Community Foundation for Surrey Welcomes the Launch of Shepperton Studios’ £250,000 Education Fund

27th August 2024

Shepperton Studios supplied image of people in a studio with softbox lights, it is high contrast black and white and sillouhetted.

Shepperton Studios has launched a significant new initiative, the £250,000 Education Fund, aimed at supporting film and media education across primary, secondary, and tertiary levels. This fund, part of Shepperton’s ‘Virtual Academy,’ is designed to nurture the next generation of filmmakers by providing young people in Shepperton and the broader Spelthorne borough with the skills and training necessary for success in the creative industries.

At the Community Foundation for Surrey, we are proud to partner with Shepperton Studios to manage this fund, ensuring it reaches the communities where it can have the greatest impact.
Dr Rebecca Bowden, CEO of the Community Foundation for Surrey, says:
“Once again we are very pleased to support Shepperton Studios with a brand new Fund, enabling them to continue making an impact in schools and colleges in the Shepperton and wider Spelthorne area.”

The Shepperton Studios Education Fund is an accessible resource for the development of film, arts, and media skills among young people. The fund focuses on supporting initiatives that benefit the Shepperton area and the wider Spelthorne borough, with a strong emphasis on aiding under-represented and underprivileged groups who may face barriers to accessing such opportunities.

Daniel Mouawad, Chief Executive of Spelthorne Borough Council, highlighted the significance of this fund, stating:
“This initiative will offer children in Spelthorne an accessible opportunity to explore the film and television industry, helping them to develop their skills and interests in a field that might otherwise seem out of reach.”

The fund’s broad eligibility criteria allow for a wide range of projects to be supported, from technology and equipment upgrades in educational establishments to the development of creative curriculum programmes. The fund seeks to inspire creativity and foster skills development through practical, fun learning experiences at all educational levels.

For those interested in applying for a grant, the process begins with submitting an Expression of Interest, which opens on Tuesday, 27th August, and closes at 9 am on Monday, 14th October 2024. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to submit a full application, with a deadline of 9am on Monday, 9th November 2024. To support potential applicants, we will be hosting a Q&A session on Wednesday, 18th September at 4pm.

For further information on how to apply, please visit our website at www.cfsurrey.org.uk/makeanapplication, or contact us via email at grants@cfsurrey.org.uk.

We look forward to seeing the positive impact this fund will have on the future filmmakers and media professionals in our community.

Hall Hunter Community Fund

5th July 2024

Grants are available from the Hall Hunter Community Fund with a particular priority to support food security, healthy eating, farming and education.

Best known for their sustainably produced berries and fruit farms, Hall Hunter Partnership are committed to making a difference in communities across Surrey. The fund will support organisations who promote; food security, healthy eating, farming and education.

The fund awarded its first grant to Stanwell Events in 2024. The grant will go towards providing cooking opportunities for young people in an area of deprivation in Surrey.

The sessions on offer include hands on cooking classes, opportunities to grow their own ingredients and practical support on budgeting for meals. The sessions ensure young people have the opportunity to learn the importance of healthy eating, working as a team and producing food they can feel proud of.

How to apply to the Community Foundation for Surrey for a grant

The process starts with submitting an Expression of Interest (EOI) – this is a simple form where you can tell us what you need to fund. Don’t overthink it or spend too much time on it. Complete the EOI form by clicking the link below and the Grants Team will be pleased to advise you on whether we can invite an application.

Please visit our what we do and do not fund page for more information and our eligibility guidance.

Shepperton Studios Community Fund Grants Announced

15th May 2024

Shepperton Studios have awarded the latest round of grants from their Community Fund. The £500,000 Fund was launched in 2022 to support local individuals, non-profit and voluntary organisations including charities, social enterprises, and community groups that serve the Shepperton area and wider borough of Spelthorne. The fund applications are reviewed and presented twice a year and has so far supported 17 local organisations, including five in this latest round.

Tristam Slater, General Manager, Shepperton Studios said,

“Supporting local organisations around Shepperton Studios is of the highest importance to us as a local business and employer, and with this latest round of grants from the Shepperton Community Fund we are supporting wellbeing initiatives across the community from Childbirth to wellbeing initiatives.”

