One Community – the Community Foundation for the people of Kirklees – is aiming to have given away a million pounds to local good causes by the end of this year.

The organisation, based in the centre of Huddersfield but which works throughout the whole of Kirklees, is well on the way to achieving this milestone having already distributed half a million pounds to local charities and community groups through its emergency Coronavirus fund and having pledged over £370K in its brand new “Match It’ fund launched in September.

Emma Woods-Bolger from One Community says, “2020 has been a year of incredible achievements for One Community – half a million pounds delivered in direct assistance to groups working at the sharp end of the Coronavirus pandemic helping some of our most vulnerable residents. And already well on the way to distributing almost £400k in our new ‘Match It!’ or ‘Double Your Money!’ Fund as we like to call it!”

Emma Woods-Bolger, Chief Executive, One Community

Emma Woods-Bolger, Chief Executive, One Community

Emma explained “Match It is like no other fund we have ever managed, we wanted to support our local charities and encourage others to support them too. Match it! is One Community’s new fund that makes your donations twice as impactful. We match exactly what your community needs, putting the money directly into charities and organisations that support the Kirklees community. We are matching the fundraising efforts of sixty local charities from now until January 31st 2021.

Emma continued “If local businesses are thinking of supporting a charity this Christmas and would like us to double their donation, I would encourage them to visit our site and pick on of the groups taking part in Match It.”

You can see a full list of eligible groups here http://one-community.org.uk/match-it.php 

One Community is immensely proud to be nearing its target of one million pounds. Its staff and volunteers have worked very hard in partnership with local community organisations to raise and distribute much needed funds. The pandemic has meant that One Community has had to work in new ways – staff and volunteers working from home, meeting by Zoom and telephone, and using tech to maintain contact with community groups. Apart from their emergency Coronavirus activity, they have maintained their usual grant making activities with minimal disruption, and are on track to deliver thousands of pounds in this area too.

2020 has been a difficult year for everyone as we all have had to adapt to the new realities forced on us by the virus. It has caused real problems on the ground for community groups whose own fundraising activity has been made more difficult by the pandemic. But One Community is greatly pleased by how the voluntary sector has responded to these new challenges and its own supporting role in this.

 

One of the charities recently supported was Streetbikes based in Huddersfield. Throughout the Coronavirus pandemic they have been operating an innovative project in Kirklees offering loan bikes and donating bikes to NHS staff to help them get to work.

One Community - the Community Foundation for the people of Kirklees

Gary Limbert, Head of Fundraising and Strategic Development at Streetbikes, says, “One Community’s assistance – a grant of £4800 – helped us to provide 36 recycled bikes, helmets and equipment to NHS staff and keyworkers, keeping essential services going and keeping people fit and healthy into the bargain. 80% of the loan bikes given out were ultimately purchased from Streetbikes at an affordable price, and continued to be used by the participants of the scheme, increasing revenue to Streetbikes and helping us to continue with our work.”

Emma commented “We had to respond so quickly when the pandemic hit, thankfully we have been delivering support to our community for ten years so we were in the ideal position to get funds to the front line quickly. It just shows you what can be achieved with will and determination. I am proud of our community efforts, we have shown ourselves to be indeed ONE COMMUNITY.”

One Community, the Community Foundation for Kirklees, supports local voluntary organisations by awarding funding grants to good causes. The foundation encourages businesses and individuals to establish charity funds to support communities, and tackle social issues across Kirklees.

For more information about available funding from One Community, please visit the Foundation’s website: www.one-community.org.uk

Any questions regarding this press release, please contact Adrian Pygott at adrianpygott@gmail.com or on 07779 318796