SCF Annual Review 2022-23

Somerset
Cost-of-
Living Crisis
Appeal
The Cost-of-Living Crisis took hold in
2022, pushing many people who were
already struggling to make ends meet
into desperate situations. Inflation
hit a 40-year high and the cost of
household essentials like food, energy
and fuel rocketed.
Living in a rural county means that
basic costs like fuel are already
higher due to the distance from
work, school or essential services.
Many of our neighbours also rely on
more expensive modes of heating
for their homes such as oil-fuelled
boilers, where costs have also grown
significantly in the last year.
Local charities themselves are battling
to survive in the face increased costs
to carry out their work, soaring
demand and fewer donations from
the public.
We launched our Somerset Costof-Living
Crisis Appeal in August
2022. Thanks to the generosity of
local people and funding partners, we
raised £900,000 to help local people
and the charities who support them
through these incredibly tough times.
We used the funds raised to provide
three key strands of support:
Cost-of-Living Grants: Almost
£500,000 of our funding was used
to make grants of up to £10,000 to
support groups to meet increased
demand, offset the impact of inflation
on their organisation, or subsidise
community activities to ensure access
for all in times of financial hardship.
Somerset Move-In Fund: We
re-opened our Move-In Fund, which
originally ran for 2 years from 2019.
The Fund, run in partnership with
local homelessness charities, provides
grants of up to £2,000 for individuals
who have been offered housing but
Annual Review 2022/23 17
can’t afford to furnish or carpet their
homes. One of Arc’s beneficiaries in
2020, Guy, said of the Fund: “The
money has definitely helped me
settle into my new property with less
to worry about, it really has made a
massive difference to me.”
Helping community buildings
become more sustainable: Village
halls and community centres have
also suffered from soaring energy
costs. We’re working together with
Community Council for Somerset to
pilot a scheme offering energy audits
at 17 village halls and community
centres across Somerset to help them
reduce their bills and become more
sustainable so they can continue to
offer free and affordable activities for
their communities.
Each community building will be
provided with a prioritised programme
of energy efficiency measures, and we
will then work with each community
to explore what funding options are
available to help them implement
changes.
We’re thankful to the
following organisations
for their generous support
of our Somerset Cost-of-
Living Crisis Appeal, and
to the many individual
donors who gave so
generously to support
local people in need.
Somerset Council
Department for Digital,
Culture, Media & Sport
Fairfield Trust
Magnox
McGreevy Charitable Trust
M&G Plc
The Barratt Development Foundation
The British Red Cross
South Somerset District Council
Sedgemoor District Council
Somerset West and Taunton District Council
Energy bills
increased by
over 50%
in April 2022