“This year marks the 10th anniversary of The Funding Network (TFN), the UK’s first public giving circle. Inspired by the reality that we do so much together, yet often give alone, it has been likened to a charitable Dragons’ Den, though markedly friendlier than the TV version! Social-change initiatives are selected and asked to pitch their projects to an audience of prospective donors, live at one of TFN’s events. Their work features poverty reduction, social justice, climate change mitigation: the range of issues is wide and interconnected and every project centres on holistic and sustainable solutions.

Since TFN’s launch in 2002 the failings of our economic system have been exposed, and the questionable remedy of austerity measures has not spared the voluntary sector. Yet TFN giving continues to grow year on year, with £750,000 pledged last year alone. To date, over £4 million has empowered more than 575 projects – and tens of thousands of people – around the world. Perhaps those drawn to TFN understand, counter-intuitively, the need to give more at a time like this, and that the “optimism of action trumps the pessimism of thought”.

This ‘crowdfunding’ model has spawned new local hubs in Wales, Kent and Devon, and more are on the horizon. The wider crowdfunding phenomenon is clearly also on the rise (for social ventures, businesses, films, and even new ‘positive money’ initiatives), a reflection of the zeitgeist perhaps: of people power and so-called human warming. But it is the intimacy of TFN that appeals to me – of being able to give in relationship, with all the attendant benefits: knowing the full impact of one’s gift, being able to add value in other ways like networking or volunteering, new friendships, and so on.

And then there’s the strategic element: small contributions – the average pledge is between £100 and £200 (which may be split between co-sponsors) – soon add up to serious social change.

In 1994, 10 years before joining TFN, I began reading Resurgence. It has been a significant influence on me as I have grown my philanthropic interests. Having first helped to give me the awareness of the need to act, Resurgence continues to give me the conceptual framework for how best to support moves towards a smaller, more beautiful world. Indeed, it has not escaped me that many of the wonderful projects featured in the regular Frontline section are TFN-style projects.

The Resurgence Trust has agreed to sponsor one project at The Funding Network, selected from Frontline over the coming year. Readers will be invited to vote for (and, if they wish, co-sponsor) their favourite project out of a shortlist, and the most popular one will be put before TFN in 2013. More details will follow in due course.

Believe me, crowdfunding can be quite an adventure. I have received so much more than I have ever given. I now fully appreciate a John Bunyan quote, discovered many years ago: “A man there was, and they called him mad; the more he gave, the more he had.”

Article available at Resurgence Magazine.  Pete Yeo is a member of TFN and a philanthropist based in Devon.

Through the TFN funding Sock Mob Events was able to retain two full time staff members which was crucial in giving their social enterprise the momentum it really needed. Their staff was then able to devote themselves full-time to the enterprise and to help build up its capacity, leading to very positive knock-on effects and their favourable position now where the coordinators can slowly step back and let the guides run the show.

Given that they were then able to spend more time on marketing, Sock Mob Events has since attracted international press coverage from Shanghai to San Francisco. They have also successfully mentored SIFE at Melbourne University, who launched ‘Melbourne’s Street Stories’ last September.

And as the cherry on top – Sock Mob Events has also recently won the Virgin Responsible Tourism Awards. These awards recognise organisations worldwide that work in the tourism industry and give back to the communities they are based in. As well as winning the ‘Best Local Experience’ category, they were also announced Joint Overall Winners, out of over 1600 participating organisations.

Date of Funding: April 2012

Aim:

To empower homeless and vulnerably housed individuals to take positive action for their own lives, and help them overcome the stigmas associated with marginalized groups such as the homeless, which in turn drives wider social change through integrating these groups in the economic and civic life of the city.

Impact:

TFN funding was crucial in giving Sock Mobs the momentum it really needed and their annual turnover has dramatically increased. TFN funding enabled two coordinators to devote their energies full time not only to recruiting and coaching new guides and volunteers, but also to marketing the tours to attract a customer base.

They have attracted media coverage from around the world and have subsequently given many talks in schools, colleges, and other organisations. This has all helped to spread the word about the tours and significantly boosted their customer numbers compared with the previous year. Discussions are now also taking place about replicating the Sock Mobs model around the world.

As two true signs of success, Sock Mobs are now financially sustainable
enough to not require further funding but, rather, rely solely on tour ticket revenue. They were also the proud recipients of two Virgin Responsible Tourism Awards, as well as winning the ‘Best Local Experience’ category, they were also announced Joint Overall Winners, out of over 1600 participating organisations worldwide.

