A Giving Network for the next generation of North East philanthropists, created by the Community Foundation Tyne & Wear & Northumberland and supported by law firm Ward Hadaway, has awarded £16,104 to four local charities at its first ever giving event.
Giving Network members met the four projects at an inaugural giving event, where each of the four projects pitched to members for funds that had been raised during the course of the year.
The four charities who benefitted are:
- Cedarwood Trust, a community hub on the Meadowell Estate in North Tyneside received £4,806
- Gateshead Older People’s Assembly, a community hub for older people in Gateshead received £4,012
- Apna Ghar – a charity in South Tyneside working with women from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities received £3,780
- Washington Mind, which supports people with mental ill-health, received £3,506.
The Giving Network brings together young professionals who donate at least £30 a month for local causes. Donations are matched pound-for-pound by the Community Foundation and increased by Gift Aid meaning over £12,774 was raised collectively. In addition to this an additional £3,300 was raised on the night to create a total fund of £16,104.
Lisa Cappleman, Principal Advisor, Giving and Philanthropy at the Community Foundation, said:
“The Giving Network is a great way to meet new people, and give to causes in our community that do great work. The priority in our first year was to support organisations that tackle poverty, improve mental well-being and promote diversity. We’re absolutely delighted that through the network we have generated over £16,000 for charities working in these areas and hope that the network can continue to grow and do good.”
The Community Foundation’s Vital Signs research, which gathers data on community issues in our region, identified priority issues for our area as poverty, mental well-being and diversity. Members voted on their top four charities from a long-list of nine working to tackle poverty, improve mental well-being and increase diversity, and as part of the shortlisting process the four selected charities received free training on pitching and presenting to the network, courtesy of the Community Foundation with support from Ward Hadaway.
Jamie Martin, Senior Partner at Ward Hadaway, which is supporting the Network, said:
“We are comitted to giving back to the communities in our region and are proud to support the Community Foundation’s initiative to encourage others to do so too.”
The Giving Network has 23 members so far, meaning the Community Foundation is well on its way to its goal of bringing together 30 professionals to lead the next generation of philanthropists.
Wayne Dobson, Chief Executive at the Cedarwood Trust who received the lion’s share of the Giving Network funds said:
“For the past 39 years, The Cedarwood Trust has worked tirelessly to reduce the effect of poverty on the Meadow Well estate. We thank the Community Foundation and Giving Network for its support which will help us to do so much more in alleviating poverty especially within our Early Years provision.”
Simon Elliott, a member of the Giving Network said:
“The Giving Network event was a fantastic experience. We saw four brilliant charities from across Tyne & Wear with a range of good causes that they’re supporting. They’re doing brilliant work in mental well-being, on refugeeism, elderly people and helping our communities make a difference. It’s really moving to see what these people are doing, and the fact that we can do our bit with a small amount of money is just fantastic.”
For more information about the Giving Network visit www.communityfoundation.org.uk.