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The initiative enabled Nisa retailers to nominate a local community group to receive up to £3,000 of funding from Making a Difference Locally, with an emphasis on small charities and community groups supporting people living in crisis and helping them become more self-sufficient.
The Heart of the Community Awards saw 69 charities and good causes nationwide benefit from donations ranging between £1,000 and £3,000. Examples of the winning causes include foodbanks gifting slow cookers to their service users, SIM cards for Ukrainian refugees arriving in the UK, and projects providing cookery lessons to low-income families.
In September, Making a Difference Locally announced they had raised £15 million for good causes since the charity’s formation in 2008 and launched their fourth round of Heart of the Community Awards to celebrate the milestone achievement.
One good cause to benefit from funding of £2,000 was Newport Meet and Eat, who said of their donation: “You have just helped a considerable amount of people in our village. As a new venture this is proving highly successful, and we needed the money to pay for the food for the rest of this year.
“It will help many people feeling the pinch and provides a place for people to talk with others if they are lonely.
“This is a newly started breakfast club, supporting the local community of all ages by supplying a free breakfast in a warm environment, for people who need social contact, a place to chat and eat, all free of charge and run by volunteers from the local area.
“Crucial for the area with the rising poverty levels, as the shop is the only shop in the community”.
Kate Carroll, Nisa’s head of charity, added: “Applications for this round of funding were phenomenal and we’re thrilled so many very deserving causes have benefitted from funding, especially during such difficult times.
“We’re delighted that communities have benefited from donations totalling £150,000, as we know the funding given by our independent retailers can make a real difference for smaller charities and community groups in particular, who rely on the support of local people and businesses to stay afloat.”
