SCF Annual Review 2022-23

Annual Review 2022/23 01
Message from our Chair and CEO
The resilience of our local charities, community groups
and social enterprises has been tested to the limit
during the past year. Not only have they had to adjust
to the long-term impacts of the pandemic on their
work, but many have faced the unexpected strain of
high inflation on their already stretched budgets. This
coincides with ever-increasing demand for services
due to the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on
individual households.
We know that it’s not been easy, but our local
organisations have shown – again – remarkable
fortitude and ingenuity to meet these challenges, build
hope and create new opportunities. Our key objective
is to inspire more local giving so we can provide
further funding, greater flexibility and more long-term
support to help ease the significant pressures on our
local groups.
We’re pleased to say we’re making strides towards
this objective. Thanks to the generosity of our donors
and funders, we awarded a record level of funding
last year to support their efforts. We’re grateful to
every single one of our donors for the trust and faith
they put in us to direct their giving to drive change in
Somerset.
In this report we share some headline results that
reflect the scale and purpose of our funding.
But we never forget that behind every grant lies a
story of hope and opportunity. Most importantly,
we’re delighted to share a small number of these
stories that we hope will inspire you and remind you
that community is very much alive and well here in
Somerset.
In September 2022 we held a special anniversary
event at The Newt, where we celebrated awarding an
incredible £20 million of funding in our 20th year.
We also said a fond farewell to our Chair Jane Barrie,
as well as trustees Jan Ross and Sarah Wakefield
who all retired from the board, and our Programmes
Director, Val Bishop who left to lead another local
charity. We have been pleased to welcome Angela
Kerr as a new trustee, and Sean Boland and Nina
Pearson to the staff team, and delighted to promote
Andrew Ridgewell and Kirsty Campbell.
As we write, the cost-of-living crisis continues to
impact heavily on our communities but we are buoyed
by the drive and determination of our local charities
and the growing engagement with local philanthropy
in Somerset. While we continue to look ahead and
reflect on the broader and longer-term challenges,
we remain excited by the significant opportunities to
grow local giving and the potential we know we can
help to unlock in our communities.
MICHAEL SAMUEL MBE
CHAIR
JUSTIN SARGENT OBE
CHIEF EXECUTIVE