Fund raising

Last Monday Catrina, our fund-raising manager was invited to give a presentation to the local committee of a national charitable trust. She asked for a large grant to pay for one of the new rooms in the WEYES building. It was not a straighforward interview because the committee members asked lots of questions about the day to day running expenses of the WEYES project which Catrina had not prepared for. Nevertheless yesterday the committee phoned to say they would like to recommend Catrina's request for consideration by the national committee of the trust and asked her to complete a form giving additional information. This is promising news because our target is to raise £200,000 for the WEYES project from big donations from big charitable trusts like this.

We also want to raise a further £100,000 in small amounts from local giving. To date we have got £46,000, nearly half of that amount. This is generous donations from North East businesses, individuals and fund raising events last year.

Also this week John, our Head of Finance and I have been putting the finishing touches to an application to the Department of Health for a grant which, if successful would pay for most of what we need to raise. This is money that charities and social enterprises can apply for to activities that support community wellbeing. We have no idea whether this application will be looked on favourably or not but finger's crossed!