Chair's Report
Despite the ups and downs of the economy – and the challenges faced by most grant-making organisations – we have continued to make good use of the revenue at our disposal. We gave grants amounting to £17,599 to community organisations across our diverse area during the year.
Trusts such as ours are more crucial than ever as a life- line for smaller organisations which need easy access to funding at a local level. It is well recorded nationally that donations are going down, many trusts have had to freeze their grants programmes, and it is becoming more and more difficult to fund local community action. As guardians of the donations that people have made to the Trust, we have reviewed and amended our investment plan to ensure the best possible returns.
During the year we have held three enjoyable fundraising events: an Open Garden at Lawkland Hall (thanks to one of our trustees, Giles Bowring and his wife Diss), a performance of Pedal Power by Mikron Theatre Company in Addingham, and a concert by Cantores Salicium at Christchurch, Skipton.
Although these are good promotional opportunities, they provide only a minimal amount of income to the Trust. We are looking at different ways of attracting donations and applications, and would be interested to hear from anyone who is organising an event where we could display information or promote the Trust’s work. We are keen to attract new organisations and small projects which do not have access to the more mainstream funding opportunities.
I would like to pay tribute to our Funding Administrator, Steve Crossley-Smith, who retired this year, for all his time and energy in organising fundraising events and corresponding with our Friends over the last eight years.
I feel confident that we have remained loyal to our mission – local money for local needs – and sincerely thank new donors and those who continue to show their support through membership of the Trust for enabling us to do just that. I hope you will continue to support us in what looks like an even more challenging future for grant-makers and those in need, and please also help us to attract new Friends.
Caroline Schwaller, Chair
of The Craven and Beamsley Trusts
Full list of grants available to view or download here (pdf format)