The local Community Foundation will miss out on almost £100,000 if it cannot find East Yorkshire donors by the end of the month
The Two Ridings Community Foundation, which supports community projects across the East Riding of Yorkshire as well as Hull, York and North Yorkshire, has to raise £195,000 across the East Riding by the end of March to trigger a match-funding pay-out from the government.
The charity, which has distributed grants of over £5m since its launch in 2001, supports a range of community projects from helping the elderly stay warm and healthy during the winter with the Surviving Winter Campaign to helping local people who are disadvantaged via their pot of Red Nose Day funding.
But now the charity is struggling to meet targets for the government-funded Community First Challenge. Chair Philip Ingham DL said if they don’t manage to raise the funds they’ll miss out on over £97,500 from the government.
“This money should be available to support the East Riding of Yorkshire,” he said. “It seems a terrible shame that it might go unclaimed when it could be spent addressing disadvantage and supporting creative projects in East Yorkshire.
“The problem is that a lot of donors are holding back due to the current climate, but of course the current climate means small charities and community groups need our support more than ever. They, and their beneficiaries, suffer disproportionately from cuts and difficult circumstances.
“So we are appealing to businesses, families, individuals and groups that want to help their community, to claim this cash incentive and the tax benefits too.”
The Government has pledged to contribute £1 for every £2 donated to the Two Ridings Community Foundation to encourage both businesses and individuals to make charitable donations in their area.
Two Ridings Grant Manager Jan Norton said, “Community First was created to challenge donors to give locally and in return, the government rewards them by increasing their donation by 50%. It is a fantastic opportunity to create a fund that will support East Yorkshire and address its needs for years to come.
“Last year alone we distributed just under £60,000 to a variety of groups and projects in the East Riding, such as theatre projects for people with learning difficulties; sports, trips, rural play areas and skate parks for children and young people; warm clothing and food for arthritis sufferers; refurbishing village halls; and outings for veterans.
“We would like to be able to keep supporting fantastic projects like these with grants for generations but need donations to do so.”
East Yorkshire residents can donate to the East Yorkshire Community First Fund which will support local community and voluntary groups at the forefront of tackling community needs across the county. Or, donors can set up a named fund, which allows them to select the types of projects they wish to support.
All donations will go into endowed funds that will generate income for the East Riding of Yorkshire for years to come.
For details see www.trcf.org.uk or contact the Two Ridings Community Foundation on 01759 377 400 or at office@trcf.org.uk