Sheila Hall has been a member of our Appraisal Panel for two years. The Panel meet four times a year to assess applications and award funds, it is comprised of volunteer representatives who have previously been awarded grants. Sheila represented Breathe Easy on the Panel and helped us to award over £28,000 to local groups in 2016.
“Around three years ago our local Worthing Breathe Easy Group was struggling to find the funds to rent our monthly meeting rooms. Many of our Group are very poorly with breathing disorders, so fund raising is somewhat difficult. It was at this time that we heard of the Worthing Community Chest which helps local Worthing charities in time of need.
We were advised that we qualified to apply for a grant, being local and having a bank balance to prove our lack of funds, so we filled out an application form requesting funds to cover our next year’s rent, then sat back and waited for the decision of the panel. The panel is made up of representatives of local charities who have themselves received a grant, so are well versed in the process of the Worthing Community Chest.
Much to our relief and gratitude our request was passed and we were thrilled to receive a cheque from the Worthing Community Chest. It took away all the worry from the Group and we could enjoy our meetings in comfort.
Breathe Easy
We shall always be indebted to Worthing Community Chest for keeping our Breathe Easy Group going, and it was a privilege to actually join the panel of decision makers, meeting four times a year to process requests.
Having spent two years on the panel I can really appreciate the stringent work that goes into running Worthing Community Chest. The grant applications are firstly sent to Head Office where they are scrutinised to make sure all the requirements of the charity are met (finances, no payment of wages, etc), then the eligible requests are sent out to members of the panel to thoroughly read and assess the merits of each grant. By the time the panel meets at Field Place, every member has an idea of the merit of each request and opinions are thrashed out, with final decisions being made by the end of the meeting.
Worthing Community Chest is certainly a great asset to the charities of Worthing, bringing joy and greatly benefiting people of Worthing. If your group needs help with funds I really recommend applying for a grant”
