What we’ve Funded
Here we are pleased to showcase a selection of the projects we funded in 2023. To see a full list of the organisations supported in 2023 click here or see the award numbers here.
1st Lower Earley Scout Group
£1,475.60
1st Lower Earley Scout Group provides the fun, challenge and adventure of Scouting to young people from the Lower Earley community. It has seen significant growth in recent years and now serves over 160 young people supported by around 40 adult volunteers, including a recently opened Cub Pack to serve the Muslim community.
A major event in the Group’s calendar is a summer family camp involving all sections of the Group. The family camp requires a large number of tents and for many families accessing a tent for the weekend is a challenge. With our grant of £1,475.60 the Group has been able to purchase an additional 15 three-person tents which enables more people to take part.
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
£6,401
As one of their principal residency partners, RPO wanted to put on a Relaxed Concert Performance at the Hexagon for children and adults with special needs who may find attending traditional concerts challenging.
Our grant of £6,401 contributed towards a concert in October 2023 enjoyed by an audience of 143. The performance featured a 25-piece orchestra performing an interactive concert in an informal environment, alongside live BSL interpretation, projections (images, widget symbols) and coloured lighting. Throughout the performance audience members were able to vocalise, move about, leave/re-enter the auditorium or otherwise engage with the performance in a way that best aligned with their own individual needs.
Following the performance, audience members had the opportunity to join the musicians in small groups around the venue to take part in activities which allowed them to engage with the music on a more individual basis.
RISC
£19,772
Trustees are excited to be supporting the RISC Education Team with funding through the Earley Charity Partner Scheme to provide free climate education training and resources to schools, teachers and community groups in the Earley Charity Area of Benefit.
Climate anxiety is a growing issue for young people but research shows that when they are given the chance to take action themselves then the anxiety can be alleviated.
Using a portfolio of climate related resources which are directly relevant to our locality whilst acknowledging the global dimension of the current climate emergency, this project increases the opportunities available to young people and their families to connect with their local environment and give them the knowledge, confidence and ideas to take climate action in their own lives.
New Beginnings Reading
£3,955
The trustees were pleased to support New Beginnings Reading with a grant of £3,955 towards the cost of running their Community Fridge for two months. Community Fridge opens three times a week, 52 weeks of the year and benefits around 220 local families with each session attended by around 70-80 people.
Rockets Sport and Educational Foundation
£7,917.60
The Club wanted to launch a wheelchair basketball programme based at Loddon Valley Leisure Centre to provide the opportunity for both wheelchair and able bodied players to experience this exciting sport locally. Trustees were pleased to support this new initiative with a grant of £7,917 that helped set up 2 teams which competed in both the Division 1 and 2 of the British Wheelchair Basketball League.
As well as giving local people the opportunity to watch competitive games live at Loddon Valley Leisure Centre and online, the funding supported community “have-a-go” events that allowed people to try a range of chair-based sports.
Launchpad Reading
£7,440
Launchpad Reading approached the Charity for funding to furnish and equip a newly converted house providing move-on accommodation for people with a history of homelessness. This was part of a major project Launchpad was undertaking to increase the number of people they can support who are moving on from supported housing to greater independent living.
The grant was used to furnish and equip the bedrooms and shared facilities providing each tenant with their own safe and private space whilst also giving them the opportunity to enjoy the shared kitchen and lounge. Trustees were pleased to support Launchpad with this project to create truly affordable rented homes for people on their journey away from homelessness.
Mostly G&S
£1,500
Mostly G&S is a small music performance group which has been performing Gilbert and Sullivan operettas in the area since 2010. For their spring show in 2024 they put on The Pirates of Penzance and were keen to include a matinee performance aimed at children, as a way of increasing engagement with young people who would not usually have opportunity to attend a live performance of this kind.
Our grant of £1,500 enabled them to offer 40 free tickets for children. Each child received a special bag, customised with the name of the show and pirate insignia, containing a magazine style 8 page booklet with various challenges and activities closely linked to the show, along with a pirate headdress and eyepatch, coins in a draw string loot bag, and other music and letter themed pieces.
Reading Refugee Support Group
£40,300
A number of trustees made contributions from their Trustee-Led Grant allowance for 2023 to support the Refugee Support Group with a grant of £40,300 for a variety of non-recurring expenditure items ranging from arts supplies and a travel fund for the refugee football team to office equipment and training for staff and volunteers.
The starting-point for the interest in funding the Refugee Support Group was when trustees heard that they had reached full capacity and were struggling to accept new applications for a while. The trustees recognise the increasing demands on refugee support services and were pleased to offer their support.
Wokingham Volunteer Centre
£5,000
The Wokingham Volunteer Centre runs a basic gardening service for elderly and disabled people in Wokingham Borough who are unable to manage their gardens themselves but cannot afford a commercial service and have no friends or family who can help them. The scheme, which has been running for about nine years, was at full capacity and had a growing waiting list. Having an unkempt garden can be a source of stress and anxiety for an owner used to having a tidy garden and unkempt front gardens are known to attract unwanted attention from criminals or 'rogue traders'.
To be able to help more people the Volunteer Centre wanted to expand the scheme. They approached us for a grant of £5,000 towards the cost of buying and equipping an additional van, to effectively double their capacity. The Trustees were pleased to support the expansion of this valuable scheme.
Close Partners
We provide regular grant funding to a small number of organisations in support of projects closely aligned with our priorities. These close partners are:
Organisations Supported in 2023
We supported the following organisations in 2023
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1st Lower Earley Scout Group
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Aspire2
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Berkshire Women's Aid (BWA)
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Berkshire MS Therapy Centre
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British Red Cross
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Earley CResCent Community Association
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East Reading Festival
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Graft Thames Valley Ltd
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Green Ways
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Huntley & Palmers Allotment Association
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Integrated Network for Special and Additional Needs (INSAAN)
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Keep Mobile Community Transport CIO
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Launchpad Reading
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Make/Sense Theatre CIC
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Mostly G&S
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New Beginnings Reading
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Parenting Special Children
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RABBLE Theatre CIO
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Reading International Development Forum (RIDF)
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Reading International Solidarity Centre (RISC)
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Reading Refugee Support Group
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Reading Rep Theatre
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Reading Voluntary Action (RVA)
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Rockets Sport and Educational Foundation
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Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
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Smart Works Reading
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The Link Visiting Scheme
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The Way Ministry
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The Wokingham Volunteer Centre
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Ufton Court Educational Trust
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University Of Reading - Internships 2023
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Utulivu Women's Group
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Weller Centre
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Whitley Community Development Association