Harrogate charity chief executive announces departureCouncil delivers major funding blow to Harrogate district charitiesHarrogate community action group reports surplus — but warns of financial uncertaintyCarers’ Resource finds new Harrogate home

Carers’ Resource, the charity which supports unpaid carers looking after family members or friends, is moving to a new base in Harrogate.

The charity has had its head office at North Park Road, Harrogate, since 1995, but is now relocating to more modern premises at nearby Grove Park Court.

Staff have started moving in to the new office, which will be fully operational by April 11.

Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, will cut the ribbon to officially open the new site on May 13.

Chris Whiley, chief executive of Carers’ Resource, said:

“This charity began its life in Harrogate and while we have expanded over the years, this move demonstrates our huge commitment to carers in the Harrogate area and beyond.

“We have recently secured a new contract from North Yorkshire County Council to continue delivering services for unpaid carers in Harrogate and Craven, and to start delivering a full range of services in Selby.

“This move will give us a strong base from which we can continue to provide vital information, advice and support to carers.”

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Carers’ Resource was founded by Anne Smyth, who was awarded an OBE by the Queen in 2013 for her services to carers.

A small carers project initially operated out of Harrogate District Hospital before moving to North Park Road in 1995 and becoming an independent, not-for-profit charity with four staff. The young carer project started a year later.

Carers’ Resource now supports unpaid adult and young carers in Harrogate, Bradford and Craven districts, and will also be providing services in Selby from July 2022.

 

Will Harrogate district charities lose funding in council shake-up?

Many charities in the Harrogate district rely significantly on Harrogate Borough Council for funding.

So the council’s abolition next year could pose a threat to the financial stability of some of the best-known voluntary organisations in the district.

Richard Cooper, the Conservative leader of the council, said last month it had been a generous funder of charities and urged organisations to prepare for the change in the local government, which will see a single new unitary authority called North Yorkshire Council come into existence next year.

He said:

“One of the key things voluntary organisations must do over the next year is build relationships.”

Local Fund 

One of the district’s main funding sources for charities is the Local Fund for the Harrogate District, which was set up in 2018 as a three-way partnership between Harrogate Borough Council, Harrogate & District Community Action and Two Ridings Community Foundation.

Last year the fund awarded £85,000 to 29 community groups. Applications for its next funding round open on Monday.

Local Fund

An event last year celebrating the Local Fund.

Last year Harrogate Borough Council gave £200,000 to Two Ridings Community Foundation, which administers the fund, to go towards an endowment so that the fund continues in perpetuity.

It also receives a steady stream of income from the Local Lotto — and the future of this is less certain because it is run by Harrogate Borough Council.

At least 60% from each £1 ticket sold on the lottery, which has a weekly £25,000 jackpot, goes towards the fund.

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Jan Garrill, chief executive of Two Ridings Community Foundation, said

“The Local Fund will continue and thrive as it is a fund with Two Ridings and out of any local government process.”

But Ms Garrill added she “could not comment” on the future of the Local Lotto because it is run by the council.

Who else could be affected?

Some charities also rely on council grants for funding.

When the Stray Ferret asked for a list of recipients, the council directed us to a report from October last year that listed five beneficiaries of its voluntary and community sector strategic funding programme, which awards grants to charities to ‘deliver key services across the Harrogate district’. But it does provide other grants.

The recipients and sums received are:

Harrogate and District Community Action – £40,000

Harrogate and Craven Districts Citizens Advice – £60,000

Harrogate Homeless Project – £22,500

Nidderdale Plus Community Partnership – £8,000

Community First Yorkshire – £5,000

Frances Elliot, chief executive of Hadca, which supports other charities in the district, said that besides its £40,000 grant, it received a separate £32,000 grant from the council.

Frances Elliot

Ms Elliot said:

“It’s a difficult time for lots of organisations but it’s relatively early in the transition. I genuinely don’t know what will happen. We are optimistic for our funding over the next financial year and we will have to wait and see after that, People at the top don’t know what’s happening yet.

“We have a good relationship with both Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council and we hope that continues.”

All the North Yorkshire councils facing abolition have various workstreams underway, considering what will happen after the shake-up. The voluntary sector is among the issues being discussed.

‘Don’t destroy a model that works well’

Pateley Bridge charity Nidderdale Plus works in partnership with Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council to provide services, such as a community library, a front desk for local council and police matters and a tourist information point.

It receives three council grants worth a total of £21,000, which helps it employ 2.5 staff and manage 150 volunteers to provide the services.

Chief executive Helen Flynn said:

“We hope we don’t have to destroy this community support model that has been working so well.

“We are starting to build relationships with North Yorkshire County Council. I do feel they want to work with us. They have been good at talking to us so far.

“I wouldn’t say I was relaxed but I am engaged with developments.”

Harrogate lottery a ‘lifeline’ for charities during covid

Yorkshire’s only council-run lottery has been described as a “lifeline” for charities during the pandemic after thousands of pounds was raised for good causes in the Harrogate district.

Harrogate Borough Council launched the Local Lotto in 2018 despite some concerns over encouraging gambling and it has since raised more than £161,000 through the sale of £1 tickets with funds from each going to the buyer’s choice of charity.

