Guildfrd Philanthropy was established to turn ideas into successful social enterprises to help tackle community needs across the borough. By supporting social enterprise the Fund gives local people and community groups access to the resources they need to get their ventures off the ground to benefit them and their neighbourhoods.

Social enterprise can play a key role in improving prospects in our less advantaged communities. Guildford Philanthropy aims to bring together experienced and successful business people, residents and communities to develop sustainable local enterprise schemes.

These projects can deliver training opportunities, new skills and work experience to residents who may have missed out. The Fund helps local people to build new businesses who in the long term will manage and develop them further.

The Fund also helps charities, community and voluntary organisations to become more sustainable and increase their income generation, as well as supporting enterprise and entrepreneurship across the third sector.

Just last week, Guildford Philanthropy was awarded the Mayor’s Community Heroes Award 2021; recognising their exceptional work supporting local people through the pandemic.

Since March 2020, the Area Fund has come together with charities such as Foodwise TLC, helping them to provide over 30,000 cooked meals for over 300 vulnerable families in their first four months of the outbreak.

14 grants from the Guildford Philanthropy Fund, totalling over £141,000, have supported a number of local charities at this critical time. In addition, 50 laptops have been donated to Kings College so their students can continue their online studies while at home.

You can visit the Guildford Philanthropy website here for further information: guildfordphilanthropy.org.uk

Run by volunteers, and managed by the Community Foundation for Surrey (CFS), the Fund, comprising donations from individual residents and local companies, has a long-term endowment fund for future growth, and a grants fund from which disbursements are made to local charities and good causes on a regular basis.

Your donation today via Enthuse will be spilt equally between Guildford Philanthropy's endowment fund and grant fund.