The Give More campaign will help people to engage with the reality of charity, which is about people, not money - Stephen Hammersley lends his support.
We have a lot to be proud of as a giving nation. Each day, across the United Kingdom, our neighbourhoods and communities are full of people doing good things and looking out for one another. We're not an atomised society where people don't know their neighbours. On the contrary; we care deeply about our local communities and the people that rely on them.
Two people who deserve our encouragement are Sister Moira and Sister Margaret, who moved from their convent to live in one of the most deprived housing estates in Chelmsford. With support from the Essex Community Foundation they created and ran a range of activities aimed at improving the social welfare of residents. By rooting themselves within the community they were able to gain the respect of locals, and attract local volunteers – enabling the community to work collectively to help itself. As a result, the prospects for residents of the estate have been transformed.
At the Community Foundation Network, we work with 26,000 community groups who do fantastic work supporting and transforming their local communities. Like Sister Moira and Sister Margaret, each group has a unique story to tell. And through their passion and investment, each makes a real difference to people’s lives. It is time we did more to champion and celebrate the excellent work such community builders are doing.
With the current squeeze on public services it is more important than ever that we encourage the work of community groups, which have a local and long-lasting impact. Yet many of these groups are not registered charities and can easily fall under the radar. The challenge for us all is how to ensure they get the support they need? It is only by celebrating community action, taking pride in the local areas we support, and talking more about the positive impact of giving, that we can give them the opportunity to showcase their work and inspire others to give to their local communities.
A platform to talk about community support
This is the spirit behind the Give More campaign. The 12-month campaign asks us to share our passion for the causes we care about, and to make a public commitment to give more money, time or energy in the next year, and it is a fantastic opportunity to get us all talking more about giving.
The campaign is not tied to a single cause, but is led by those who give, providing them with a platform to talk about the local charities that make our communities tick. Allowing donors and volunteers to make a positive case for giving will help drive us all to do even more.
It will also allow us to recognise unsung heroes. As an independent and open campaign Give More offers everybody the opportunity to champion their favourite local community group or charity, helping us to understand and give a voice to those who are often unrecognised. As people share the causes they care about, the charity, social enterprise or community organisation benefits from being profiled on the Give More website. The data from people’s pledges will help organisations learn more about their supporters, and will also help us to appreciate the motivations and patterns of giving locally.
One of the most important things the campaign could achieve is to get us talking more, and thinking differently, about giving. By generating a debate around giving and encouraging people to share their passion for their causes we can emphasise that charity is about more than just donating money. Community foundations bring together philanthropists and businesses, who wish to give money to support their community, with dynamic and effective local organisations. Together they transform communities and change people’s lives for the better.
In Kirkmichael in rural Perthshire, where the village shop was under threat, this collaborative approach saw funds raised from the Scottish Community Foundation used to help form a community interest company. With the dedication of locals, the shop now provides six local jobs and directly benefits over 1,000 people living in the surrounding area. The message is clear: we can support our communities and causes by sharing our passion and offering the resources available to us – be that money, time or energy.
Above all, the campaign will demonstrate the generosity and passion of people in the UK – this is the best way to get people engaged with giving and encourage them to give more. Charity is about people – not just tax incentives or new mechanisms for donating money – but about people giving to people and that is why I am supporting Give More.
