Middlesbrough and Teesside Philanthropic Foundation

Charity Details

Full Name: Middlesbrough and Teesside Philanthropic Foundation  
Founded: 2011
Type: Independent
Where Operates: Teesside
Headquarters: Middlesbrough, TS2 1AY
Charity No: 1140740 

History and Activities

The Middlesbrough and Teesside Philanthropic Foundation (M&TPF) is a dynamic, future-thinking organization that is full of promise. It is led by chairman Andy Preston, a former hedge fund manager who grew up in Middlesbrough and has since returned to live and work in the North East. Certainly, the pizazz Andy experienced as a patron of the City of London hedge fund charity ARK has helped inform his thinking about the role of philanthropy in economic and social renewal. It is telling that he also chairs Tees Valley Education, a multi-academy trust, echoing the work of ARK in raising school standards and creating livelihood opportunities for ambitious and hardworking youngsters, unprepared to accept the defeatism that has for long blighted communities on Teesside and elsewhere in the North East.

M&TPF is a foundation with an inspirational but practical vision: to help businesses and individuals join together to make Middlesbrough and Teesside better places in which to live, work and do business. This starts with savvy local fundraising. First, through the sizeable annual contributions made by patrons, local firms and wealthy individuals that want Middlesbrough and Teesside to enjoy once again the prosperity and prestige they once did. Second, by holding a string of fundraising events that serve to raise the spirits as well as cash. The clear favourite is the annual ball. Third, by inviting all who share the foundation’s ambitions to make a donation through its Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) online account. Once the cash is raised, it is distributed in grants to the charities that promise to make the biggest difference to the area.

M&TPF is a relatively new foundation with a new way of doing things. It is just beginning to make its presence felt at scale. In the 2016/17 financial year, it made grants totalling £626,413, of which £538,861 was expended on 33 grants of over £2,000, averaging £16,329. The biggest beneficiaries were Community Campus (£136,924), the social enterprise that helps young people become established in life through housing and apprenticeships, and Grandparents Plus (£104,939), which recognizes and supports grandparents in their role as carers and educators.

Grants of this order to charities that are proven to be efficient and effective, to really make a difference, offer a positive way forward in the campaign for economic and social renewal, as does the inclusive, collaborative approach to philanthropy championed on Teesside by M&TPF.

Vital Statistics (year to 31/03/2017)

Website
http://www.teessidecharity.org.uk/

References