Summer News Update

Hello friends of TFN!

Never a quiet moment at The Funding Network (TFN), 2009 is only halfway through and there have already been an incredible seven TFN events worldwide, raising a combined total of £240,000. The generosity of you lot knows no bounds!

Impact is a hot topic in the charity world at present and TFN is pleased to be getting in on the act. The initial findings of our pilot impact analysis study carried out this year are very encouraging. Please let me know if you would like a copy of the report. The next step is evaluating the impact of TFN on our members and donors, which is why you may have received a short survey to help us with this.

We're excitedly planning our super cool climate change event on Saturday September 26th in London, more details below or click here to register now. I hope to see you there.

Tillie, Sonal and Claire
Fred and TFN Trustees (Alan, Andrew, Iain, Iona, Jenny, Sharath, Shuna)

ps - The gentleman to the left is TFN's newest supporter, Jean-Claude - our chair Fred's new puppy!

MyBnk - 2009; their best year yet...

Lots of us would probably benefit from some financial education and MyBnk's amazing work is equipping the next generation with the tools to be money-savvy. MyBnk has gone from strength to strength since being supported by TFN in 2007. Check out the quiz on their website to find out what kind of saver you are, I'm not telling you what my score was!

Click here to read MyBnk's news.

Heather Gardner-Masoud wins a Women in Ethical Business Award (WEBA)

When Heather Gardner-Masoud came to TFN in January 2009 with Palestinian Olive Oil project, Zaytoun, we could tell we were on to something special and we are not alone! Heather won The Times Reader Vote, beating stiff competition. They are still the only olive oil to have achieved Fairtrade Certification. I can certainly vouch for the taste, the only way to dress up a salad.

To read more about Heather's triumph click here.

SEED

Unfortunately we can not put all of the projects in to each newsletter or this email would be length of my arm, but these pictures and testimonials from young men who's lives have been touched by SEED were irresistable. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Click here to see more.

King's SIFE Team wins championships

TFN does have a knack for supporting winners! We were thrilled to hear that the inspirational Claire Matthews and her top notch SIFE Team from King's College London won the National Championships of SIFE Teams in April. They will go on to represent the UK at the World Championships later in the year...watch this space!

For more information and to read Claire's reaction click here.

September 23rd, 6.30pm in Bristol
TFN South West is one of the longest running and most successful regional TFNs. Their next Funding Event is being held in the evening of Wednesday 23rd September at The Mansion House in Bristol's lovely Clifton area. Click here for more information.

September 26th, 10am in London
At TFN there's nothing we like better than the occasional themed event. We asked our members to vote for a theme for the September 26th event and climate change was the clear winner, which we're very pleased about (especially Fred!). We are also trialling a new format at this event, with five projects presenting in the morning, followed by an exclusive screening of TFN backed, climate change blockbuster The Age of Stupid in the afternoon. You can come along to both, or just one or the other. Click here for more details and the link to register.

December 2nd, 6.30pm in London
We had lots of lovely feedback following our Christmas celebratory Funding Evening last December, so we have decided to do it again! This will be an intimate event for TFN members and givers at Rathbone Greenbank's offices on Bond Street. Last year guests were greeted by acrobats and serenaded by people affected by the prison system and we're planning even more surprises this time around, while trying not to give the health and safety man at Rathbones quite such a shock! More details soon.

Like TFN – only more strategic
For a while now we’ve wanted to support high impact, well-run and replicable projects that have come through TFN at a more strategic level. We want your help to fund projects that would be able to do something truly amazing with a grant of £25k or more. If you would be interested in donating at this level and would like to know more, please contact Fred on strategicfunding@thefundingnetwork.org.uk.