Housing association Sovereign is investing largest ever grant into community projects

Sovereign is working with Crowdfunder, the UK’s number 1 Crowdfunding platform, to invest £625K in community projects.

Groups and charities that are located within 3 miles of Sovereign homes in the South West of England, can apply for up to 50% off their fundraising target.

This equates to a maximum of £10k.

Charities and projects are required to demonstrate why they will benefit from the funding, through one of the following areas:

• Health and wellbeing
• Education
• Social Inclusion
• Co-creation and building partnerships
• Sustainable communities
• Community cohesion
• Climate change
• LGBTQIA+

Kate Shepard, Community Development Officer at Sovereign said: ‘This is our largest community fund to date, and we’re really excited to be investing in projects that directly benefit our customers and their communities.

‘Our goal is to help create thriving and sustainable communities, where people love to love, so we can invite applications from all groups that fit our criteria.’

Rob Love, Chief Executive and Co-Founder at Crowdfunder has also said: ‘We’ve seen a fantastic range of projects, from sports organisations to food banks.

‘Our partnership with Sovereign Housing Association allows these organisations to amplify their funding potential and help their communities thrive.’

According to research undertaken by Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), 86% of charitable organisations are worrying about the effect the cost-of-living crisis will have on those that depends on their services.

CAF also found that 71% of charities expressed their concern over managing increased demand for their services, suggesting more charities need support to help those struggling.

WILD Young Parents Project has seen a recent spike in demand for their services. The charity has been awarded over £63k from the Masonic Charitable Found (MCF) to help fund its project to assist families in Cornwall who are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.  

WILD noticed a significant increase in young parents who live in the South Coast requesting support with the cost of food, utility bills and transport.

Due to this, some families in Cornwall have had to reduce the frequency of their child’s visit to nursey and community play areas.

Jo Davies, Chief Executive Officer at WILD Young Parents Project said: ‘After the impact of the pandemic, we are really worried about how our youngest, most vulnerable families will get through this winter.

‘The lockdown babies of the last couple of years deserve better than this.’

To read more about how locals are obtaining support during the cost-of-living crisis visit here. 

Photo by Markus Winkler