Not-for-profit organisation, Localgiving, is providing the opportunity to help a number of local charities with their match funding scheme, offering to boost public donations for a variety of causes.

Localgiving was set up in 2009 by Wellow-based businesswoman, Marcelle Speller OBE, and through the Bath and North East Somerset Development Programme, has been helping local causes ever since. The development programme, in partnership with St John’s Hospital in Bath, enables Localgiving to provide up to seventy different charities and community groups across the area with match funding, free membership of the programme and training to help develop new fundraising skills.

The current scheme is part of a national campaign entitled ‘Grow Your Tenner’, which allows every donation worth £10 or more given to one of the named charities to be match funded by Localgiving.

Currently SWALLOW, SWAN, Radstock Museum, Somer Valley FM, Ashwick & Oakhill Playgroup and P.E.O.P.L.E are all taking part. So far, groups in B&NES have raised around £800, but Localgiving’s B&NES Manager, James Carlin, wants them to reach £2,000 during November.

Speaking about the campaign, Somer Valley FM’s Station Manager, Dom Chambers, said: “This is a great example of the power of community networking. Our friends at Radstock and Westfield Big Local introduced Somer Valley FM to Localgiving and now we are working together to help people in our area develop their skills. ‘Grow Your Tenner’ is really appealing to supporters of our Pathway to Employment scheme, which helps local people gain work and media experience. In just a few days, we have reached 10% of our target.”

James Carlin, from Localgiving, adds: “Thanks to the Office for Civil Society, the total match fund for this year’s ‘Grow Your Tenner’ is £345,000! This means each charity will have the chance to benefit from up to £2,500 of match funding: £1,000 from one-time donations and £1,500 from Direct Debits. There are six fantastic local charities and community groups who need your support this year: SWAN, P.E.O.P.L.E, Radstock Museum, SWALLOW, Ashwick and Oakhill Playgroup and Somer Valley FM Community Radio.

“Grow Your Tenner has raised over £5 million for local charities and community groups across the UK over the last five years. This year, we’ll be matching one-time donations made to Localgiving members by up to £10 and regular monthly donations by up to £10 a month for the first three months. This means your £10 can be worth £20 to a local charity or community group.”

Carol Curtis, a volunteer driver for SWAN, said: “SWAN works hard to look after our service users and offer them the personal touch – if one of our clients is unwell or in pain, we don’t just leave them at the end of their journey. All of our drivers are volunteers, and in order to keep the service going, we have had to limit what we can offer them in expenses, so any funding would be great to help us continue this good work. Our drivers go the extra mile and we are always looking for more volunteers.”

To take part in the ‘Grow Your Tenner’ initiative, visit: https://localgiving.org/search/?name=Radstock+Midsomer+Norton where you can search for your chosen group. Localgiving is open to local charities and community groups operating in all parts of B&NES.