What we do
We are a charitable hub for the whole county – dedicated to helping to ensure that Worcestershire is a better place to live and work. We are passionate in supporting communities to not just survive but thrive. We champion local causes, raise funds and provide a voice for the voluntary and community sector. We are part of a network of 47 national place-based Community Foundations which provide invaluable support to communities all over the UK by raising and giving out substantial funds every year. Over the past 30 years, our network has given out grants of over £1 billion to causes that really need help.
About WCF
We are an independent charity which strengthens local communities by providing funding for community-led projects throughout Worcestershire.
WCF was established in 2003 to help people and organisations give to essential causes where there is real need. For 17 years we have been working with funders and delivering innovative funding programmes to charities and community groups. During the 18 months of the pandemic from March 2020 to October 2021, we have distributed over £1.5 million of funding to support 350+ projects and programmes throughout the county.
Our knowledge of the sector means that we know where funding can make or break a community initiative; we like to make greater impacts by supporting smaller, lesser known charities who often struggle to be financially sustainable, ensuring our awards create lasting change.
Our Impact
£ 3500000 +
Total grants
(2013-21)
£ 1500000
Total grants (2020/2021)
£ 4285
Average Grant size
350 +
Number of grants
(2020/2021)
We hold funds which give out grants to support areas of the county that really need help. We work with leading social impact organisations and delivery groups across the county to target our funding and make maximum impact. We currently distribute funds which:
- Support Covid-response initiatives across the county
- Support isolated older people in rural areas
- Help young people become empowered and engaged with their local community
- Support women and girls in challenging circumstances who wish to regain control of their lives
- Help children and young people facing mental health issues
- Support arts delivery and innovative cultural projects
- Support vulnerable families particularly during/post the Covid-19 Pandemic
- Support local sports clubs and organisations to empower young people to become more active and improve their wellbeing
Feedback
Breast Cancer Haven“Thank you for the wonderful news of the £2,500 Covid-19 Response Award.
The grant will go a long way to help us to continue to support anyone with breast cancer in Worcestershire by delivering our support services remotely for the next three months of self-isolation and social distancing.”
Nightstop“Our project is a long-standing project in the community which has an excellent track record of delivering positive outcomes for young people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. The funding from Worcestershire Community Foundation has allowed us to made adaptations and additions to the vital work that we were already doing to meet the challenges posed by the COVID19 pandemic. The project will now be able to continue due to this funding.”
Oasis Community Hub“The grant that was awarded to us by the Worcestershire Community Fund has been invaluable in allowing us to build our food and family support projects over the summer. With the support received we have been able to grow this to include weekly freshly prepared ready meals as well as the provision of summer food hampers for the most vulnerable families. Alongside this goes the infrastructure to support these operations including: training for volunteers, PPE, methods to safely store and organise food before it is delivered out.”
Mrs Reeves-Walters Executive Head Teacher at Far Forest Primary School“We are thrilled that our pupils have had the opportunity to create a stunning piece of artwork supported by the ‘Let’s Create Jubilee Fund’ to commemorate the Queens Jubilee. This will remain in our school for many years to come. The PTA have been instrumental in ensuring our children have this experience to develop their skills and work together. It now takes pride of place in our School.”
Malvern Cube Projects“We’re very grateful for your support and used the grant to pay for extra youth worker hours to provide one-to-one support for young people who were experiencing particular issues during lockdown. Some of these were new to our service and have since joined our regular sessions. As a result of our lockdown provision, we are now going into a local secondary school to support their students with mentoring”.
Our Supporters
