One of the organisations who will benefit from the Robin Hood Fund say they are 'overwhelmed' with the response so far. Nottingham Community and Voluntary Service (NCVS) will use the money raised to ensure grassroots organisations receive the help they need to keep going.
The Citizen Advice Centres in Nottingham and the city's largest foodbank, Hope Nottingham will also receive funding. It comes after Nottinghamshire Live has joined forces with The Nottingham Project to relaunch The Robin Hood Fund this winter where one hundred percent of funding will go to the organisations.
In 2020 the Robin Hood Fund raised more than £100,000 for food banks, homeless support, vulnerable women and small charity support in Nottingham. This winter the money raised will be used to support the impacts of food and energy poverty on Nottingham’s most vulnerable citizens, including those experiencing poverty for the first time.
Read more: Robin Hood Fund launched to help vulnerable people in Nottingham
It will also support Nottingham charities and community organisations hit hard by unlimited increases in energy prices. Jules Sebelin, CEO of NCVS said: "It is overwhelming to see Nottingham people coming out to support those in the city who need it."
Nottingham Community and Voluntary Service has been helping the people of Nottingham since 1875. They support other charities and voluntary services by helping them to find funding, setting up groups, providing training and information.
Jules said: "The Robin Hood Fund is going to allow us to raise money that we will then distribute to other organisations who are having challenges at the moment. With the cost of living, some charities have had electric bills that are 400% increased to what they were paying previously.
"We have got a lot of community groups and charities who are in quite difficult circumstances haven't to use up their reserves in order to pay for increased costs. Money raised from the Robin Hood Fund will enable us to get that out to those charities who need it."
Regarding the need to raise money to support charities, Jules added: "It is quite vital. The charity and voluntary sector are often the last line of defence and a real life line for people that either don't connect well with other services or have had a lot of difficulty. Often, they will rely on volunteers and people in their own communities to help them out through real difficulties.
"Keeping those charities financially stable is really important to good outcomes for those people of Nottingham who are having real challenges. Especially with this cost of living crisis and coming out of the back of covid, we are launching into another very difficult period if we don't help keep these small organisations going then a lot of people will get into difficulty."
Over £400 has been raised already for the Robin Hood Fund which has a GoFundMe page that launched on Monday 20 November. A target of £10,000 has been set.
Jules said: "We have got money already and that is fantastic. It doesn't matter, even £5, it all adds up. We are really enthused by the outpouring of generosity and just encourage people to keep on. You don't have to worry if you haven't a lot, all the little ones add up to a great thing."
Director of the Nottingham Project Lee Walker added: "People and charities are struggling and it is set to get worse over the winter, we hope that we can raise as much money as possible to ensure that people have warm spaces and support. This support network of organisations will play a key role in helping the most vulnerable of Nottingham's citizens."
Natalie Fahy, Editor of The Nottingham Post and Nottinghamshire Live, also sits on the board of The Nottingham Project. She said: "We've had a fantastic start to the campaign but we need to keep going. Every donation, large or small, will help the people who need it most this winter in Nottingham."
The GoFundMe page can be found here or below.
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