At Solihull Community Foundation, we provide a link between those who “have” and those who try to help the “have-nots”.

There are over 200 voluntary groups in Solihull, most of which are small. Their work is invaluable and their achievements hugely significant, but it’s these groups that often need help when it comes to fund-raising, or need small grants to make new projects happen. That’s where we come in.

Our role is to match donors with the many local organisations who notify us of specific charitable projects which need financial support. In our first five years alone, we succeeded in distributing over £200,000 of donations to 120 separate community projects, including those for young carers, the bereaved, young homeless, isolated older people and people with disabilities.

We were also singled out by the Government to administer a number of grants. In 2001, for example, we secured nearly £80,000, followed by an additional £120,000 and at least as much for 2002/3, from the Government’s Children’s Fund Local Network to support disadvantaged young people.