Reading-based charity Berkshire Youth has been supported to future-proof its organisation thanks to a £30,000 resilience grant from the Berkeley Foundation.
The charity delivers youth programmes and supports young people across Berkshire. Its flagship youth clubs offer a safe space for local young people to have fun, make friends and learn new skills.
The funding from the Berkeley Foundation has allowed Berkshire Youth to overhaul its governance and leadership structure, and employ a new Director of Youth Work to focus on championing youth work and youth workers in the county.
The Berkeley Foundation’s Resilience Fund was set up in 2021 to help small youth charities build their organisational resilience. The youth sector has been under particular pressure from funding cuts, the effects of the pandemic, and the cost-of-living crisis. Berkshire Youth is one of 20 charities and CICs supported through the Fund to date.
The changes mean that Berkshire Youth is now well-placed to grow and evolve in response to the needs of young people in Berkshire. Sarah Emery, CEO at Berkshire Youth, comments: “The funding from Berkeley Foundation was revolutionary for Berkshire Youth in addressing our organisation’s resilience. The funding created the capacity and the focus to make Berkshire Youth futureproof. With new trustees, a re-ignited passion & commitment from existing trustees we really have had the opportunity to create meaningful and lasting change.”
Sally Dickinson, Head of the Berkeley Foundation, comments: “Our Resilience Fund aims to help small-to-medium sized charities build resilience for the future – to make sure they will be around to support generations of young people to come. Small charities are often working under intense pressure, in a really difficult operating environment. It has been a joy to partner with Berkshire Youth over the last two years and see the organisation develop and thrive”.
