Our Impact

The Funding Network is a grassroots organisation promoting practical philanthropy for small and medium givers.  Over the year ending 30 November 2011, The Funding Network brought together 950 individuals and 80 small to medium charitable projects to create social change, with fantastic ripple effects well beyond initial financial support at crucial stages.  Our events generated approximately £750,000 of donations in London, Bristol, Leeds, Oxford, Norfolk, Devon, Wales and Toronto, an increase of 13% on last year’s total of £660,000.

TFN support has enabled funded organisations to carry out their charitable projects and also to leverage further support by reducing the risk to other funders, to access new private donors and networks, to gain crucial contacts, volunteers and Trustees and ultimately to take a step towards sustainability.  TFN beneficiaries are diverse and have included London’s Homeless (Sock Mob Events), young female students in Afghanistan (The Marefat Education Centre) and immigration detainees in Britain (Medical Justice). TFN’s unique nature in connecting individuals and charities has been particularly valuable in the current global recession.

Our overall impact includes:

• the relationships the charities develop with donors through our network, often leading to further funding: 58% of charities funded through our events in 2008/09 reported back to us that they received further funding (such as match funding or key relationships with private individuals) via TFN.  We are also delighted that early seed funding via TFN has helped a number of charities to develop their activities and gain second stage funding by trusts and foundations, particularly 10:10, Changing Tunes, 38 Degrees, FairPensions and MyBnk.
• the effect on individual donors who are able to discover cutting-edge and new charities to support through pro bono assistance, such as becoming a Trustee. For example, last year Adrian Gains, one of our members and the Chair of TFN funded charity Vision Housing, saw Children of Addicted Parents and People (COAP) present at a TFN event and is now COAP’s Chair of Trustees too.
• the learning and confidence gained by the charities through the coaching they receive from us for staff and beneficiaries presenting at our events.  For example, Hillary Pannack of funded teen pregnancy charity Straight Talking wrote to us to say that their beneficiaries ‘gained a positive experience by presenting at your event. This kind of opportunity broadens their horizons, enabling them to feel more confident’.
• the learning gained by the charities from networking with each other. A lot can be gained through sharing ideas and experiences, from recommendations on cost-effective suppliers to formal collaborations on projects.

Although more difficult to measure, we know anecdotally that our givers speak of numerous benefits acquired through their participation at our events. Such benefits include: having been educated by the exposure to so many charitable organisations doing social change work throughout the world, having gained a sense that their limited charitable gifts — when joined with those of other donors — can have a profound impact, and of the courage it gives them to donate at a level appropriate to them.