Bradford has a proud history of philanthropy – with well-known Victorian benefactors such as Saltaire founder Sir Titus Salt.
And while much has changed since his death almost 150 years ago the tradition of giving still continues.
In these straitened economic times with high levels of poverty one organisation is leading a movement of individuals and businesses who care about Bradford: helping them come together to see as much charitable funding as possible to where it can really make a difference in helping local people.
GiveBradford aims to bring about positive change by distributing vital grants and providing expert advice to community organisations and donors alike. Its work helps vulnerable and often marginalised communities to access opportunities in skills, health, education, culture and employment.
Steph Taylor, Chief Executive said: “GiveBradford started as a campaign back in 2017 to drive more philanthropic investment into communities in Bradford, to encourage people to give back to Bradford, to give in to Bradford from outside and to see Bradford as a place that deserved rich investment in its people, its assets and its diverse communities.”
Steph said: “We feel that in setting up GiveBradford as an independent entity from its host Leeds Community Foundation over the last few years, that we’ve got the best of both worlds because by working very closely with Leeds Community Foundation we can make sure that donors who want to give on a regional basis are connected and that major investment comes to Bradford from outside, but also that crucially we have Bradfordians over-seeing the decisions and any donations for Bradford benefit are ring-fenced as such. We are really proud of our collective giving vehicle – the Bradford Fund. This is basically a pot of money that we ask people to give into if they can, and take out of if they are doing something brilliant in communities and the money can help them do that.
In 2023 alone GiveBradford invested £460,000. The Bradford Fund has awarded 71 grants and invested over £417,000, since its launch in 2022.
GiveBradford links businesses that want to donate to community groups in need of funding.
Steph said: “I think businesses want to be involved. What can be difficult for them is knowing where to start in terms of putting investment into communities, so we aim to be that broker in the middle.
“If you’re a business who wants to make a difference and have social impact in Bradford we help you find the grass root community organisations that are doing brilliant stuff on a very local, often hyper local, level.
While businesses, particularly big brands, often work with well-known charitable organisations, which is “really important and absolutely should still happen”, the Bradford Fund enables giving to groups which might normally miss out.
“If you also want to give to a small community group down the road from your business, that maybe you’ve never heard of and which wouldn’t have the resources themselves to fundraise and find you, then we offer that connection through the Bradford Fund,” Steph said.
Recent supporters Balfour Beatty and High Speed Training are examples of businesses working in the district that are keen to make sure their money is spent in Bradford.
“It tends to appeal to organisations that have that sense of identity with Bradford in what they’re doing,” Steph explained. “They might be building infrastructure themselves in the district, they might have grown up their business in the district. It’s appealing to organisations that have been part of Bradford’s rich history and grown up through Bradford over time.
“Lots of new early startup businesses are interested as well because they can see that if they commit a percentage of their profit for example from the beginning, that’s how we can help build sustainable funding for communities in the long term.
Steph said: “If you want to do good in Bradford come and talk to us. Even if we’re not the right people we can signpost you to other organisations that you might give to directly.”
She added: “We can be that sign post as well as a vehicle for giving if you are ready to give and you want to give. We recognise that in these difficult times sometimes people can give energy and skills as well as money and we can support and direct that strategically across the district.”
Commenting on the city’s tradition of philanthropy she said:
“I think what’s really exciting about the direction of travel for GiveBradford is we’re looking to continue that story and to continue to encourage its rich history of philanthropy and giving but also create something that speaks to a more equitable way of thinking about the community that isn’t just people who’ve got money giving to people who haven’t, but through the Bradford Fund building a collective giving vehicle that everybody owns. That is a pot of money that can be invested over the long term for communities and build something sustainable.
She said:“The Bradford Fund is our flagship fund for people who see the value in collective giving. Some of our businesses will have what we call a named fund, so they’ll have their own relationship and their own fund that’s trying to do something quite specific and we welcome that as well. But we are particularly wanting to champion the Bradford Fund because it’s a way to secure investment into communities when and how they need it.
“It allows us to be as flexible as we can in responding to what’s happening in communities around the cost of living crisis.
“During covid it allowed us to spend money on supporting people that were struggling with covid and, particularly over the last couple of years, we’ve been using it to fund community organisations to actually develop their own business models, their own infrastructure and their own resilience. So that they can continue to run as successful organisations themselves.”
Steph said: “I hope this will resonate with the business community because often charities are funded for a project – and that’s great and that project is really important – but they don’t have the costs of their strategy development covered, they don’t have the costs of their office covered, they don’t have any R&D.
“These are fundamental to a business, but often with charities there’s no way to fund those things, so they can’t look to the future, they can only deal with the now.
“What we’ve been able to do through the Bradford Fund, with relatively small amounts – organisations getting £10,000 – is to really transform the way their business model is to be fit for the future and sustainable. So, they can then be part of a thriving sector in Bradford that’s putting money back into the economy and supporting and developing other community organisations as well.”
One impressive example of this is the community organisation and registered charity ACAP, which raises aspirations and attainment of young people of African and Caribbean descent and provides mentoring and advice to young people and their parents who are from marginalised communities.
The Bradford Fund grant has enabled ACAP to step back from the pressures of day-to-day delivery and dedicate time and energy towards the organisation’s strategic development. The work has involved two away days reviewing mission, vision and aims, two development days looking at fundraising and the future of ACAP’s community building and recruitment of two new management committee members.
“All of that strengthening of capacity is resulting in significant initial investment basically for young people and families,” Steph said.
“They raised £355,000 off the back of us giving them £10,000, because it’s a transformative experience for their business model. Often this is what community organisations need – a space to step back and think how do we do things better and differently and become more sustainable?
“What we try to do is offer a catalyst, both in terms of the money but also that connection to all of the other organisations they could speak to and the brilliant networks and assets in the district that businesses and individuals provide that they could be part of.”
Last year a total of £1.2 million of additional funding was raised by community organisations because of help they had received from the Bradford Fund.
In a new venture GiveBradford is working with Bradford 2025 to launch the Creative Communities Fund which will support community organisations to engage local people of all ages in creative and cultural activity as part of the UK City of Culture. Grants of between £500 to £15,000 will be available to be spent over an 18-month period and applications are open from early March.
Steph said: “Quite a few of our donors have put into that fund and we’re really interested in talking to people that specifically want to support communities to take part in and get the most out of City of Culture.
She added: “What we’re doing is asking community organisations that don’t necessarily see themselves as arts and culture organisations to come to us and ask for funding to develop projects and work that connect people up to the city of culture programme in a different way.” They are hoping that by getting more people involved in the City of Culture they will then be able to develop a more sustainable way of helping them to access culture in the long term.
They also want to involve businesses and then capitalise on the excitement, investment and energy during 2025 to maintain those links.
“We don’t want to lose all of those relationships after City of Culture has finished. So one of the things we’ve been discussing is making sure that the Bradford Fund operates as a way through which people can continue to give to Bradford and its communities for the long term,” Steph said.
She issued a call to action for businesses and individuals to give directly to The Bradford Fund – which ploughs money into community and voluntary groups to help thousands of people.
“Our call to action would be to anybody who is in a position to give financially, whether that is through the business or as an individual – now is the time to give to the Bradford Fund. And if that isn’t the right thing for you we will direct you to where you can have the most impact with your giving.
Anyone interested can email steph@givebradford.org.uk or visit the GiveBradford website.
