Quarterly Funding Report December 2024

December 2024 Funding Report

We are proud to announce the outcomes of our final round of funding for 2024, which resulted in a total of £4.5 million being awarded to 25 projects.

The Albert Gubay Charitable Foundation is committed to supporting charities serving disadvantaged/ in-need communities in England and Wales, the Isle of Man, and the Republic of Ireland, ensuring that valuable projects are provided with funding to maintain their meaningful work.

Though our General Fund remains closed to applications, we remain open to applications from registered Roman Catholic charities or registered charities associated with Roman Catholic Dioceses.

We at The Albert Gubay Charitable Foundation have been fortunate enough to build relationships with many inspiring registered charities. These relationships have allowed us the opportunity to grow our support for particular charities by providing either continuation funding to truly successful projects, or building upon previous grants to respond to an organisation’s expanding need.

As an example of the positive impact of these relationships, AGCF has been able to provide continuation support for the following projects…

Caritas Westminster, Bakhita House.

The Albert Gubay Charitable Foundation previously awarded grants to Bakhita House in 2018 and again in 2021 at a total value over £500,000. We have now awarded a further £300,000 to support their outstanding work with victims of modern slavery for a further three years.

Bakhita House provides individual, tailored support to women fleeing situations of modern slavery and offers them support to build successful, independent lives on their own terms. Focussed on ensuring each individual’s dignity, Bakhita House offers education opportunities and activities designed to sponsor personal growth and rehabilitation, delivered with compassion and professionalism.

You can read more of our support for Bakhita House, and find a link to their website, below…

Bakhita House

Another for Access Sport!

Access Sport is an organisation focussed on helping young people who are either struggling in school due to behavioural issues or are at risk of exclusion due to disability or disadvantage. Their programme of involvement engages young people in physical activities and games in which they develop transferrable skills such as teamworking, active listening, and problem solving. The programme is dictated by the level of the participants, led by empathetic instructors who will amend their delivery to suit the group. Their model is designed to accommodate all ability levels.

Each week, young participants are challenged to work together and at the end of the programme they are encouraged to work together to produce instructional sessions for their peers. At the end of the programme, participants are encouraged to take the next step and volunteer with local sports clubs or gain a Coach Clever sports leadership qualification, following the Access Sport volunteering pathway.

Having received £63,525 from The Albert Gubay Charitable Foundation (AGCF) in 2021 toward their Volunteer Academy Programme, Access Sport has experienced great success in engaging vulnerable young individuals in sporting activities. Over three years this programme supported 1,434 young people. 84 of these participants became sports club volunteers; 89 achieved coaching qualifications; and 99 benefitted from employability days and work experience.

Based on these successes, AGCF has again awarded funding to Access Sport to support their programme of transforming disabled young people’s lives through amateur sport. This project will provide disability inclusive sport sessions in Greater Manchester which will bring new inclusive sporting opportunities to disabled children and young people aged 5 – 25. A grant of £148,672 will support Access Sport’s project as it continues to have a positive impact on the lives of its participants.

To read about our new grant for Access Sport, click below to visit their website…

The Albert Gubay Charitable Foundation & Access Sport

Heart of Tamworth

Heart of Tamworth (HoT) is a charity working with residents of Tamworth and the surrounding area to deliver practical support to those experiencing ill health, addiction, bereavement, homelessness, financial worries, and loneliness. Their centre, Sacred Heart House, includes a café and a pantry, as well as social spaces to serve their community’s ever-changing needs. Certain services they provide are delivered directly by HoT staff whilst others are provided by partner organisations with whom HoT have a working relationship.

In 2023 AGCF was able to support Heart of Tamworth with a grant award of £35,000 toward the construction of the HoT Shop and Community Pantry. This facility delivers HoT’s food and clothing project, by which service users can access stock provided by a team of volunteers who collect surplus food from supermarkets – supplemented by items sourced from FareShare and other similar organisations. AGCF’s grant facilitated the expansion of the shop, ensuring that HoT was able to keep up with local demand.

Having established a relationship with Heart of Tamworth and its organisers, AGCF has again been able to support HoT with a grant of £21,330 toward the delivery of HoT’s Homeless Support Project, which supports homeless people into temporary accommodation from which they are able to secure more permanent living situations.

Where possible, the project focusses on moving service users into sustainable, independent living situations, and service users are supported with applications to housing associations, completing forms for healthcare providers, and benefits where eligible. Once permanent accommodation is secured, individuals are helped with budget planning and assistance – such as obtaining furniture and household goods. 

Heart of Tamworth

We at AGCF are very happy to announce these new grants and, as we look forward to 2025, are excited to continue our work into the new year.