We were delighted to host a Community Forum in partnership with the Bank of England on Thursday 12th October, held at the Buckinghamshire Community Wellbeing Hub at Buckinghamshire New University in Aylesbury.
Attended by the Deputy Governor, Sir Dave Ramsden, the aim of the event was to provide Sir Dave and his team with insights into the challenges faced by small, grassroots community organisations and charities in Buckinghamshire, resulting from the cost of living crisis and difficult economic situation.
Joined by representatives from a broad range of small local groups, the discussion focused on the significant effects of the crisis on service users, on charity financing for small organisations, and our hopes for the future.
Henry Allmand, Heart of Bucks CEO said:
“There were some incredibly powerful and impactful stories shared by the small grassroots charities that attended our community forum with the Bank of England yesterday. There are huge challenges for the non profit sector posed by the economic situation and we were grateful to have the chance to share these with the Bank of England.
It is essential that the voices of small charities are heard at the highest levels as they play a critical role in holding the fabric of our society together. Community Foundations have an important role to play in highlighting local issues and in influencing national policymakers.”
Sir Dave Ramsden, Bank of England Deputy Governor said:
“It is vital for the Bank of England to engage with communities across the UK – we can’t make informed decisions without this input – so I’m very grateful to Heart of Bucks Community Foundation for bringing so many charities together for this event and for hosting us. We discussed the challenges the charity sector in Aylesbury is facing across the board in keeping pace with the rising demand for their services and the many innovative ways organisations are working to support local communities. Thanks to them for the insights we gained into their sector and the work they do.”
We would like to thank the Bank of England and Dave Ramsden for taking the time to listen to our collective concerns, Matthew Herring-Rogers and Claire Tilson at Bucks New Uni, and of course to the groups for sharing such powerful stories with us all.
Lastly, thank you to UK Community Foundations for setting up this initiative.
