Hurts grant programmes, we have funded 80 grants totalling almost £140,000 to organisations supporting vulnerable people who would otherwise be isolated, hungry, cold and lonely. Your support has paid for:

• heating grants for elderly and vulnerable people
• over 8,000 meals
• running costs for more than 25 warm spaces
• funds to purchase basic hygiene products and clothing

We are grateful for every donation given to the Poverty Hurts appeal – the need is very significant across the county. You can read more and donate to our appeal here.

The post Gloucestershire responds: Poverty Hurts Grants Awarded appeared first on Gloucestershire CF.

 We have already received some really interesting feedback – the bit I have most enjoyed reading is what makes a strong community and what we need in the future – these are just a few of the fabulous responses:

 “A strong community is resilient, where residents look out for each other and neighbourliness exists . Residents come together to discuss concerns and issues and support each other to offer solutions working in partnership with community organisations to make a difference.”

 “A strong community is tolerant and supportive, and listens to the quietest voices rather than the loudest. A strong community is actively engaged in improving common spaces, rather than for the betterment of private property.”

 “A strong community is one that looks after its weakest and most vulnerable, a community that faces challenges together and shares its successes.”

 “Working together for shared causes with a sense of belonging, group action and interaction, kindness and empathy.”

 “We need better representation of minority communities, proper funding of infrastructure and anchor organisations, and appropriate seed funding and support for community projects.”

 The purpose of the survey is to find out more about the needs of communities in Gloucestershire and the impact of the Cost of Living Crisis as well as understanding how we can help to strengthen communities and better support voluntary organisations in the county.  This really helps to inform our work in the future and also helps to give communities a voice and platform.

 We have also heard from groups who have found completing the survey really useful to and though provoking for their own work:

“It was great way for me to reflect on this busy project I run and take stock of where we are and where we want to go.”

 To build the best picture of what is needed we really need your help

If you haven’t already, we would be so grateful if you could complete our survey to help feed into the future support we provide to communities and the charitable sector in Gloucestershire.  If you have completed the survey, please consider if there is anybody that you could share this link with to help us reach more respondents (especially those people who may not have previously applied to GCF for funding)

Please click HERE or paste this link into your browser https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/GCFStrengtheningCommunitiesSurvey  The survey should take less than 15 minutes to complete and will be a huge help to us.

Thank you so much for your help, with our best wishes

Talitha, Lucy and Sarah (the GCF team)

The post Strengthening Communities Research appeared first on Gloucestershire CF.

IVAR are calling on funders to adopt simpler, more flexible practices that make life easier for those they fund, in light of the ongoing uncertainty caused by Covid-19. Their ambition is to see these commitments extend beyond the crisis: to become standard practice in the sector.

We are one of over 100 funders who have signed up to the eight commitments and joined a community with other funders and charities to improve practice together. 

As a group, we are all working towards the following eight commitments:

1. Don’t waste time – funders will be open, transparent and clear about all of their priorities, requirements and exclusions.

2. Ask relevant questions – funders will test their application forms to ensure clarity, relevance and avoid repetition, only collecting information that genuinely informs a funding decision.

3. Accept risk – funders will clearly explain how risk is assessed and be realistic about how much assurance applicants can provide.

4. Act with urgency – funders will aim to make decisions as quickly as possible by publishing and sticking to timeframes to ensure they work at a pace that meets the needs of applicant.

5. Be open – funders will provide feedback, including reasons for rejections. They will analyse and share relevant data, including publishing success rates.

6. Enable flexibility – funders will aim to give unrestricted funding; where they can’t (or are a specialist funder), they will ensure their funding is as flexible as possible.

7. Communicate with purpose – a funders contact is positive and purposeful. They will be realistic about their time commitments.

8. Be proportionate – funders will ensure that their formal reporting requirements are well understood, proportionate and meaningful. 

With this in mind, we have already worked to streamline our application forms this year and are now working on improving our reporting forms.  We aim to be honest and open in our communications as well as being as flexible as possible whenever we are able.  Our small team wants to provide the best possible and most supportive service to you that we can.

You can see who else has signed up, read more about these eight commitments and sign up through IVAR’s website: www.ivar.org.uk/flexible-funders (click on the Gloucestershire Community Foundation logo to see our particular commitments at GCF)

Join the conversation on Twitter using #FlexibleFunders and referring to the ‘open and trusting grant-making initiative’. Do let us know how you think we are doing.

The post IVAR – Open and Trusting Grantmaking appeared first on Gloucestershire CF.

Our generous donors have made it possible for us to help those in need for many years. We do this by supporting local charities and communities that work directly with the most vulnerable in our county.

Winter is a particularly hard time for people in normal circumstances. Fuel prices are rising and the pandemic continues to cause stress. That’s why it is vital that we continue our essential work this winter and support more people than we have ever before.

Last year, one in ten households was living in fuel poverty throughout the country. “Excess Winter Deaths” were the highest since 1975.

Shockingly, Gloucestershire was one of the worst hit counties in the country.

Your donations will make sure that people warm and fed this winter. By donating, you will also let people throughout our community know that they are not alone.

Thanks to the generosity of people like you, Surviving Winter appeals have changed the lives of vulnerable people across the county.

All money raised goes directly to those who need our help the most.

We understand that this has been a difficult year, and many people are not in a position to make donations. If you feel able to donate to help those in need in Gloucestershire, please visit the donations page

The post Surviving Winter Appeal Launch December 2021 appeared first on Gloucestershire CF.