In this fourth round of grants, five organisations have been awarded grants:

TALK Ashford supports people with aphasia (primarily resulting from stroke) by enabling them to practise all aspects of communication and promote confidence in a supportive environment, leading to increased participation and independence in the community. Awarded £2,500.

Home-Start Spelthorne offers friendship and confidential support to Spelthorne families with young children to help them through difficulties and prevent these becoming crises. We recruit, train and support volunteers with parenting experience and match them to families with children up to age 11 who are experiencing loneliness, mental or physical illness or disability of child or parent, domestic abuse, poverty, inability to cope and other problems. Awarded £10,000.

Dance Woking have nurtured and sustained the overall dance ecology in Woking & wider Surrey benefitting many thousands of people as performers, participants or audiences. This year the organisation celebrates 30 years of dance centred activity. Dance Woking provides participation opportunities, to inspire creativity and to connect individuals of all ages in moving and memorable artistic experiences. Their pop-up and festival appearances; working with partners, in shopping centres or local parks, bringing public spaces to life, engaging whole communities, and showcasing skills in extraordinary ways. Working with targeted communities the funding enables Dance Woking to remove some of the financial barriers to participation. Awarded £2,285.

Charlton Village Residents Association represents the residents of Charlton Village within the wider community. The association promotes membership to all residents within Charlton Village and represents the interests and rights of residents whilst encouraging them to be more actively involved. Awarded £5,000.

Derek Ferguson , Chair, Charlton Residents Association

“Charlton Village Resident’s Association were delighted to be awarded £5,000 from the community fund. This money will be used to improve and enhance our village and bring colour to our verges and borders. We are very grateful to Pinewood for this award.”

National childbirth Trust Sunbury and Shepperton Branch the Sunbury, Shepperton and Chertsey NCT is a branch of the national charity. We aim to support each unique journey of pregnancy, birth and early parenthood. The branch has been active locally for over 30 years by providing antenatal and postnatal classes, breastfeeding support and weekly parent and baby groups. Awarded £5,000.

Dianne White, NCT Sunbury and Shepperton, said,

“We are absolutely delighted to receive funding support from Shepperton Studios Community Fund. Both our weekly drop-ins have been steadily building in momentum since returning to in-person support, so to know we are secure for another year is a huge relief. We look forward to supporting many more expectant and new parents/carers.”

Rebecca Bowden, CEO of Community Foundation for Surrey said,

“We’re delighted to be able to support Shepperton Studios with their Community Fund to make a huge positive difference to their local communities. It is pleasing that the fund has been able to support people of all ages with this set of grants, from new mums to young children to adults affected by aphasia.”

The Community Foundation for Surrey works with Shepperton Studios to identify worthwhile causes and oversees the implementation and monitoring of all projects that are supported by the Shepperton Studios Community Fund.

How to apply for a grant

To be considered for an award in December 2024, please send an expression of interest by 9am Monday 8th July 2024. If you are invited to make full application, you will be provided with a link to the application form on 22nd July 2024. The deadline for full applications is 9am Monday 2nd September 2024.

Please access the following website for further information and register on the ‘Expression of Interest’ page https://www.cfsurrey.org.uk/makeanapplication/.

Please note, grants will be awarded subject to meeting the Fund Criteria.

Charles Russell Speechlys (CRS) Community Fund Launched

17th October 2016

The Charles Russell Speechlys’ (CRS) Community Fund launched at Charles Russell Speechlys’ inaugural networking event for charities in the South East, “Charity Connect” in September. The fund has been set up to “to support young people to have opportunities that they would not otherwise have and to help them to widen their horizons and aspirations.”

Skillway and The Boileroom Originate were the first two recipients of grants from the Charles Russell Speechlys (CRS) Community Fund. Godalming-based Skillway (Warehouse Christian Trust) enables young people to raise their self-esteem and motivation through apprentice-style teaching of manual skills. The Boileroom Originate CIC in Guildford provides support for a small tour by young musicians to three local youth clubs in deprived areas. Both charities received £500 from the newly launched fund.

