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What funds did Lichfield District Council donate to the We Love Lichfield Fund?
The We Love Lichfield Fund started with funds that were previously held by Lichfield District Council.
The funds were donated in the past for very specific purposes, which can no longer be delivered, but yet the funds cannot be spent on anything else. By donating them to the We Love Lichfield Fund, they are not being spent, but they are generating a higher rate of return as they are being invested as part of a larger pot, and the interest earned on them is then being used for good causes. £25,000 was gifted in this way by Lichfield District Council from the following dormant trusts: J S Brown Bequest, Old Bath Bequest, Sir Thomas Hewitt Bequest and Lichfield Provident Bequest. This was then match-funded by The Staffordshire Community Foundation through the Grassroots Initiative. Donations were also made by other local businesses and organisations
What’s the Community Foundation For Staffordshire?
The Community Foundation For Staffordshire (Registered charity number: 1091628. Company limited by guarantee number: 04220563) is an independent charity, started in 2001, and with currently nearly £6m in endowment funds. It is dedicated to strengthening local communities and tackling issues of disadvantage and exclusion, through the building of permanent endowments and the allocation of grants. It is one of nearly 60 community foundations throughout the United Kingdom.
The foundation is affiliated to the Community Foundation Network, an organisation that oversees national grants schemes laid out by various charitable bodies and the government. Every county in England has a community foundation and there are national community foundations in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and a national community foundation for the Republic of Ireland.
As the foundation is locally based, the team understands local community needs. It identifies local needs and mobilises local resources, and aims to work closely with all the voluntary sector support services and local authorities throughout Staffordshire for the betterment of the county, whilst remaining non-political. Plus the foundation’s board of trustees are drawn from across the county and have a wide variety of backgrounds and experience, from banking and finance, to business and the voluntary sector. This helps it to fully represent and understand the views of different sections of our county.
The team also distributes grants on behalf of government, national charities such as Comic Relief, and public organisations, as well as private donors and smaller endowment funds. Its expertise, comprehensive grant-making policies and procedures, and knowledge and understanding of the local community and its needs ensure that grants are targeted responsibly and carefully. Indeed, the Community Foundation For Staffordshire has Quality Accreditation Mark II status to standards endorsed by the Charity Commission.
What can be funded?
Grants are currently awarded between £100 and £500. This amount may change as the fund grows. Grants can be awarded to and for volunteer led community and voluntary groups. These groups must be based in Lichfield District (according to the boundaries of Lichfield District Council) and must meet the needs of, or provide a service for, the local community. They must have been active for at least 12 months prior to the date of application and have an income of less than £30,000 per year as an average of the past 3 years. Finally, their primary beneficiaries should be people ‐ i.e. not animals, plants or the environment and they can’t be solely commercial organisations, political parties, promote religion or benefit asylum seekers (for whom separate funding streams apply). For more information visit: www.staffsfoundation.org.uk/welovelichfield