The Outlook Fund
Progress Reports
The progress reports below are written by Alex Reid, Director of The Outlook
Fund. Alex Reid, who was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, and retired in 2000
as Director General of the Royal Institute of British Architects. He lives in
the Newnham area of Cambridge, which he represented as a member of
Cambridgeshire County Council from 2003 to 2009.
PROGRESS REPORT 14.11.11
As a result of further generous donations, the total amount raised for the Outlook Fund has risen to £519,000.
The first two six-monthly meetings of the Outlook Fund Advisory Panel have been
held, with grants being approved at each meeting. The grants are described here:
Grants Made.
PROGRESS REPORT 6.2.11
As a result of further donations, including a generous donation of £3,000 from Clare College, the total amount raised for the Outlook Fund now stands at £504,738.
An invitation for grant applications has been made on the website of the
Cambridgeshire Community
Foundation. An Outlook Fund Advisory Panel is being established. Its first
meeting, at which the first round of grants will be decided, will take place in
March 2011.
PROGRESS REPORT 4.8.10
Generous contributions to the Outlook Fund have been received from four County
Councillors, Peter Downes, Gail Kenney, Susan van de Ven and Richard West, and
from two companies, Ridgeons and Savills. These donations have lifted the total
amount raised to £462,594.
PROGRESS REPORT 8.6.10
A generous donation of £10,000 has been made to the Outlook Fund by Gerald
Avison and his wife, through their Jake Charitable Trust. Together with a
donation from Jesus College, this brings the total raised for the Outlook Fund
to £458,434. Gerald Avison is chairman of TTP, based in Melbourn.
PROGRESS REPORT 12.5.10
An important step forward was achieved on 30th April 2010, when Cambridgeshire
County Council signed a donation agreement committing a contribution of £150,000
to the Outlook Fund. This contribution will be paid in ten annual instalments
starting in May 2010. This brings the total raised for the Outlook Fund to
£446,097.
PROGRESS REPORT 26.3.10
The antique carriage clock referred to below was successfully sold at Cheffins
auction on March 25th 2010. The price achieved, after keen competition between
telephone bidders, was £26,000, well in excess of the guide price. This has
resulted, after commission and tax, in a donation of £20,000 to the Outlook
Fund.
PROGRESS REPORT 14.3.10
Cheffins, who are a donor to the Outlook Fund, are promoting the Outlook Fund at
their Cambridge Fine Art Sale on March 24th and 25th 2010. A donor has consigned
for auction a 19th century Frodsham carriage clock, guide price £12,000 to
£18,000, and will be using the proceeds to finance their donation to the Outlook
Fund. Other vendors are being invited to assign part or all of their sale
proceeds to the Outlook Fund. The auction takes place at Cheffins, Clifton
House, Clifton Road, Cambridge CB1 7EA.
PROGRESS REPORT 1.3.10
Donations to the Outlook Fund, which have been given in amounts from £500 to
£45,000, have now risen to £153,319. A further £13,830 has been raised through
Gift Aid and smaller donations. Together with £129,005 of matching funding from
central Government, the total of the Outlook Fund now stands at £296,154.
PROGRESS REPORT 20.12.09
The Cambridgeshire Community Foundation has kindly agreed to assign a further £25,000 of Government matching money to the Outlook Fund, making a total of £175,000 of matching money. This has enabled us to raise our initial fund raising target from £150,000 to £175,000.
As a result of three further generous donations totalling £26,500, the total
raised has risen to £134,000. With the matching money from central Government,
this will be doubled to £268,000.
PROGRESS REPORT 1.12.09
As the result of a very generous further pledge of £30,000, the total raised has
risen to £107,500, representing 72% of our target of £150,000. With the matching
money from central Government, this will be doubled to £215,000.
PROGRESS REPORT 21.11.09
In the second month of fund raising, the total raised has risen to £77,500, representing 52% of our target of
£150,000. This is as a result of six benefactions with an average value of
£12,900. With the pound-for-pound matching by central Government, the total
amount in the fund is £155,000.
We continue to approach individuals and companies seeking benefactions of
between £500 and £50,000. A list of benefactors is
here.
PROGRESS REPORT 14.10.09
Fund raising has now got under way, with a very generous founding benefaction to
the Outlook Fund of £45,000 from Hermann Hauser and his wife Pamela Raspe.
Together with two other benefactions totalling £21,000, the amount raised has reached
£66,000, representing 44% of our target of £150,000. This £66,000 will be
matched pound-for-pound by the Government under its Grassroots Grants Endowment
Challenge Scheme, producing a total of £132,000 in the Fund.
PROGRESS REPORT 27.7.09
The main, and very positive, news is that Jane Darlington, Chief Executive Officer of the Cambridgeshire Community Foundation, has received confirmation from central Government that donations to the Outlook Fund will be eligible for pound-for-pound matching by central Government up to a total of £150,000 under its Grassroots Grants Endowment Challenge scheme.
The only condition is that the objectives of the Outlook Fund be slightly enlarged to 'improve the lives of Cambridgeshire children that face difficulty and disadvantage, with a focus on the more than 400 looked after children'.
Further discussions with staff at the County Council (Sarah Gawne and Adrian
Loades) have been encouraging. There is a concern to ensure that the Outlook
Fund does not duplicate or assume the proper responsibilities of the County
Council in respect of looked after children. We fully accept this, and the need
to avoid such duplication is now explained in our leaflet and website.
PROGRESS REPORT 14.7.09
Conceived only a few weeks ago, the Outlook Fund project has started to move forward in an encouraging way.
A meeting was held on 6.7.09 with Caz Dunne, who is the Cambridgeshire County Council staff member responsible for supporting the Just Us Groups for looked after children. She provided valuable insight into the small but practical ways in which extra money could improve the lives and life chances of Looked After Children in Cambridgeshire. One example she gave was the provision of loan sports equipment for children who want to try out a new sport. She said that Looked After Children face difficulties in taking part in sporting and leisure activities organised in their local communities, because they lack self confidence, they tend always to be on the move, and they often do not have the right kit.
Discussions with Jane Darlington, Chief Executive Officer of the Cambridgeshire Community Foundation, indicate a good prospect, but not yet a certainty, that donations to the Outlook Fund will be matched pound for pound by the Government, up to about £125,000, under its Grassroots Grants Endowment Challenge scheme.
This website for the Outlook Fund, at www.outlookfund.com, was established on 13.7.09.
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The Outlook Fund works to improve the lives of Cambridgeshire children facing difficulty and disadvantage, with a focus on the more than 400 looked after children.
The Outlook Fund is administered by the Cambridgeshire Community Foundation.
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