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| Norfolk Community Foundation
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Welcome
It is with regret that I have to announce that Kate Kingdon the founder director of Norfolk Community Foundation is to stand down after four successful years at the helm of the countywide charity so that she can devote more time to her family.
She helped to establish the Foundation in January 2005 with initial funding from Norfolk County Strategic Partnership.
Kate, who left the Foundation at the beginning of March said: "I am very proud of the achievements of Norfolk Community Foundation in its first few years. It is already making a difference where help is needed most across the county.
"I am very sad to be leaving the organisation but have no doubts that the great staff team with the support and commitment of our Trustees and volunteers under the Chairmanship of Theodore Agnew will continue to grow and thrive. The community foundation has a vital role to play for the long term wellbeing of all our communities in Norfolk."
The search for Kate's replacement is well under way and I hope to be able to introduce her successor in the next edition of the newsletter.
Meanwhile I have great pleasure as the Foundation's new chairman in introducing this latest edition of the NCF e-newsletter. It marks the completion of its first year and we hope you have found it informative.
It's said that philanthropy comes into its own at times of economic difficulty and we have some evidence for you on the effect the current situation is having on the most vulnerable in our community.
As promised there's more on last year's very successful Norfolk 100 campaign and an organisation it has already helped together with updates on our Grassroots campaign.
Your contributions are greatly valued and, as you can see, needed more than ever.
 Theodore Agnew Chairman |
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| Grassroots - campaign update |
HOT OFF THE PRESS! Good news for community organisations. Groups with an average income of under £30,000 (originally £20,000) are now eligible to apply for up to £5,000 through the Grassroots Grants Programme. For details, read our Grants Policy & Guidelines
The NCF Grants team has been working hard to make sure that the allocation is distributed beneficially to all the qualifying groups but we still have a small amount that needs to be spent on a capital project by the end of this month.
Grassroots is our Endowment Challenge for the next two years
We have almost achieved the £328,000 target we have to meet by the end of March 2009 for the endowment in order to make sure there's no loss of matched funding. We still have a little way to go and we always welcome further support.
Since Christmas we have also added three new named endowment funds to our list, which have attracted matched funding under the grassroots scheme:
About Grassroots
You will be aware that the foundation was awarded the Government's Grassroots Programme to distribute £1.1 million in grants before March 2011.
If we can also raise £1.6 million in new endowment before March 2011 the Government will give us another £0.8 million!
Through this scheme, administered by Norfolk Community Foundation, all new donations however big or small will be doubled by the Treasury through matching of £1,000 for every £2,000 donated, and where eligible the gift aid can be matched too; companies and higher rate tax payers can then reclaim a minimum of 20% of their donation back through their tax return.
Also through this challenge a higher rate tax payer can establish a £25,000 named fund to support the issues and communities in Norfolk you care about most, for just £9,750.
 To see how this works in detail take a look at the "endowment challenge overview" under Grassroots on our website
To find our more contact NCF on 01603 623 958 |
| The human cost of a recession
"The weakest go to the wall" is the phrase that springs to mind in the current climate and nowhere is this more true than in a rural county like Norfolk, with its large proportion of low-income groups.
The impact on people on fixed incomes, like pensioners, was summed up for us by Community Development Manager, Eamon McGrath, of Age Concern, Norfolk, who said they were receiving many calls from people at their wits' end.
He told us calls to their advice line, which operates five days a week, had increased 33% compared to this time last year - and the waiting time to speak to their benefits adviser had almost doubled to 31 days.
Here's just one example: "Mrs J rang saying she could no longer cope as her heating and food bills came to more than she received in pension. A volunteer visited Mrs J and helped her apply for Pension Credit which increased her income by £37.75 per week which meant that she can now afford to heat her home properly and eat more healthily."
A grateful Mrs J said: "my health has improved now that I can afford proper food again."
