Founded by two students in 1988, Focus is a youth charity based in Leicester.
Their philosophy is that through volunteering and participating in community projects, young people can develop vital skills such as leadership, project management, team-working and communication. These skills and experiences help to raise their aspirations and motivation, improve their prospects of gaining employment, re-engage them with education and also break the cycle of poverty.
In their application to the Foundation, Focus demonstrated a range of partnerships and that they are well respected locally. The charity included case studies demonstrating the impact of their work and the clear measurement of outcomes through the percentage of young people who go on to further training, education or volunteering. Focus showed a sensible approach to diversifying their income which helped to give the Foundation’s Trustees confidence that the charity is working hard to ensure its sustainability. As a result of these factors, the Trustees made an unrestricted grant which Focus has used to support their central staff team and has enabled them to further develop their fundraising resources and evaluation methods, drawing on the expertise of their Board of Trustees in the process.
“Without the support of Garfield Weston, the vast majority of our funding would be project specific and allow us very little time to improve the quality of what we do, develop and test new ideas, and explore new partnerships. Securing funding for our central staff also enables us to maximise the grant opportunities available from other funders, who have told us that it gives them greater confidence that we can maintain a level of financial security.” Matt Lilley, Director.