Post by Gareth Owens

And the Weather Gods smiled on us! Or, perhaps more accurately, the Weather Gods didn't choose to smite us with a colossal downpour: see today's weather. I even tucked my shirt in. Great to be able to officially launch The Green Futures Fund, a three-year initiative from our Chair Tom Flood CBE, intended to support young people to undertake practical improvement projects around the areas in which they live through community-based water and environmental initiatives, inspired by his late husband Paul Cornes’ love of the natural world and a desire to see more done to inspire positive change within it The burgeoning fund is a great example of how donor journeys can grow and evolve with Community Foundations over time. Tom initially got involved with Dorset Community Foundation as the best place to set up a named legacy fund in remembrance of his late husband Paul, initially focused on supporting education and older people in fuel poverty. With time, and a greater understanding of what was achievable through the work of Community Foundations, the fund expanded to support other projects and other funding programmes, creating opportunity and helping people make their lives better – with Green Futures being the latest installment. Individual philanthropy around sustainability and conservation continues to grow, and while it alone can’t scale to meet the pressing need worldwide, it remains a valuable and much-needed source of funding. Whether with a warm or cold hand, philanthropy like this continues to remain the backbone for giving for nonprofits like ourselves. Because, ultimately, it’s about trust. It’s about relationships forged over time, demonstrating to donors that their charitable motivations are being met above and beyond, and the trust that comes out of that. #legacygiving #legacies #localgiving #impact #philanthropy #community Dorchester Chamber for Business Dorset Chamber Dorset Law Society Andrew Tuggey CBE Gary Lawrence Jen Richardson FCA FCCA DChA Louise Coulton Neil Lewis, Chartered FCSI Michael Dooley