This includes £56,000 raised over the past year when many charities have struggled to survive due to donations drying up during covid.

Ann Duncan, partnership and engagement manager at the council, told a cabinet meeting on Wednesday that the lottery had been a “lifeline” during this time. She said:

“The supporters of the Local Lotto have remained strong and this has been really important for those good causes because traditional fundraising methods have been limited.

“The Local Lotto provides unrestricted funding so there are no stipulations as to what the charities can spend the money on.

“They can spend it on their electricity or insurance, it’s up to them, so for some of the good causes it has been a real lifeline when funds have been quite desperate over the last 18 months.”

£25,000 jackpot

The council takes no income from the £1 ticket sales with 60p from each going to the buyer’s choice of charity, 20p into the prize fund, 17p to an external lottery manager and 3p to cover VAT.

Funds raised are paid to signed-up charities selling tickets and around £19,400 has been handed out in winnings over the past year.

Some buyers have won up to £2,000, although the top prize of £25,000 has yet to be claimed.

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The Local Lotto is also linked to the council’s Local Fund – a pot of cash which charities can apply for grants from.

Councillor Stanley Lumley, a Conservative who represents the Pateley Bridge and Nidderdale Moors ward, described the council’s decision to launch the lottery as “controversial” but said it had proved to be a “great success”. He said:

“We took a gamble, if you’d pardon the pun, three years ago when we introduced this. It was controversial and people were sceptical whether it would work.

“It clearly has worked and worked extremely well.

“The beauty of this lottery is that a person buying the ticket decides where they want a portion of the money to go.

“My ticket money goes to something close to my heart – Nidderdale Plus at Pateley Bridge which is a really good community hub that needs support.”

Local Fund for the Harrogate District awards £85,000 to 29 community groups

Representatives of about 30 voluntary organisations joined councillors and civic dignitaries this week to celebrate the Local Fund for the Harrogate District, which awarded £85,000 to 29 community groups this year.

The fund, which will be issuing more grants in the new year, awards up to £3,000 to small voluntary organisations that have a positive impact on the wellbeing of people in the Harrogate district.

It helped Resurrected Bites launch a community grocery store for low income people and enabled Wellspring Therapy and Training to offer reduced costs on counselling.

Other successful applicants this year included Harrogate Clothes Bank, Artizan International, the Wesley Centre, Masham Town Hall Community Charity, Harrogate Bowling Club, Chain Lane Community Centre and Harrogate & Knaresborough Toy Library, Nidderdale & Pateley Bridge Men’s Shed and Boroughbridge and District Community Care.

The fund is a three-way partnership between Harrogate Borough Council, Harrogate & District Community Action and Two Ridings Community Foundation.

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At least 60% from each ticket sold on the Local Lotto, which has a weekly £25,000 jackpot, goes towards the fund.

Harrogate Borough Council has made a £200,000 endowment donation, which will help the fund provide sustainable long-term funding.

Local Fund

This week’s celebratory event at West Park Hotel.

Jan Garrill , chief executive of Two Ridings Community Foundation, told the gathering at Harrogate’s West Park Hotel that it would match fund any donations to the Local Fund by individuals or businesses.

Karen Weaver, strategic lead at HADCA, which supports charities in the district, said:

“The Local Fund is all about addressing the hidden needs in our district, like loneliness and mental health.

“It’s so important that there is a dependable fund for small groups that make such a massive impact in the district.”

Further details of the fund are available here.

 

Two Harrogate charities move in together on Hornbeam Park

Two local voluntary organisations have moved into Disability Action Yorkshire’s Hornbeam Park headquarters and learning centre

Resurrected Bites and Canaan Warehouse, which also includes Harrogate Clothes Bank, will occupy the space previously used as a second-hand furniture shop by Disability Action Yorkshire.

Resurrected Bites was established in 2018 to reduce food waste and food poverty. Canaan Warehouse redistributes donated household items and clothing for free to those in need in the Harrogate area and in eastern Europe.

The unit at Hornbeam Park gives the charities have more space and will reduce their overheads as well as provide employment opportunities for Disability Action Yorkshire’s disabled adults.

Disability Action Yorkshire’s chief executive Jackie Snape said:

“We are delighted that Resurrected Bites and Canaan Warehouse are now utilising our warehouse space, in a partnership that benefits them, us and our learners.

“One of our aims is to assist disabled people in leading independent lives wherever possible, and a key part of this is gaining employment.

“Our learners used to get valuable retail, warehouse and customer service training from our furniture enterprise, and this hands-on experience will continue under this new arrangement.”

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Dr Michelle Hayes, Resurrected Bites and Harrogate Clothes Bank founder, said moving to a unit together will mean the charities can work alongside each other to stop good quality items going to landfill and help those in need:

“When we realised that Resurrected Bites was intercepting so much food that we needed to find a warehouse, we wanted to think outside the box rather than just renting a commercial space.

“Resurrected Bites are always in need of volunteers for our cafes, groceries and warehouse and likewise the Harrogate Clothes Bank and Canaan Warehouse are both keen to invite the learners to volunteer with the sorting and distribution of clothes and furniture.”

