London Gatwick offers £100,000 in funding to Sussex, Surrey and Kent causes

London Gatwick offers £100,000 funding to Sussex, Surrey and Kent causes.

Deserving local causes in parts of Sussex, Surrey and Kent can now apply for the second round of funding in the London Gatwick Foundation Fund. The fund has £100,000 available across the three counties and it is asking local groups which need support during the ongoing cost-of-living crisis to apply. 

The purpose of London Gatwick’s Foundation Fund 

Each year, there are three rounds of grants, with £300,000 in total split equally between groups in the area of benefit, which operates in Sussex across Crawley, Horsham, Mid Sussex and Wealden, in Surrey across Reigate and Banstead, Tandridge and Mole Valley and in Kent across Tonbridge and Malling, Tunbridge Wells and Sevenoaks. 

Melanie Wrightson, Stakeholder Engagement Manager at London Gatwick, said: “The acute cost-of-living crisis in the UK continues and we know grassroots organisations and voluntary projects are under increasing financial strain.  

“The London Gatwick Foundation Fund has supported hundreds of good causes over the years. We would like to urge local charities and community groups to apply for funding and allow us to help make a difference.”

The London Gatwick Foundation Fund was set up in 2016 to award funding to local groups that work to fight social isolation and tackle disadvantage, raise aspirations and develop skills, improve health and wellbeing, and support children and young people. Funding is available to both new and existing projects. 

The Amber Foundation 

Amongst the previous recipients of funding from last year’s Foundation Fund was The Amber Foundation in Surrey which received £5,000 towards employment readiness workshops for young homeless people. 

The Amber Foundation houses around 25 young people aged 18-30 at any one time at Farm Place in Ockley, who have often experienced childhood trauma, domestic abuse, violence or bereavement which meant they became homeless or needed to sofa surf.  

Thanks to the funding, three team leaders delivered more than 100 employment readiness workshops in the last year, which included boundaries and expectations in the workplace, communication skills and debating.  

Young people also benefited from CV workshops, cover letter writing sessions and self-esteem workshops, as well as volunteering in the community, team activity days and skills and work experience gaining City & Guilds qualifications.  

Louise Cheung, Fundraising Manager, at The Amber Foundation, said: “These workshops and the team leaders’ support and guidance enabled 77% of the young people at Farm Place last year to move forward successfully into independent and safe housing and either into work (37%) or back to education/training (8%) or achieving a major goal such as a Level 2 qualification (55%).  

“The young people who moved forward successfully went into careers such as customer service, marketing, IT, facilities management and construction.  

“Thank you to the London Gatwick Foundation Fund for supporting employment readiness workshops at Farm Place. You have enabled young homeless people to move forward with their lives and develop their careers.” 

The deadline to apply for the London Gatwick Foundation Fund is 03 May in Sussex and 06 May in Kent. In Surrey, applicants must express an interest by 08 July. 

For more information about the London Gatwick Foundation Fund please go to: https://www.gatwickairport.com/company/community/funding.html