May Gurney
Winner of the Community Impact Award - sponsored by Norse Commercial Services
May Gurney delivers essential frontline services including highways maintenance, waste and recycling, rail, waterways and utility infrastructure maintenance and maintenance for schools and other public buildings. Their services are used by around 18.5 million people every day.
Three years ago their charitable giving was unstructured and they received hundreds of requests for donations - it was an administrative nightmare and the outcomes were immeasurable.
In 2009, the May Gurney Foundation was formed to strengthen their active involvement with local communities and provide a more structured, transparent and accountable system for charitable giving. The Foundation makes grants to community-based charities with the aim of improving opportunities for young people and the long-term unemployed through education, self-help, health and wellbeing. The Foundation also manages an employee match funding scheme of up to £250 which is available to all employees.
The Foundation has helped to raised May Gurney’s profile within the charitable sector with around 1,000 charities in Norfolk being aware of May Gurney as a potential source of funding. Financial support from the private sector is increasingly important to charities and community groups. This also accords with the ‘Big Society’, under which community support comes from within.
Impact
- The Foundation has made grants of £28,850 to 12 groups in East Anglia
- £24,168 has been given in matched funding to support 78 employees
- A grant of £3,000 to St Edmunds Society helped residents - homeless men under the age of 30 – gain skills in construction related trades
- The Southend Association of Voluntary Services received £4,750 to provide work experience for people recovering from mental ill health
