Foodbank funding secured from the Julia and Hans Rausing Trust

Think Funding has helped Wesley Hall Communuity Centre to secure funding from the Julia and Hans Rausing Trust to help the Highfields based organisation to sustain its foodbank. The five figure sum will help the Centre build on this essential service to help more families in the local community.

Think Funding owner, Chris Shaw, commented “One of the joys of fundraising is knowing that your work will help families in need, especially those with children. As the cost of living crisis bites, it’s important that effective community services are sustained. This is a case in point, and we’re thrilled at the ouctome of this application.”

 

 

Posted in Fundraising | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Foodbank funding secured from the Julia and Hans Rausing Trust

Think Funding completes Leicester Hospitals Charity Programme Interim Evaluation

Think Funding has recently completed an interim evaluation of the Leiceter Hospitals Charity NHS Charities Together grant programme.

Under the NHS Charities Together banner, a partnership between the three local NHS Charities, Leicester Hospitals Charity, Raising Health (Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust) and East Midlands Ambulance Charitable Fund, awarded seven grants totalling £490,000 in 2021 to support communities in Leicester and Leicestershire affected by the highest levels of deprivation and greatest health inequalities.

The grants were described as “a first step in a combined desire between the partnership groups to help ‘level up’ NHS services for the most vulnerable people in local communities as the region emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic.”

The interim evaluation offered the chance to measure the progress made to date by each of the funded organisations and some recommendations about how a similar programme might be developed in the future.

Posted in Evaluation | Comments Off on Think Funding completes Leicester Hospitals Charity Programme Interim Evaluation

More funding success for Think Funding

Think Funding is pleased to report it has achieved more fundraising success during the latter part of 2022. The following clients have all benefitted from Think Funding support and assistance to achieve their income goals: Emmaus Leicestershire & Rutland, Caribbean Court and Wesley Hall Community Centre.

Grants received takes Think Funding’s total for 2022/23 to just shy of half a million.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Comments Off on More funding success for Think Funding

Great end of year return for Think Funding

We have finally been able to crunch the data and can now report on Think Funding‘s income return for 2021/22. Miraculously it has doubled in just 12 months, meaning that last year we helped clients raise the not insiginficant sum of £1,501,000.  We have also made a decent start to 2022/23 too, with £300,000 raised thus far from successful tender and application outcomes to Creative Scotland and Leicester City Council to name but two funders.

All this means that since I returned to full time self-employed work in September 2019, Think Funding has helped secure a total of £3,225,000. But of course, fundraisiers cannot rest on their laurels, and in footballing parlance, “you’re only as good as your last bid”! (Which just happend to be a Youth Social Action Fund application for a Birmingham client).

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Great end of year return for Think Funding

Hat-trick of successes for Think Funding

Think Funding recently scored a blinding hat trick of funding successes realising more than £1m for three clients. First up was a £300k Reaching Communities grant for a communuity organisation to deliver a family support project in a deprived area of Leicester. Second was nearly £1/4M for a domestic abuse charity supporting women in Leicester and Leicestershire. And last but not least, £600k for a 12 organisation partnership via the UK Government’s Community Renewal Fund programme. All in all, that adds up to just over £1.1M.

Posted in Fundraising | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Hat-trick of successes for Think Funding

B-Global recruits Think Funding

Think Funding is delighted to have been asked by Nottingham based, B-Global, to assist it with strategy development and forward planning.

B-Global is a pioneering black led business network set up to support start-ups, established and scale up businesses of African heritage and the wider BAME business community in Nottingham City to reach their full potential.

Chris Shaw from Think Funding said “We’re really excited to have been invited to support B-Global. As they look to map their next 3-5 years, we can help that process as a critical friend and advocate on their behalf with funders, both local and national.”

Businesses interested in joining B-Global can sign up here.

Think Funding will start this project in October.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on B-Global recruits Think Funding

Ministry of Justice funding success

Think Funding is delighted to have client Women’s Aid Leicestershire to secure funding from the Ministry of Justice via the Leicestershire Police and Crime Commissioner, to help establish a community outreach project aimed at refugees and migrants. Working in partnership with Afro Innovation Group, the project aims to support women and men in the target cohort exposed to domestic abuse to help them reach a safe place and to improve their knowledge about the support available.

Running until the end of March 2022, the project is potentially a precursor to a bigger programme starting later that year.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Ministry of Justice funding success

Think Funding into Niche Business Awards Semi-Final

Think Funding has been nominated for the Community Impact category in this year’s Niche Magazine Business Awards, and we’re through to the semi-final! Our nomination is based on the support and assistance we’ve provided to voluntary organisations during the past year and by helping to achieve £1m+ in grant income.

It’s fair to say we’re up against some’big guns’ on the Leicester and Leicestershire scene, so we’re really chuffed to have reached this stage.

Thanks to everyone that has supported us during the past 12 months!

 

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Think Funding into Niche Business Awards Semi-Final

Funding Success for Transitions UK

Think Funding has been working with national charity, Transitions UK, to help it create a presence in Leicestershire. The establishment of the Three Towns project is focused on Coalville, Hinckley and Loughborough has already helped it to secure five figure support via two grants from the Leicetershire and Rutland Community Foundation and Leicestershire County Council.

Offering mentoring and personal development support to young people at risk of exploitation, the Three Towns Project delivers Transitions’ Aspire model and is a welcome addition to youth services in the county.

 

Posted in Fundraising, Think Funding | Tagged , | Comments Off on Funding Success for Transitions UK

Community Renewal Fund consortia reach out to Think Funding

We were delighted to assist Bangladesh Youth and Cultural Shomiti (BYCS) and the Leicester Social Economy Consortium (LSEC) with two applications to Leicester City Council’s recent Community Fund Programme. The process of consortia formation and development can be a difficult and protracted one, but this time around we were able to help both organisations to bring together more than 30 local organisations to develop and submit two applications: Positive Communities and 20/20 Vision.

Competition for funding will undoubtedly be fierce, but the very fact we have helped line up some high quality voluntary groups and pointed them all in the same direction, speaks volumes for our strategic capabilities, and, of course, the willingness of local groups to want to work together.

Watch this space.

 

Posted in Business planning, Community Development | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Community Renewal Fund consortia reach out to Think Funding