Between March 2020 and July 2021, Resurrected Bites has helped feed more than 15,800 people with around a week’s worth of food. Each week, it diverts around three tonnes of food waste from landfill sites.

Image caption: Dr Michelle Hayes, second left, and Jackie Snape, second right, are pictured with a Resurrected Bites volunteer and two disabled learners

Leading the Harrogate cancer charity fighting to save 2,000 lives a year

It’s a little known fact that 2,000 more people die of cancer each year in Yorkshire than the national average.

More smoking, less exercise, pockets of deprivation and variable screening rates are among the causes.

Dr Kathyrn Scott, chief executive of Harrogate-based Yorkshire Cancer Research, is leading the fightback:

“We currently have 14,000 deaths a year. It could be 12,000 if we just had better funding and infrastructure.

“”We’ve got this hidden tragedy happening in Yorkshire and we are determined to change it.”

Dr Scott, a scientist, joined Yorkshire Cancer Research in 2008 as an office junior and worked her way up to chief executive four years ago. She’s far from the archetypal scientist, laughing a lot and joking that “I actually like people”.

Yorkshire Cancer Research, which is the largest voluntary organisation in the Harrogate district, has had remarkable financial success in recent years: income has soared from £6.2 million in 2016 to £18.7 million in 2020 and is expected to increase again this year.

By contrast, covid has decimated many charities’ finances — cutting donations, cancelling fundraising events and closing charity shops.

New Harrogate headquarters with wellbeing centre

Yorkshire Cancer Research’s coffers are bearing the fruits of royalties from a drug called Lynparza that it funded Sheffield University to develop.

Royalty income alone increased from £6.7 million in 2019 to £12 million in 2020, which is enabling the charity to press ahead with plans to expand and tackle cancer.

It has opened more shops, employed more staff and is set to announce a move to new Harrogate headquarters, which will include a wellbeing centre where people with cancer can exercise as part of their recovery.

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Wellbeing has become a major focus of the charity’s work and it hopes to open similar exercise facilities across Yorkshire. Dr Scott says:

“For years people with cancer were told to rest, sit down and have a cup of tea and although there’s still a place for that you need to exercise. It can halve the chances of some some cancers coming back.”

The charity, which is currently based at Grove Park Court, expects to reveal its new headquarters in autumn. Dr Scott says:

“We’ve found the perfect site but it’s definitely a secret for now.”

Recruiting more staff and opening more shops

The number of staff has grown from about 40 when Dr Scott took charge to 53 now and is expected to rise to 65. From September, it will trial a hybrid system whereby employees work two-thirds of the week in the office and one-third from home.

The charity, which is the largest regional cancer research charity in England, opened its fourth charity shop in Ripon this year and hopes to have 20 shops within five years.

The charity’s strong financial position has also ensured it hasn’t had to cut funding to research programmes — unlike some other cancer charities during covid. It funds £10 million of cancer research each year.

But for all its success, Dr Scott admits Yorkshire Cancer Research’s overarching ambition to save 2,000 Yorkshire lives by 2025 might not happen on schedule because of the wider impact of covid on cancer services.

Hospital services have been scaled back and people who have discovered symptoms, such as blood in their poo, have felt less inclined to bother their GPs.

But she says people in the Harrogate district have been luckier than most in Yorkshire:

“Harrogate District Hospital has been one of the more resilient hospitals in the sense that it has got a lot of services up and running again quickly. It feels like it’s been an agile organisation.”

Dr Scott, who was born and bred in Bradford but has lived in Harrogate for about 20 years, is a keen cyclist who nominates Norwood Edge and Greenhow Hill as among her favourite rides.

They’re two of the most notorious climbs in the area — Dr Scott will be hoping the charity can continue to avoid such uphill struggles in the years ahead.

Harrogate district charities receive £200,000 boost

Local charities received a £200,000 boost last night from Harrogate Borough Council.

The council agreed to make a one-off payment for the sum to the Local Fund for the Harrogate District, which was set up in 2018 to encourage long-term, sustainable income for voluntary organisations.

The council currently allocates £30,000 a year to the fund, which it set up in collaboration with Harrogate and District Community Action and Two Ridings Community Foundation.

But at last night’s cabinet meeting, the council agreed to give a one-off lump sum of £200,000, which will be placed into an endowment.

This will replace its £30,000 annual contribution.

Interest from the endowment, along with private donations and contributions from the Local Lotto and dormant trust funds, will be awarded to charities.

The Local Fund’s latest funding round allowed not-for-profit organisations to apply for grants of up to £5,000.

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The council’s £200,000 will be used to attract match funding, with council leader Richard Cooper suggesting this could potentially double its value.

In 2018/19, the Local Fund distributed £70,000 to 23 different projects.

At last night’s meeting, council leader Richard Cooper called the fund a “brilliant initiative”.

He said:

“This is an opportunity to establish a permanent fund for good causes in the Harrogate district.

“We expect to double our money from match funding, so our investment could potentially grow to be £400,000.”