Beneficiaries:

Estimates are that six homeless and formerly homeless people as well as over 2000 new customers, from London and around the world, have benefitted from TFN funding.

Website:

http://sockmobevents.org.uk/

Date  of Funding: April 2012

Aim:

To invest in young entrepreneurs age 18-29 from low-income groups in India to pioneer sustainable enterprises that they propose; enterprises that create jobs, income and social impact.

Impact:

TFN funded the media and outreach launch of the Be! An Entrepreneur fund, this included a poster campaign, a short Muppet TV show which was aired on three cable channels, a radio show and short movies. They received a good response to the campaign and 30 potential entrepreneurs were initially interviewed, with 12 being successful. These include:

- Radhakrishna, 25, Rural Transport Service for Farmers in Kolar

- Lakshmi, 32, Recycled Paper Bag Making Unit, Peenya, Bangalore

- Jayanthi, 35, Candle Making Unit in a Resettled Slum Colony, Whitefield, Bangalore

Going to School felt that it had a lot to prove, and wanted to demonstrate that mass media could inspire young people who live in
poverty to contact them with business plans that solve local problems. Going to School proved its theory and the success has resulted in a national network taking on the campaign. Going to School also received new strategic supporters and investors from Deutsche Bank to self-made entrepreneurs.

Beneficiaries:

Over 20 million people saw the media campaign
and 12 young entrepreneurs have had investments in their businesses.

Website:

http://goingtoschool.com/our_story.html

Date of Funding: April 2012

Aim:

To develop mushroom growing as a new income generation project amongst tribal women in the Warangal  District of Andhra Pradesh, India.

Impact:

The first year of this project was a learning process; CIVA were dealing with very poor tribal women, and they experimented with the amount of support, supervision and training that was required. They had initially started by working with groups of women book-readers who expressed interest in working together; but this approach was not satisfactory as interest often tailed off after they started. Therefore they now work with only those individual women who come forward expressly saying that they want to do it.

CIVA encourage them to grow a larger crop each year which gives them a greater financial benefit, this will lead to more committed women mushroom growers, more growing and more income per grower. After support from TFN, CIVA also received additional funding and coverage on an Indian TV station, a relationship with a local NGO also continues to develop well.

Beneficiaries:

Tribal women in rural India.

Website:

http://www.civa.org.uk/vvrg/andrha.htm

Date of Funding: April 2012

Aim:

Impact:

Beneficiaries:

Website:

Name of Project: Cancerkin

Aim:

To help reduce breast cancer mortality rates in Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Newham and to help women with breast cancer in the area cope with the non-medical issues associated with the disease.

Impact:

Since receiving TFN funding Cancerkin have been able to increase the scale and scope of the East London project with more therapy sessions reaching more women. They have recruited and trained 5 Experienced Patients from East London to offer one-to-one support to newly diagnosed patients. A group of students from the University of East London have also been recruited to become Awareness Ambassadors; they will promote breast awareness through events in partnership with local community groups, taking into account problems such as cultural and language barriers.

Beneficiaries:

In total, 182 people have benefitted from TFN funding, including 117 women with cancer.

Website:

http://www.cancerkin.org.uk/

Well, they must have liked what they saw because last week, Madalina Marcu and her colleagues staged the first TFN event in Bucharest, raising a total of €2,500 for three projects. The group that participated – the RBL Community – consists of business leaders in Romania who have met and planned common projects as part of a national summit organized by the RBL Foundation. In partnership with ARC Romania, this community had the first TFN meeting. The projects which were selected to present were chosen for their diversity and included a watch dog project targeting anticorruption mechanisms in Romania, a scholarship program for young people to be part of an entrepreneurial skills development project and a prize for good quality journalism.

Fred and Fenella were able to attend the event and to support the three projects (Fenella was doing some training with Romania community foundations). Fred reported that the evening had been a great success and that it was exciting to see an entirely new group of donors participating enthusiastically in their first ever pledging session.

Madalina said: “People are very enthusiastic with the idea and we will definitely continue! The TFN model is one that everybody falls in love with – community foundations, NGO’s from very different countries, business people etc. We would love to be part of your network both to build a TFN group here in Bucharest but also to promote the model to others who might be interested. This is a very good instrument to help people give – thank you for all your help in spreading this wonderful model. We will make sure than in every situation TFN is recognised as inspiration.”

