MORE THAN £60,000 will be gifted to Wokingham charities at a grant funding event next month. The catch — they only have to show up.
Wokingham United Charities have invited 12 local charities to the event, where they must deliver a five-minute presentation on how they would benefit from £10,000.
Importantly, all attendees are guaranteed to receive a minimum of £5,000, with the winner receiving £10,000.
The charities will be judged on their presentation, as well as the impact the donation will make.
There will be a judges and a public vote, with the judging panel overseeing the competition.
Winners will be announced at the event, on Monday, February 24.
This is the first time the charity has launched an event like this, although they may start doing more of these if successful.
The event was inspired by the limitations of restricted funding. This is when charities are often given grants for new projects over a limited time period.
However, many charities struggle most when it comes to ongoing costs.This has an impact on the sustainability of charities who struggle to fund salaries, rents and other running costs. In turn they struggle to retain staff and pay appropriate salaries and often the premises are not fit for purpose.
Tracey Hedgecox, Operations Manager at Wokingham United Charities said: “I’m really excited about this event and hope that we can replicate it for other beneficiaries in the future and inspire other grant givers to offer the opportunity of unrestricted funding.
“The charities can use the funding for anything they want. The judges will decide based on their presentation which charity gets the £10,000 grant.”
The 12 charities selected to partake in the evening are: ARC- Wokingham Youth Counselling, Berkshire Women’s Aid, Building for the Future, Citizens Advice Bureau Wokingham, Clasp, Dingley’s Promise, Homestart Wokingham & District, Link Visiting Scheme Wokingham, Me2 Club, Promise Inclusion (formerly Mencap), Wokingham Mental Health Association and Wokingham Volunteer Centre.
Wokingham United Charities encourage other charities to submit an expression of interest if they wish to be considered for any future events. This should be sent to grants@wokinghamunitedcharities.org.uk
