ANNUAL REVIEW 2020/21 Well what a year that was! 2020-21 was a year in which everything changed and we were all reminded of the most important things in life. For many of us it was the hardest year of our lives, yet it was also the year in which we demonstrated our shared humanity and compassion like never before in living memory.
to be in a position to directly help those grassroots charities that are making a difference at the front line of our communities.
Throughout the 18 months since the start of the coronavirus pandemic we have been reminded in so many ways of the inequality in our society. While no one has been immune from its impact, the pandemic has been far worse for people who were already disadvantaged, those who live alone or in cramped accommodation and those whose jobs could not be done from home.
Looking ahead Sussex Community Foundation will continue to be a broad based local funder, supporting a vast range of local community action and helping our donors to support the causes they care about. We also want to take a lead in identifying urgent and critical issues affecting our communities.
As we hopefully start to climb out of this crisis in the autumn of 2021, we are starting to see what the longer term effects of the pandemic might be. Wages have not risen significantly but we are seeing signs of growing inflation, fuelled by supply chain and energy supply problems. As I write this, the government has since ended the £20 uplift per week for universal credit given during the pandemic, which will mean thousands of families will find themselves slipping further into debt every week. Many young adults have lost more than a year when they would normally be laying the foundations of future family and working lives. Children have had their education severely disrupted, many older people have been isolated or had to grieve alone for loved ones. Thousands of people have lost jobs and are worried about the prospect of finding new work – especially in areas like Crawley which are heavily dependent on travel for employment. But the great thing about being involved in a community foundation is that you don’t just have to worry about such problems – you can actually do something about them. It is a great privilege SUSSEX COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ANNUAL REVIEW 2020/21
Local charities have been the bedrock that has seen many of us through this challenging time, and they are also the visionaries that will help us to build a better world as we come out of it.
Addressing poverty and disadvantage and building strong communities have always been part of our DNA but increasingly we are realising that we can also achieve this by supporting charities that are addressing climate change or encouraging people to participate in arts, culture and sport. In the year ahead we have a strong commitment to ensuring we are reaching all parts of our community and promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in all our work. Thanks to your generous support, Sussex Community Foundation was able to provide more grant funding for inspiring local charities in 2020-21 than ever before. Through the Sussex Crisis Fund, and other emergency funds, we were able to provide immediate support to communities when it was most needed. Our job now is to convert this immediate response into long term, committed philanthropy so that we can continue to be there for those local charities who have seen us all through the last year and who will help us to build a better future in the years ahead. KEVIN RICHMOND CHIEF EXECUTIVE, SUSSEX COMMUNITY FOUNDATION NOVEMBER 2021