Thank you in particular to members Jenny Sheridan and Karen Payne who met with the group in December. We hope to host more groups in the future at our events – please let us know if you would like to play a part in these visits.

If you would like to find out more about ARC, RBL or you are interested in supporting them or their projects in Romania, please visit www.arcromania.ro or email Madalina Marcu at madalina@arcromania.ro.

• Relate West & Mid Kent raised £4,405 for a counselling service to give young people the opportunity to explore their feelings, helping them cope better with the challenges of growing up.
• Thanet Community Development Trust’s ‘The Kitchen’ offers opportunities to disadvantaged people to improve their lives through training, workshops and community activities. £2,740 will help them provide more opportunities for their volunteers.
• Kent Refugee Help works to secure the release of men detained at the Dover Immigration Removal Centre and offers support after their release. They raised £4,024 which will pay for volunteer hours already undertaken by their caseworkers.
• Walk Tall will use £3,006 to support disadvantaged adults into a productive, mainstream active life by establishing an adult community theatre, film & arts group underpinned with mentoring and talking therapy.
• Voluntary Action Within Kent’s 121 Cafe, which aims to reconnect marginalised and isolated young people through a Befriending Service and Personal Development Programme raised £2,972.

We were so pleased that the people of Kent came out to support the projects, a big thank you to everyone who came and those who sent pledges in their absence. We had some great comments from people who attended the event, including the below:

“What a fantastic evening at the Spa – I can’t believe how much was raised!”

“The TFN event hosted by Kent CF was an inspiring experience.”

“What a great way to meet a wide range of people in the community doing really
interesting jobs you’d never normally hear about.”

If you would like to make a donation to any of the above projects then please contact Karen for further information on karen@thefundingnetwork.org.uk.

Spring was in the air as we marked TFN’s 10th Anniversary and raised over £30,000 for five social change projects.

We were so pleased that so many friends, old and new, joined us for our Members’ Champagne Breakfast and Spring Funding Event on Saturday. Held ten years after TFN’s first event, we were delighted that three of our four Founders were able to join us to mark such a special occasion. In those 10 years TFN has raised over £4,350,000 for incredible causes and the final charity presenting on Saturday marked the 600th project to come through our doors. Planning is also well underway for our official 10th birthday celebrations which will see us returning to the beautiful Mansion House on Monday 2nd July. Please mark your diaries now and keep your eye on our website for further announcements.

Polly McLean, one of TFN’s Co-Founders gave us her reflections on the past 10 years and spoke of the immense hope and optimism she feel after a TFN event. We heard back from Cancerkin, who were funded last March and told us how their grant had helped them to increase the scale and scope of their east London breast cancer project. We also said ‘Bon Voyage’ to Tillie Sklair as Saturday marked her last day with The Funding Network, although she promises to return to visit us at an event soon. The five projects presenting on the day all did a fantastic job and together we raised a total of £33,167.

Mivule – £5,297

Working Chance -£7,909

The Book Bus – £6,793

Bold Vision – £5,427

Children of the Forest – £7,743

A big thank you to Maynard Leigh for kindly hosting the event and to everyone who came along and helped the charities exceed their targets. These grants will help bring solar power to small communities in Uganda, assist female ex-offenders into employment, improve literacy levels in Zambia & Malawi, support and empower the users of New Cross Learning and help children escaping repression in Burma. You can watch films of the projects pitching by clicking on their names above.  If you wish to donate to any of these great projects then there is still time to do so; details are available on our website or please contact Karen for a pledge form, karen@thefundingnetwork.org.uk

From pledges made at this event the projects will receive grants totalling £63,267.

BasicNeeds – £12,350
Aangan Trust – £8,894
Mann Deshi – £10,930
Developments in Literacy – £11,898
Educate Girls – £19,193

The impacts of these donations will be felt by people suffering from mental illness in Pakistan, disempowered girls in Mumbai’s slums, illiterate women in rural Maharashtra, India, children without access to quality education in rural Pakistan and communities in Rajahstan who do not value girls’ education.

We would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who came along to the event and pledged so generously, to Coutts for hosting and to the British Asian Trust for pulling the whole thing together and to all the fabulous British Asian stars who gave up their evening to promote social change in South Asia.

We hope this event will be the first of many!