Summer activities get underway with support from community foundations

Community foundations support events aimed at giving back to communities

While the cost of living remains high in the UK and people continue to struggle financially, community foundations are connecting local donors with vital voluntary services that provide advice, safety, food, and support to those who need it. In the past several months alone, through the generosity of local donors, over £13 million has been put back into community-based organisations to deliver these emergency services and support their own core costs as they themselves battle with high inflation.

Community-led events of all kinds are often organised to raise money for impact-focused community foundation initiatives or are funded by community foundations themselves to support the community. Money raised then goes straight back into the fantastic work being done to tackle social inequalities.

During #SmallCharityWeek we wanted to share some of the things happening in local communities this summer:

The Great Gardens' Great Art Auction is taking place today, designed to celebrate spring and raise money for the Cornwall Community Foundation through an auction of bespoke artworks from Cornish artists.

Suffolk Community Foundation will be presenting medals on Suffolk Day 2023 (Wednesday 21st June) during celebrations at Ipswich town centre. The day is set to include a Mayoral gathering, civic ceremony, military parade, and the Suffolk Medals award.

Newton St Cyres Church Community Association is managing a participatory music festival with funding from Devon Community Foundation, which will involve fun musical workshops and performances, taking place between Thursday 22nd to Sunday 25th June.

The Norfolk Network 20th Anniversary Celebration is taking place on Thursday 13th July to celebrate local business and donor collaboration. The event is dedicating donations to Norfolk Community Foundation's Welcome to Norfolk Fund.

The Sports Ability Festival is being held for the first time ever on Friday 16th July across two venues in Daventry, funded by Northamptonshire Community Foundation. The specialist sports day has been created for children with special educational needs and disabilities from schools around the county, and will be led by volunteers.

The North East Charity Awards 2023, supported by associated partner County Durham Community Foundation, is taking place on Wednesday 19th July to celebrate the outstanding work of charities, voluntary groups and their supporters around the county.

There are lots of events and important initiatives happening throughout the summer to support communities at a grassroots level! 

Your nearest community foundation can be found here to learn more about their events and how to get involved.