Our Love Norfolk Fund enables groups to address local challenges so individuals can live well and connect with their communities.
Love Norfolk, established by Norfolk Community Foundation in 2009 as a way of bringing together donations of all sizes to support a range of causes in our county, has since grown to become one of our most popular and impactful funds. The Love Norfolk fund focuses on our sense of belonging and a shared passion for the place we call home, to ensure that essential community services are given the support they need for our county to thrive.
This year, Love Norfolk has been able to continue to support a diverse range of community action in Norfolk thanks to support from our Norfolk 100 members and private and individual donors.
Explore below some recent highlights of projects funded over the last year and find out how Love Norfolk is bringing people together to create vibrant communities.
In 2024…
Making great things happen in local communities
Funded by Norfolk 100 members and private and individual donors, Love Norfolk was able to support over 50 projects across the county already this year, with a further round of funding planned for the autumn. These projects show the diverse range of community action in Norfolk, and the work that organisations do to continue to make Norfolk shine brighter. Below is just a small selection of some of the great work that we have been proud to fund through Love Norfolk this year.
Yare Boat Club
Many young adults leaving care are not involved in organised sport. Yet it is widely reported that care leavers are more likely to encounter mental health challenges, and these could be helped by the wellbeing benefits and sense of belonging that a club-based sport can deliver.
Yare Boat Club is an open club, affiliated to British Rowing, based on the river Yare with 90 members. Open to adults of all ages, from the complete beginner to the experienced rower, the Club are aware of the barriers to accessing the benefits of rowing, especially for younger adults. In 2023, the Club chose to trial delivering a Learn to Row (L2R) course, specifically designed to introduce rowing to people who would otherwise not have the opportunity.
Love Norfolk funding will support the Club to continue this work, enabling six young people who are leaving care to take part in the L2R course. This will provide young people with 34 hours of coaching, access to equipment, and a subsidised membership to the Club after they complete the course.
“I have been pushed out of my comfort zone to learn something new – without this opportunity I would never have learnt these new skills.”
– Participant
Lighthouse Charity Trust
For 10 years, Lighthouse Charity Trust have been providing activities and events for the Sheringham community.
The Lighthouse’s activities include facilities for parents and toddlers, carrying out work with the elderly, children and young people, and more recently providing free meals for individuals and families facing difficulties. They also run the Sheringham Shed containing a community wood workshop, garden and brewery. This sees some of the most socially isolated people in Sheringham – often people who are older, with experience of mental health issues or long-term unemployment – connect to learn new skills, make new friends and build their confidence. Funding from Love Norfolk will enable the charity to run an additional Sheringham Shed session each week, which will open up the opportunities of the Shed to a further 36 people.
“It’s good for my mental health and gets me out of my flat. I get to meet other people as well, so it’s been great…good exercise and I have a nice cup of tea afterwards. All the staff are great as well. What can I say? Superb!”
– Participant
West Norfolk Autism Group
West Norfolk Autism Group is a volunteer-led charity, run for and by people with autism, their parents and their carers.
The group support over 200 families across West Norfolk by organising gym and physical activity sessions, coffee mornings, workshops, sensory soft-play, sound baths, bushcraft, and more! This spring, a grant from Love Norfolk will mean the group can run separate soft play and sensory sessions for children, and for adults, who experience difference in their sensory processing.
Hiring out the entire venue means that families can relax and socialise in a non-judgemental group of peers, where sensory input can be managed, and social interactions can take place at a pace that suits them. People taking part in the sessions have described them as life changing for both their mental and physical health.
“We know from our membership that this sensory input is vital for most autistic people, as autistic people experience the world around them differently to neurotypical people.”
– West Norfolk Autism Group
Mind The Gap
Mind The Gap is an inclusive music group for people with mental and physical health issues in Norwich.
A mix of professional musicians, music tutors, keen amateurs and beginners, Mind The Gap provide a friendly, safe environment for people to connect, learn and build confidence through music. Their core projects includes group music-making and singing sessions in local venues, including Silver Road Community Centre and Hellesdon Hospital. Recent funding awarded through Love Norfolk will support the continued running of their popular Acoustic Social sessions taking place 2:00-4:00pm on Thursdays in NR3.
“Mind The Gap has been a great benefit to my life, it has given me a reason to get up in the morning. Sharing my music skills gives me confidence, focus, ambition and purpose.”
– Participant
In 2023…
Creating places to belong and thrive
Last year, Love Norfolk was able to support more than 100 projects, benefitting over 34,000 people through two rounds of funding that totalled £450,000+ of investment in local communities in Norfolk. Take a look below and read just a highlight of some of the stories of projects funded in the 2023 autumn round of Love Norfolk’s funding.
Norfolk County Music Festival
Love Norfolk Funding was awarded to support the running of Norfolk County Musical Festival 2024, an annual event which seeks to encourage and support amateur musicians in the county by giving them the opportunity to perform under concert conditions and receive feedback.
Norfolk County Music Festival is a long-standing local charity which runs a unique two-week music education event held each March, at which amateur singers and instrumentalists perform for an audience in a non-competitive setting and receive helpful feedback on how to develop their skills. The majority of attendees are children and young people from Norfolk schools.
