We Love Shropshire is a place based fund that provides grants to a wide range of projects across the whole county of Shropshire. It was first established in 2019 and soon the fund will consider all applications from local groups in need twice a year.
Companies and individuals make up the bulk of the donors to the fund, either through direct donations, or by fundraising. All the money raised is invested through an endowment fund in line with charity commission guidelines. The financial return from the fund is then distributed as grants across the area. The beauty of this model is that it will provide a source of sustainable funding that can be used for grants long in to the future. It’s almost like a pension scheme set up to support community and voluntary groups across Shropshire. If a person or business prefers, their donation can be ringfenced to a specific area within the county, like Bridgnorth, North Shropshire, Oswestry, Shrewsbury, South Shropshire, or Whitchurch.
We invest all the money raised as an endowment fund. As a recognised community foundation, and member of UK Community Foundations, we invest in line with charity commission guidelines. The interest and dividends earned are then distributed as small grants. The beauty of this model is that it will provide a source of on-going funding that can be used for small grants, and larger grants as the fund grows, for many years to come.
