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Northamptonshire Community Foundation - Annual Awards 2019
| Author: Sam Colby Butcher | Published: 12th November 2019 11:02 |
The Awards, which took place at the Royal & Derngate Theatre on Wednesday 6 November 2019, once again threw a spotlight on the incredible work that dedicated volunteers and community groups do across the county.
An inclusive film-making programme, a support group for vulnerable families and a group providing support for cancer sufferers – just a few of the winners at this year’s Northamptonshire Community Foundation Annual Awards.
The Awards, which took place at the Royal & Derngate Theatre on Wednesday 6 November 2019, once again threw a spotlight on the incredible work that dedicated volunteers and community groups do across the county.
Richard Peters, one of the financial planners at Fortitude Financial Planning, sits on the grants panel, which means he gets to see the foundation in action as well as playing a part in selecting the initiatives that receive funding.
About the Northamptonshire Community Foundation
The Northamptonshire Community Foundation (known as NCF for short) is a unique Northampton-based charity that’s dedicated to championing community-based initiatives. It’s funded by local businesses and it aims to help as many disadvantaged people and communities as possible.
NCF describes itself as a ‘broker’ between the people who care about their local community and the wide range of voluntary organisations, community groups and local charities who do the hands-on work to make a real difference. The organisation has been around for more than 20 years now, and in that time has given out more than £25m in grant funding. That funding has helped local community groups in such diverse areas as improving the wellbeing of older and vulnerable people, promoting togetherness and belonging, understanding mental health, tackling homelessness and building better opportunities for young people.
How the selection panel works
The NCF grants panel, with Richard included, meets once a year. It brings together up to 10 representatives of local businesses to deliberate on which organisations will be awarded funding for the year ahead. The panel invites charities from the areas to pitch their initiatives and to set out the work they’d do should they secure a grant. The process begins with a written submission to NCF, followed by a series of shortlisting steps designed to gradually whittle down the field to those submissions that the panel believes are the most worthy and ultimately, will do the most good.
The panel then collaboratively decides which shortlisted charities should be nominated for a category award. Panel members chose which category they would host and present on the big awards night (more about that later).
Where are we up to this year?
This year, Richard and the rest of the panel members met on 18 July to sift through the applications and decide which initiatives would go on to the next stages. Having settled on the entries that they collectively believe to be the best, they then divided them into five award categories – ‘The Lifetime Achievement Award’, ‘The Edge Award’, ‘The Best Newcomer Award’, ‘The Brilliant Group Award’ and, finally, ‘The Trailblazer Award’, which was Richard’s category to present this year. The Trailblazer Award recognises companies who are providing innovative solutions to old or emerging issues.
The Celebration
The winners were revealed and the awards presented at an event with the whole panel present, alongside VIP attendees such as the Mayor and the High Sheriff, representatives from local businesses, and the charities themselves.
“The awards night was great fun and it’s a pleasure to be involved, but creating a better and brighter community is an ongoing commitment – it’s something that happens all year round and it takes a lot of planning and hard work. Just like building and carrying out a financial plan for your own future, it’s something that takes dedication and effort, but without question it’s worth it for the results.” Richard Peters, Fortitude Financial Planning.
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