Love Norfolk funding was awarded to support the running of the festival in March 2024 and purchase travel bursaries for children from schools in rural and coastal communities to attend. This support is crucial to smaller schools who are less likely to have a teacher with music training. The charity offers bursaries for choirs in particular, as they consider singing to be the most accessible form of musical performance, without the need for expensive instruments.
This year, 4,000 children took part in the festival across 5 venues in Norwich and had the opportunity to perform in front of a friendly audience, helping to raise aspirations and increase their confidence in a supportive environment. Over 40 school choirs sang at the festival this year, and the funding for travel bursaries helped 113 children to attend from rural and coastal areas who otherwise would not have been able to.
“Watching my child and his school, who had been given bursary funding to participate, performing so brilliantly for the first time. What an achievement.”
– Audience member
BikeActive Norfolk
Thanks to Love Norfolk funding, BikeActive were able to purchase a specialist tandem trike for people with disabilities.
Based in South Norfolk, BikeActive are an all-ability cycling group for adults, children, and young people with disabilities. The group started with an adult cycling group in 2023 and has since grown in popularity, launching their junior group earlier this year. Thanks to Love Norfolk funding, BikeActive were able to purchase a specialist electric tandem trike for members of both the adult and junior groups who would otherwise be unable to cycle.
So far, the trike has been used to deliver 18 rides with the adult group and over 30 rides for children at young people during the Easter and Whitsun Norfolk school holidays, in addition to the 2-day SENDfest at Easton College. The trike has brought a sense of fun and joy to many visitors who the group are trying to encourage to exercise again, help with rehabilitation, or just get out riding a bike!
“It has enabled us to get so many more adults out cycling – many who were sure that their cycling days were over.”
– Participant
The Restoration Trust
The Restoration Trust received a grant from Love Norfolk to run a series of Heritage for Wellbeing sessions in Great Yarmouth.
The Restoration Trust is a charity that works in partnership with heritage, arts and health and social care organisations to help people living with mental health challenges connect to others through engagement with heritage and creativity.
The Restoration Trust was awarded £5,000 to run fortnightly ‘Heritage for Wellbeing’ sessions in Great Yarmouth. These groups provide opportunities for people to explore local history, take part in activities, and enjoy new friendships. With the grant, The Restoration Trust delivered a programme of diverse activities ranging from historical tours and creative arts sessions to educational walks.
Central to this initiative was the Heritage Link Worker who connects individuals referred by social prescribing services to heritage-related activities in Great Yarmouth and Waveney, helping them to form deeper community connections and immerse themselves in the rich cultural tapestry of the area. A survey of participants found that 56% experienced improved well-being, 50% became more physically active, and 72% made new friends.
“I was referred to the project and the Great Yarmouth group by a social prescriber last year after my wife died started attending in November, just GY at first, but then in the new year, the other groups as well.
I have been retired from work for over 2 years and everyone I worked closely with has long left the area. My wife was severely disabled and I was her main carer, so we did not go out much and I spent most of my time in the house. My closest family is 120 miles away and whilst I do know a few people in the local area, they are not ‘socialising’ friends.
I am a reserved person, who does not easy join new groups, so it was good that the Heritage group was so welcoming, with everyone talking to everyone else and with no cliques. The group meetings are the only social events that I attend and all my other activities are done alone.
I feel that those meetings, once or twice a week, have been vital in providing a balance in my life and helping me adjust to life on my own after many years of marriage. I also believe that the groups have helped me be more open with people and to socialise more easily.”
– Participant
Dereham Aid Centre
Dereham Aid Centre received a grant from Love Norfolk to enhance its play area with child-safe flooring and soft furniture.
Established in 2022 in response to the war in Ukraine, Dereham Aid Centre provides essential items to individuals and families in need such as clothing, household goods, and furniture, as well as access to professionals, English lessons, employment workshops, and emotional support sessions.
Funding from Love Norfolk enabled the purchase of child-safe flooring and soft furniture for the centre’s play area. The newly upgraded play area has been instrumental in providing a safe and comfortable environment for children, allowing parents to participate in ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) lessons and other activities, focussing on their learning and personal development without worry.
“We have two young mums who use the centre. Both have given birth here in the UK. It’s amazing that they now both attend the centre and can relax over a drink while the two daughters of the same age play safely on the soft play. To see all of them so relaxed and happy is truely heart warming.”
– Participant
Powered by the Norfolk 100
Love Norfolk is supported by the Norfolk 100, a group of people committed to helping communities across the county. Our valued Norfolk 100 members demonstrate the power of collective giving, targeting support where it is most needed in the county, creating long-term strategic change.
- Norfolk 100 members support local communities by donating 1/3 of their annual membership towards the Love Norfolk Fund for immediate grant giving, 1/3 towards the Love Norfolk Endowment Fund to support future grant giving, and 1/3 towards our Developing Communities Fund to invest in and develop strategic initiatives addressing key issues in Norfolk.
- Norfolk 100 members commit to a 3-year giving plan of £1,500 annually for individuals and £1,750 annually for businesses.
- Norfolk 100 members are also invited to our full event programme, giving an opportunity to learn about the vital community support they have given, and to meet with fellow members who share a passion for making our county thrive. Members also receive regular updates on the difference their support is making.
Published: 26th July 2024