Community Fund
The Sucden Financial Community Fund
Sucden Financial is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and we have established The Sucden Financial Community Fund in partnership with the East End Community Foundation (EECF).
The Fund will respond to some of the pressing challenges faced by those most vulnerable around us by addressing four areas central to our business and critical to our local communities:
- The energy crisis
- Rising food prices
- Financial literacy
- A lack of IT skills
We will use the Fund to engineer opportunities inside and outside of Sucden Financial that can positively impact our community and involve a variety of our key stakeholders.
We will do this by connecting different groups – such as our parent company Sucden, employees, trading partners and clients – so each can contribute to making a difference in our East London communities. Volunteering opportunities and individual fundraising challenges will be organised throughout the year for our stakeholders to get directly involved in.
The East End Community Foundation
The EECF, part of the UK Community Foundation network, is the leading charitable foundation and funder in East London, allocating grants to grassroots charities in the boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Hackney, Newham, and the City of London – some of the most deprived local authorities in the UK.
The EECF has raised and distributed more than £27m to support communities in East London since 1990.
We are confident that their knowledge and longstanding experience working with charities in East London will help us maximise our impact.
Our four areas of support
The Energy Crisis
46,000 residents in London’s East End were in fuel poverty even before recent energy price increases.
Rising Food Prices
In October 2022, food prices alone rose by an annual rate of 15%, the fastest annual jump since April 1980. Rising food prices particularly affect East London, where one in two pensioners and over 50 per cent of children live in poverty.
Financial Literacy
One in five adults in the UK reported having a low financial capability, and one in two adults in the UK is in debt or scared of falling into debt.
IT Skills
More than 50,000 homes in Tower Hamlets do not have access to the internet, which consequently prevents them from benefiting from vital services and support. During lockdown, many young children could not connect with their friends online, nor could they access their schoolwork.
