11 years ago, our Saffron Community Fund initiative was born, helping charities and organisations to continue to support their local communities. 11 years on, we have helped 63,352 people in our communities through this funding, and we are delighted to announce we have hit over £250,000 worth of donations.
Reaching this milestone is such an achievement, and we are proud that every penny of funding has gone towards supporting fantastic initiatives across Essex, Hertfordshire and Suffolk. The celebrations are continuing, with applications for the next round of now open.
In July of this year, and partnership with the Essex Community Foundation (who administer our fund), we awarded £25,000 across the following: Craft Ability, Crossroads Braintree & Chelmsford, Fairycroft House, Grove Cottage, Citizens Advice East Herts, Memories are Golden, Saffron Walden Mencap Society, Suffolk Art Link and The Voluntary Network.
In April of this year, we awarded £27,386 across these 8 recipients; Brightview Farm, Christian Youth Outreach Braintree District Trust, Dig It Community Allotment, Enterprise East Group CIC, Happy Hill Essex CIO, Small Acts of Kindness Trust, Special Needs and Parents Limited and Stepping Stones Play and Learn Group.
“Grant giving to these incredible charities to ensure they can thrive in ever more challenging circumstances is so important, the services they provide are invaluable”, says our Community Business Partner Claire Hunnable as she is about to begin her visits to our new round of fund recipients to see how it's supporting them. She is always amazed at the dedication, and constant drive to improve the support they offer the people in our communities.
