Corporate Giving
Hood Arrowhead is a local company with a long-standing and firm commitment to the local communities in which its employees live and work.
The company approached Nottinghamshire Community Foundation and set up an Endowment Fund with the minimum amount of £25,000. They set themselves a target to grow the fund to £100,000 over a 10 year period. The Arrowhead Fund is invested so that the interest generated can be used to award grants to community groups and projects around North Nottinghamshire where the company operates.
Fred Bassetlaw the managing director is a keen advocate of the work, seeing the great potential not just for his business but for his employees and their local communities. He says "As the fund grows so does the income and over time the value of grants given will far exceed the initial donation.”
The fund is managed by the Foundation but it is the Hood Arrowhead staff committee that considers applications quarterly in a meeting held in their offices and facilitated by one of the NCF team. It is an interactive process with Hood Arrowhead's staff being able to invite applications from groups known to them, or point NCF in the direction of groups that are meeting the needs that they see in their communities. Usually they award grants of under £1,000 to a wide variety of projects.
The first grant from the Arrowhead Fund at the Community Foundation was awarded to a local community centre that was working hard to provide activities and a space to rebuild the core community after the closure of its coalmine. The community centre wanted funds to train their volunteer staff in business principles, their aim being to secure the centre for the future, employ people and build local skills.
Other grants from the fund have supported a community street party, IT equipment for the training rooms in The Neighbourhood Centre, and a welfare rights advice centre. These are just the beginning - grants will continue to be made year after year, making an impact on the health of very varied local communities in the north of the county.
“Nottinghamshire Community Foundation’s strong relationship with the local press allows the company to gain positive publicity from our community involvement, while at the same time involving and empowering our staff.” Fred Bassetlaw adds “It also lets Hood Arrowhead take advantage of any corporate tax advantages gained from our charitable donation."
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If you are interested in starting your own fund or require any further information about supporting Nottinghamshire Community Foundation,
please contact Zoë Keens on 01623 636365.