|
Hello and welcome to summer!
You know how once you see something you keep seeing it? Well, I have been thinking so much about place-based giving recently and everywhere I look, there seem to be nudges and examples of this current focus of giving.
What is place-based giving and why is it important?
Place-based giving is a targeted philanthropic approach that addresses systemic issues in a specific geographic area. Over recent years, we have gained understanding and experience in both the complexity and the opportunity that this funding presents. We have had the privilege to work with local leaders to strategise and collaborate, drawing high value donors, community leaders and charities together, to deliver real and effective social impact.
Here are some of the recent examples of place-based giving I've seen: Giving using place as a stimulus: I don’t suppose you had me down as a football supporter but who isn’t captivated with the World Cup (and so proud of England for getting to the semi-finals despite the disappointment that our World Cup journey ended there). I was so impressed with the extraordinary Tartan Army superfan Craig Ferguson who walked from Paisley, Renfrewshire across the US over 108 days ending in Boston just ahead of Scotland’s World Cup opening match. He raised over £1m (including a big donation from the Scottish government) for SAMH – Scottish Action in Mental Health. Giving place to place: https://www.samh.org.uk/
(And while we are on football I can’t not mention UNICEF UK where I was on the board for 4 years. This year the extraordinarily brilliant SoccerAid raised £16million taking funds raised since its creation to £137 million. Incredible - https://www.socceraid.org.uk/)
This year, the Government’s Our Place to Give funding programme has launched with the aim of stimulating new philanthropy based on the principles of the Civil Society Covenant and the £5.8billion Pride in Place programme. As a champion of place based giving I was able to join colleagues from the charity sector at a number of briefings for the Minister. This commitment from the Government is the result of years and years of evidence building and effective lobbying from many, including the brilliant Cath Dovey who has helped to shape the government’s agenda. This is one to keep a close eye on to see how and when new funds might be stimulated in our cities and places.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pride-in-place-programme-prospectus
One of the champions of place-based giving is John Nickson, my friend and adviser who has been such a supporter of the Community Foundations (the original place-based giving organisations) and of Blackpool. The extraordinary story is that John’s family built the famous Blackpool tower and this has inspired him to give advice, commitment and substantial donations in Blackpool. John joined us recently for an online discussion to talk about his story and his perspective as a donor, on place-based giving.
Some of these place-based considerations came alive at the recent Business in the Community Pride of Place Annual Summit where I joined a panel brilliantly hosted by Good Morning Britain’s Ranvir Singh to talk about place and all things Blackpool. https://www.bitc.org.uk/blog/pride-of-place-summit-building-thriving-places-together/
You can see my post about the event here.
Lifting our eyes and hearts up from the UK horizon, a sobering reminder of the importance of place-based giving is unfolding right now in Venezuela. We are so proud to have worked with the Disasters Emergency Appeal over a number of years and to help them to grow their network of regular donors. The current appeal has raised over £10m and it is believed that the King and Queen have made a private donation to the fund, moved by the plight of families affected by the disaster. https://donation.dec.org.uk/venezuela-earthquake-appeal
If place is a thread running through our organisations, our fundraising, our philanthropists’ minds then what do our trustees and leaders need to be thinking about and responding to? We will be sharing some thoughts about that in our next newsletter. We would love to hear from you about your plans and how we might be able to help.
Warmest
Caroline
Caroline Underwood OBE
| 
