We are often overwhelmed by the generosity of companies and their staff as they engage with the young people we work with and learn more about the social enterprises we run.

We wanted to thank and acknowledge this philanthropic and heart-warming support and share some of the ways it has made a massive difference to the development of our enterprises and ability to ensure our trainees have the best possible experience and training with us.

Below you can click on each of the company logos and read a bit about the ways we are working together to grow people and community through social enterprise.

The grant has contributed towards the cost of a new oven and proving cabinet as well as a vital second toastie maker. As the baked goods from The Think Food cafe are becoming more popular all the time the original equipment, that was already well used, was struggling to keep up with demand. The Think Food toasties are a big hit with the young people that work with us as well as the local community.

The new equipment also enables the young people working as part of the team at Think Food to have an even better experience in a busy cafe kitchen as they are baking bread and cakes. But also keeping up with the lunch time toastie rush where good customer service is always a target.

We look forward to the Philanthropic team from the Milton Keynes Community Foundation coming to visit us for a toastie soon.

www.mkcommunityfoundation.co.uk

The Milton Keynes Community Foundation have been supporting the Milton Keynes Christian Foundation with a Covid-19 recovery grant.

The grant kindly supported a part-time staff member to set up the online shop that is hosted on the Christian Foundations website. The online shop went live before Christmas and enabled the products made by Urban Bee-lievers and Sew & Grow social enterprises to be sold even with the lockdown situation. The young people working on the social enterprises were very proud to see the products they make online. Since then the Think Food enterprise has also started to sell products online via the shop.

We are so grateful to the Milton Keynes Community Foundation for investing in the online shop and helping Milton Keynes Christian Foundation to find a new way to engage with customers and motivate the young people we work with.

www.mkcommunityfoundation.co.uk

The Milton Keynes Community Foundation have been supporting the Growing People social enterprise based at the Urb Farm during 2019/20.

The grant awarded to the Growing People team enabled the project to invest in much improved and professional equipment for growing a variety of vegetables and storing the equipment. As the Urb Farm grows produce to sell to the local community it is vital that the correct equipment is used to increase productivity and save time. As many members of the local community visit the farm during the year we also want to be able to ensure the site and equipment are stored well and demonstrate correct growing techniques with adequate tools and equipment. This will be possible thanks to the grant.

www.mkcommunityfoundation.co.uk

The Milton Keynes Community Foundation have been supporting the Urban Bee-lievers social enterprise during 2019/20. Their support has enabled them to grow and develop through the employment of a part-time seasonal bee keeper.

Steve is an experienced bee keeper from Bletchley who has brought a wealth of experience to the project, including knowledge of how to create useful and beautiful items from by-products of the hive. Steve has also been leading the development of the apiary in Wolverton, building new hive stands, working with a team to get storage and a workshop constructed and helping to ensure the bees are healthy and well. Steve has been teaching the young people we work with to make bee hive frames and sharing his knowledge and passion for honey bees.

We are so grateful to the Milton Keynes Community Foundation for investing in the Urban Bee-lievers social enterprise and enabling us to employ Steve and move the enterprise to the next level.

www.mkcommunityfoundation.co.uk

We were very pleased and excited to be awarded a grant by the Architectural Heritage Fund in April 2020. This funding is vital in enabling us to explore the viability of bringing a Local Victorian shop back into use for the benefit of the Christian Foundation. The shop, which was part of a generous bequest, will be used to house one of our social enterprises and provide accommodation for young people moving towards independent living. The work will give us the information we need to support a campaign to raise funds to renovate the building.

ahfund.org.uk

We are grateful to have received funding in partnership with the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Department for Work and Pensions (and in London the intermediate body Greater London Authority) are the Managing Authorities for European Regional Development Fund and European Social Fund funding through the Growth Programme, funds established by the European Union to help local areas stimulate their economic development. By investing in projects the funds will help to support innovation, businesses, skills and employment to improve local growth and create jobs. For more information visit www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding

The Lloyds Bank Foundation has been supporting the Milton Keynes Christian Foundation by providing financial support for two of our social enterprises and also additional support and advice through their innovative and hugely valuable Enhance programme.

At the end of 2018 The Lloyds Bank Foundation started to support Sew & Grow and Urban Bee-lievers through a three year grant. The first year’s grant provided much needed resources and equipment in addition to contributing towards staff salaries. It allowed the purchase of equipment to create, test and produce quality products, securing ongoing business development and income.

Sew and Grow were able to buy new more robust sewing machines that enabled the young people working on the enterprise to learn to sew using reliable machines, gaining confidence in their skills and producing goods for sale. Urban Bee-lievers were able to invest in new bee hive equipment for the apiary, developing the apiary site and for honey extraction.

By the end of the first year, among other things, Sew and Grow had developed a range of reusable period pads made from naturally dyed and hand crafted material. Urban Bee-livers had developed a selection of bees wax lip balms, seed shapes and totally redesigned the apiary site, including the construction of a workshop, providing a practical space to make bee hive equipment and to run bee related courses.

We are incredibly grateful for the support, help and advice from the Lloyds Bank Foundation. Their funding, advice and encouragement has been amazing as we strive to promote understanding of the environmental issues at the heart of our social enterprises, support young people struggling with education and make our activities more sustainable.

www.lloydsbankfoundation.org.uk