With increased demand and reduced income due to cuts in Government funding, charities are facing unprecedented pressure.
A new survey has revealed that 97% of charity leaders expect economic conditions within the sector to be ‘negative’ over the next year. Consequently, over a third (35%) plan to decrease the extent of services they offer during the next three months.
TV personality and environmental expert Dick Strawbridge is backing a campaign to give small British charities the chance to win some much-needed funding.
The ‘Be a Local Star’ campaign, set up by Douwe Egberts, gives charities with an annual income of under £50,000 a chance to win £10,000. The campaign is now live on Facebook for charities to enter and for members of the public to register their vote and will end on Thursday 28th April 2011 (www.facebook.com/douweegbertsuk).
Environmentalist Dick Strawbridge is backing the campaign, which has a strong emphasis on Re-Use, Re-Fill, or Re-Cycle which he is very passionate about. The concept for the campaign was inspired by how Douwe Egberts customers use their empty coffee jars.
Dick says: “With all the cuts in funding across the UK, the campaign is a great idea. Giving small charities the chance to win £10,000 to put back into their local community will really help boost morale, and give small charities a much needed real boost.
“I am really excited to be a part of the Douwe Egberts ‘Be a Local Star’ campaign. It has been great to see all of the Facebook chatter around the campaign, and the creative ways that some of the entrants have been drumming up votes in their local areas and generating community support. I cannot wait to find out the final shortlist of charities!”
Entrants must provide a UK-registered charity number, the regional location of the charity, a contact email address and a brief explanation of why the project needs extra funding.
Charities can enter their projects into one of three categories: a Re-fill charity project is one that's low on funding and needs replenishing; a Re-use charity project is one which has facilities that are falling into disrepair and funds are needed to return them to their former glory; and a Re-Cycle charity project is one that transforms something unusable into something useful, such as wasteland into community allotments.
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