As the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Community Foundation (HIWCF) launches its review of 2022, the scale of its donor funding investment to those who need it most has been revealed as being over £1.9 million.
HIWCF is an independent charitable foundation focusing its grant making exclusively on the vital work of small charities, community groups and voluntary organisations across Hampshire (including Portsmouth and Southampton) and the Isle of Wight.
Covering six priority areas
All grant funding awarded in the last year aligns with HIWCF’s six priority areas which include helping communities to flourish, health and wellbeing, crime and safety, environment, poverty and inequality, and employment and skills.
The greatest level of grant funding went to community-based employability programmes in the region, which benefitted from more than £800K worth of support.
Southampton and Portsmouth
Unemployment rates according to Office of National Statistics on benefit claimant data for the region’s cities of Southampton and Portsmouth are higher than the national average, which was echoed in the number of applications to HIWCF for funding towards community projects helping people towards work.
Improving health and wellbeing outcomes
In addition, more than £476K was distributed to groups working to improve health and wellbeing outcomes for Hampshire and Isle of Wight residents, and £333K was allocated to projects helping communities to flourish, including support for Ukrainian refugees.
“It has really changed my mind set for the better”
Safe New Futures, a Southampton-based charity, utilised funding to support its Resilience and Employment Project. One participant of the project stated,
“I feel the course opened my eyes to a new way of thinking and my thoughts are becoming positive. Without the course I wouldn’t even have had the confidence to do the interview. It has really changed my mind set for the better.”
Scott: Decent employment can transform lives, households, and whole communities
Jacqui Scott, HIWCF CEO explains,
“Many people find the journey to employment difficult, perhaps because they are living with a disability or long-term health condition, they have caring responsibilities or need additional support in the workplace. At HIWCF we believe that decent employment can transform lives, households, and whole communities – and community groups we fund are delivering extraordinary results, getting people so much closer to work.”
A Band of Brothers
Another community project benefitting from funding was A Band of Brothers (ABoB), a male mentor-mentee project based in Portsmouth, focused on breaking the cycle of self-destructive and anti-social behaviour among some young men.
Jake, a member of the group, said,
“I had never believed I was worthy of anything, and this weekend helped me realise that I was worthy of a job, a future and more. I really like that all the men are there for each other. It makes such a difference.”
Positive outcomes
In its most recently published study, ABoB reported that 81% of participants showed an improvement in levels of self-esteem and self-worth, there was a 73% increase in participants being in Employment, Education or Training and paid employment rose from 7% to over 50%.
The proportion of young men with severe addiction issues dropped from 51% to 14%.
Scott: Can’t do it without support from donors and business supporters
Jacqui Scott continues,
“All of the projects we have funded are making a great difference in their communities and we know our funding is helping to improve employment prospects, increase wellbeing and generally boost community togetherness.
“We hope to make a big impact again this year, but we can’t do that without support from our donors and business supporters – we’d like to thank each and every one of them.”
Organisations backing HIWCF’s work on improving employability and skills in the region have included the European Social Fund, Hampshire County Council, Southampton City Council, Portsmouth City Council, Sovereign Housing Association, Ford and many other private, corporate and Trust donors.
Find out more
To find out more about helping local communities through HIWCF visit the Website or contact [email protected]
News shared by Jacqui on behalf of HIWCF. Ed