Equally for an organisation like Norwich's Mancroft Advice Project, a project funded by NCF, helping extremely disadvantaged young people during a recession is more challenging.
Chief Executive Dan Mobbs told us callers asking for advice on housing, homelessness and debt at Mancroft's drop-in advice centre had increased by 25% all of it linked to the credit crunch.
But the big worry was the end of the academic year, he said, when the unit could be facing a significant increase in young people presenting as homeless following finishing school, when their parents could no longer claim benefits for them and would then ask them to leave home.
Dan explained that Mancroft's finances were already stretched and it needed to employ highly specialised and trained advisors for a role that could not be done by volunteers:
"The frustration is that if we were able to provide early intervention with young people now we would prevent them experiencing much bigger problems and troubles later."
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| Norfolk 100 update |
To date £57,000 worth of grants have been awarded and we've added more than £70,000 to the endowment fund.
So far we've arranged four visits for Norfolk 100 members to community organisations their donations have helped.
We have two remaining visits coming up:
Matthew Project, T2, Richmond House,244 Queens Road, Norwich ,N213HG, Tuesday 21st April 11.30am - 12.30pm (Maximum 12 visitors) - works with young people with dependency and addiction issues. You will see a DVD produced by the young and staff members will be available to offer further information.
Norwich International Youth Project, Quaker Meeting House, Upper Goat Lane, Norwich NR2 1EW, Thursday 14th May 4.30 to 6.30pm. (maximum 6 places) Provides asylum-seeking and refugee children in the area with the same opportunities that are open to other young people. The project helps to foster basic life and language skills to encourage assimilation into the local community.
If you'd like to join either of these visits please call us at NCF:
01603 623958
Who are the Norfolk 100? See our website for a full list.
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| Here's a scheme already helped by Norfolk 100 |
Norfolk 100 helps families living with autistic spectrum dsorders
  
One of the first organisations to benefit from Norfolk 100 money was Smart Kids OK, the Waveney and Yarmouth branch of the Autistic Society.
Smart Kids OK is a non-profit registered charity dedicated to working towards provision of better quality services for children and families who live with Autistic Spectrum Disorders, Aspergers Syndrome and Attention Related Disorders
NCF has helped to support Smart Kids OK in a number of ways; most recently it has contributed to the running of their child minding service. This was set up in response to a growing need to support the family unit, primarily aimed at assisting parents with childcare arrangements to enable them to have a well deserved break and have an evening out - a luxury some may not have experienced in a very long time.
Smart Kids' staff will care for children who attend the centre, and hence both child and carer already know each other. Smart Kids meets the travel expenses of the carer and half the minding fee with the parents meeting the other half. The service has been welcomed by parents who often find it hard to find family or friends geared up to cope with looking after a child on the Autistic Spectrum. The service has already been used over 30 times. Here are some of the parents' comments;
"This service has made such a difference to our family life because I can recharge my batteries. It has made life a lot easier leaving my children with people I can trust."
"This service is invaluable; I am able to go out without the children, giving much needed respite."
"This has helped me keep sane!"
Smart Kids OK also runs a play centre for children on the Autistic Spectrum, providing a safe, warm, colourful and friendly environment with lots of fun activities and facilities for all children and young people who are on the Autistic Spectrum to enjoy. They are able to learn, play and socialise with other children. They offer children the chance to explore, learn and play at their own pace in an environment where they are understood and encouraged to progress and develop their social skills.
E-mail Smart kids at:
autisticway@smartkids-ok.org
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| NCF - making a difference |
Norfolk Community Foundation helps to build stronger communities by encouraging local giving. We offer a cost effective way for donors to make a long term difference to the causes that matter to them most. Through understanding local issues, we make perceptive well targeted grants that secure the future for generations to come.
For more information visit our website:
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We'll be bringing you news of another project you've helped us to support plus any new developments in our next issue
Meantime if you have any comments or suggestions do let us know
You can contact us at
Sincerely,
Theodore Agnew
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