Small commitments lead to big change
The board has been on a fundraising journey, we have an ambitious plan to raise £230,000. We recently held a fundraising event which was well attended and there was much energy and support in the room.
Our fundraising team led by Olly Swayne are actively completing bids to raise the vital funds we need to transform a space on Bristol's Gloucester Road into a cafe and operationalise our vision to provide work experience for people on RoTL or who have recently left prison.
Large donations are of course going to be instrumental in helping us to get to our goal and deadline, however, as I sat pondering how to galvanise support from people who perhaps don't have a lot to give, I felt it was important to say that every penny counts, small donations are more than welcome and we have set up a just giving page just for that. We also welcome support in kind, people have skills or materials that can be donated too.
According to Giving What We Can "when directed to a highly effective charity, even a small donation can have a surprisingly large impact".
If you're like me you've given small donations to charities over the years and this act of kindness has a positive effect on the giver, Berkleys' The Science of Generosity report says "Giving social support—time, effort, or goods—is associated with better overall health in older adults, and volunteering is associated with delayed mortality.
Generosity appears to have especially strong associations with psychological health and well-being.... frequent helpers reported feeling greater vitality and self-esteem (but only if they chose to help of their own accord). Other studies have shown a link between generosity and happiness". I guess the evidence is in, everyone benefits!
If you are considering supporting a small charity I would like to invite you to become part of our journey by donating a regular small amount of money or materials, stock, expertise, labour or time.
To contact us please email thekeycharity@mail.com and to make a one-off or regular donation visit our Just Giving page.
By Sharon Woma