Sally Ashford, Partner, Charles Russell Speechlys said,

“We are thrilled to have launched the CRS Community Fund and to be able to support such positive initiatives in our local community to help young people to develop new skills and raise their aspirations.

“As a firm, we feel very strongly about the importance of giving back to the community and we have set up a panel of eight staff who all volunteered to get involved with the CRS Community Fund. We plan to meet on a quarterly basis to review submissions and award donations. A number of the volunteers also hope to visit the charities we are supporting and learn more about how we are supporting them.”

If you are a Surrey-based charity which enables young people to widen their horizons and aspirations and are looking for funding visit our application pages now.

Focus on Local Philanthropy

10th August 2016

Our Deputy Director was recently interviewed by Martin Bamford, Managing Director of Informed Choice Independent Financial Planning. The podcast has local philanthropy as its focus, and the interview includes information on:

How you can make a difference here in Surrey; and
How the Community Foundation for Surrey can provide professional guidance and support to make your local giving effective and enjoyable.

Questions answered in the podcast include:

What are the Community Foundation for Surrey’s main aims and how does it work?
How does philanthropy differ from charity?
How can philanthropy fit into financial planning? Where would someone start if they were thinking about allocating some of their financial resources to important local causes?
What are the main issues facing Surrey’s community and how can philanthropy help?

Click below to listen:

Charles Russell Speechlys Community Fund

6th May 2016

The Charles Russell Speechlys Community Fund was established to support existing services or facilities and new initiatives of non-profit organisations including charities, social enterprises, community groups and voluntary organisations which help people to gain confidence and skills and which provide opportunities for young people at a local level in Surrey with a specific focus within the Boroughs of Surrey Heath, Guildford, Waverley and Elmbridge.

Grants awarded may include the following but will not be exclusive:

Employment, training and Skills – Helping people to gain confidence and raise aspirations through training and development of new skills;

Widening horizons / providing opportunities – supporting projects that enable young people to have opportunities that they would not otherwise have and to help them to widen their horizons and aspirations.

Example grants from the fund:

The Normandy Community Therapy Garden – £500

The Therapy Garden is a horticulture and education charity that uses gardening as a way of supporting and engaging adults and teenagers with learning, physical and mental health disabilities.

This funding helped support the charity’s ‘Stroke of Genius’ project that offered therapeutic horticulture to a group of stroke survivors and their carers, thus providing survivors with gentle exercise whilst they are learning about gardening. Stroke sufferers often become isolated while they are recovering, but this project offers an opportunity to socialise and gain confidence.

Challengers – £500

Challengers is charity dedicated to ensuring disabled children and young people, who are frequently marginalised from mainstream settings, have access to inclusive and high-quality play and leisure activities.

This funding helped the support of the charity’s ‘Young Ambassadors’ project to achieve more engagement with siblings of disabled children and young people, and to bring to the forefront the voices of young carers. Funding was given for a particular group of carers who support ‘hard to reach’ disabled children and young people; the siblings. The Young Ambassadors were trained and supported before becoming a fully operative ambassador of the charity and for disabled people. In doing so, the Young Ambassadors were able to raise awareness and increase understanding of disability, and the opportunity to develop their CV and skills, through training provided by Challengers around disability, business, communication skills and career opportunities.

Electronic Arts Educational Fund & Electronic Arts Youth Fund

27th April 2016

Electronic Arts has two Community Foundation funds to support skills and training projects in Guildford for young people as well as specific educational programmes; the Electronic Arts Youth Fund and the Electronic Arts Educational Fund.

The Electronic Arts Youth Fund supports projects which benefit young people between the ages of 11 to 18 years and is particularly focused on supporting equipment or activity costs. The fund prioritises projects which will benefit areas of higher need in Guildford which help young people to gain confidence and new skills through training and development.

The Electronic Arts Educational Fund makes grants of up to £1,000 to projects providing educational programmes to support children and young people up to 18 years old, in and around the Guildford area in the areas of:

Computer Science and Physics
Technology
Engineering
Arts (digital arts)
Maths and Multi-media

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