Stories and Numbers
Our Impact is measured both through the groups that we fund – what difference do they make to the community and to the individuals that they help – and through our overall data – the number of groups we fund, and the funding we distribute.
We organise this information by the local authority area and the needs addressed. We are committed to making our grantmaking transparent, so we also provide information to organisations that help with this process – 360 Giving and the Funders Race Equality Alliance
However, if you would like to explore the data about our impact, you will find the links on this page
Impact Stories
Veg Box Donation Scheme – fresh food for local families
The Veg Box Donation Scheme started in June 2020. Since then the group have provided fresh fruit and vegetable boxes to local people suffering financial hardship across Potton, Biggleswade, Sandy and the surrounding villages. Founder Sharon Mey started up the organisation initially as a way of re-distributing surplus food grown
The Ghana Society
The Ghana Society UK – Sharing the history and culture of Ghana and West Africa. Earlier this year The Ghana Society UK was awarded £10,000 through the Community Recovery Fund. This funding was awarded by BLCF and Luton Borough Council to help community groups and charities in Luton return to
Revolution Fitness
Revolution Fitness – inclusive, empowering fitness for all Earlier this year Revolution Fitness were granted £5,000 for their women’s sports activities through the Luton Rising Small Grants Fund. Set up in 2019 by an award winning, local general dental practitioner and fitness enthusiast Waled Mannan, the group have mobilised over
One Nation Archery Club
‘We are a family’ One Nation Archery Club hold regular weekly archery sessions and community taster sessions for anyone wishing to try the sport. Run by dedicated volunteers this club have bounced back after a challenging few years through covid, which saw the very sad loss of their founder and
Community Catalysts
Community Catalysts Community Catalysts is a social enterprise working across the UK to try to make sure that people who need care and support to live their lives can get help in ways, times and places that suit them, with real choice of attractive local options. We help local people
The Living Room – Story of Change
When I came to The Living Room I had thought I would never be able to tackle my behavioural addictions but had a tiny bit of hope left. When I got here I had already been in residential treatment twice as a result of a daily cocaine problem and a
Working Through The Pandemic
Since the first National lockdown we have undergone 20 months of turbulence, uncertainty and insecurity for the voluntary sector and other sectors, the likes of which we have never experienced before. Our Foundation, like so many other charities, experienced a surge in demand for our services to help plug the
Groundwork Luton & Bedfordshire
Groundwork Luton & Bedfordshire are steering the development of the LFPA with the objective of supporting organisations working in the area of food poverty in Luton, to work in collaboration in order to maximise impact when addressing the underlying causes and impacts of food poverty. A grant was awarded to
Dallow Business Partnership
This grant was provided to fund community drop-in service where they provided a number of different activities including exercise classes, introductory/basic skills (counselling, first aid etc) as well as other wellbeing activities. We have raised awareness around a number of issues as well as conducting general fitness sessions. These included;
Uprising
The grant awarded was to enable the organisation to deliver the Bedford and Luton Leadership Programme 2018-19. Over nine months, 27 sessions/events were delivered in each location, and participants attended a two-day Leadership Retreat. Sessions were hosted by senior leaders from public, private and not-for-profit sectors; repeated annually. There are
The Butterfly Project
This organisation provides therapeutic support to survivors of domestic abuse, through a range of creative activities such and art-making and singing. They also offer women one to one art therapy and the general public expressive art sessions. They were awarded a grant to run a series of art-based therapy sessions
Kings Arms Project
A grant was awarded towards their Women’s outreach project, working with up to 130 vulnerable women, who may be rough sleepers, homeless, struggling with addictions, escaping abusive relationships, ex-offenders, unemployed, have no recourse to public funds and refugees. Julia, a Polish female, had been sleeping rough for many years and
Learning Through The Arts
A social enterprise organisation that were awarded a grant using arts to build confidence, motivation and skills to put on a concert or performance working with local groups and colleges. Funds raised would be donated to local charities the young people choose. The grant covered costs of workshops and sessions
Funders for Race Equality Alliance (FREA) Data
2023 was the third time BLCF contributed to the FREA racial justice audit, and we continue to see positive results in our mission to address inequality as outlined in our strategic plan Local Focus, Lasting Change Strategic Plan – Bedfordshire & Luton Community Foundation (blcf.org.uk)
The audit looks at and holds funders to account in their aims to address the levels of inequality experienced by global majority communities and those experiencing racial injustice across the funding sectors and helps them to see where barriers can be removed. These findings show the national average compared to the results of BLCF and will be used to help us shape our thinking going forward. To see the national data analysis please visit HERE
2022-2023 saw 14 funders submit details of a total of 1897 grants, 1362 of which were included in the audit. The total value of the sample size was £64.3 million. BLCF continued to contribute all of our funding programmes across our regional spread to show a truly representative example of our work, rather than submitting a smaller sample.
As the toolkit becomes more developed through peer-led development, the reporting becomes more specific, and BLCF continues to do well across areas. We have seen an improvement in supporting groups whose mission and purpose is to work with specific communities experiencing racial inequity, with 36% of grants meeting this criteria compared to the national average of 24%. We have also kept on track with our percentage of grants awarded to groups led by representatives of the communities they serve (defined as 50% of management and 75% of the board) at 34% of our grantees, which is up 1% from our 2021-2022 data. It is pleasing to see that the national average has increased in this area; whereas in our previous audit we were significantly higher than the national average, we now see a small margin of difference. We have also kept on track with our reporting with percentage of grants awarded to groups led by people who have experienced racial inequality with BLCF reporting 36% against a national average of 24%, and we have scored well on grants designed to benefit communities experiencing racial inequity, with 40% of our grants going to applicants who are doing work with specific community focus compared to a national average of 27%.
In a change to the 2021-22 reporting, 2022-2023 saw an increased focus on looking at the design of grant making as well as the profile of applicants for grants, which has impacted how some of the data has been analysed. This has particularly impacted the statistics around how organisations are assessed as being led by those with lived experience; this now shows organisations led by and who also have specific charitable aims around addressing racial inequity in their constitution or charitable objectives, and while we are still above the national average for this work, it is a lower figure than previously reported. We also saw more specific reporting in the ethnicity of both the organisations and beneficiaries of particular grants, allowing us to see a more accurate representation of the communities benefiting from grants.
We have continued to look to address the short-term nature of our funding, which remains a core challenge to supporting our grantees in working to address root causes or symptoms of racial inequity in funded work, and are continuing to work with funders to support multi-year grants to support organisations in delivering core work.
