Recent updates
The latest news from our projects
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Latest update on Afghanistan Fundraising Campaign
An update for Supporting Afghan families in need
Feb 28 2022
We have joined with two experts in the world to create the Presidium Network, a non-profit CIC. We are now putting all our donations through the CIC rather than Fundsurfer directly with a dedicated board and team that is delivering support inside Afghanistan and help with security and logistics to save people lives.
We have also joined up Presidium with three other organisations creating a micro coalition called the Joint Humanitarian Operations Centre (JHOC). Under JHOC we have a dedicated team in Kabul delivering aid, medical supplies vaccines and evacuation support. Our three partners are Smart SBC, Shoulder to Shoulder and Osprey Global which allows us to have full supply chains to support those in crisis zones such as Afghanistan and Ukraine. Giving us stability of support. This coalition is directly supporting over 12,000 people on a daily basis either stranded in Afghanistan or are vulnerable in a new country but also indirectly helped over 26,000 people to survive in the Taliban. We want to help millions more.
The reality is that very few families have been given asylum into the UK, EU and US and we still have over 200 people stuck either in Afghanistan or temporarily stuck in third party countries without permanent asylum. We have been supporting one vulnerable family who are stuck in Pakistan waiting for the UK to make a decision on their asylum, they have lost everything and have no formal support in Pakistan. Also we will be making a donation of £1000 to Community Aid Box to support Afghan nationals that have been located in the Bristol area.
We want to do more and have the capacity now to deliver thousands of tonnes of aid to every part of Afghanistan, however we need the money and support to buy the food and medicine as well distribute the resources throughout Afghanistan as well as help people relocate and settle in safety.
Thanks for your help and support, please keep sharing project page and we will update you again soon.
Dominik & the Presidium Team
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Extending the Closing Date
An update for Help the Stokes Croft Land Trust purchase its first building and bring it into community ownership
Feb 28 2022
Thank you so much to everyone who has committed investment for shares in the Land Trust so far! We have had such a brilliant response so far as the idea of community asset ownership transforms in a reality. At the moment the total committed is approaching £190,000.
To give us more time for the share offer to reach its target, the Stokes Croft Land Trust board has decided to extend the share offer for a further three months, to 31 May 2022. Please note that your investment amount will not be taken from your card or bank account until the project reaches the minimum target however we are almost 70% of the way to our minimum target.
We have, hopefully, some great news coming, as this week we will hear whether we have been awarded match investment funding, which would allow us to double a significant amount of the investment! We will update everyone as soon as we know the outcome.
For now, please continue to with your support and encourage your friends and family to join our unique Land Trust community share offer.
Thanks again for your support!
Keith Cowling
Stokes Croft Land Trust, Director -
Join us for our exhibition!
An update for Help the Stokes Croft Land Trust purchase its first building and bring it into community ownership
Feb 8 2022
Hi,
Thank you for joining us on our campaign to purchase the People’s Republic of Stokes Croft in Bristol. So far, we have raised over £175,000 of our £272,000 minimum target, with more than 235 investors.
Our latest exhibition, exploring the history and role of community land ownership, opens at 12 pm today at The Vestibules, City Hall, College Green.
The showcase will allow attendees to learn and be part of an important, democratic and new economic system for land ownership, whilst also giving people the chance to meet members of our board.
The exhibition is open from 12 pm to 7 pm today until Thursday 10th February, and from 12 pm to 5 pm on Friday 11th February. If there is someone you know who may be interested in attending our showcase, please do share the news with them.
To stay up to date with our progress, follow us on Facebook and Twitter. For any other questions, email info@stokescroftlandtrust.org.
Many thanks,
Keith Cowling
Stokes Croft Land Trust, Director -
£160,000 raised!
An update for Help the Stokes Croft Land Trust purchase its first building and bring it into community ownership
Jan 18 2022
Hi,
We are delighted to announce that we have reached over £160,000 of our £272,000 minimum target to purchase 17-25 Jamaica Street and 14 Hillgrove Street (PRSC HQ) and transfer the building into community ownership. Thank you for joining over 200 other investors to make this possible so far!
You can still help us to reach more people by telling your friends, family and colleagues about what we are aiming to achieve and sharing our Fundsurfer page with them www.fundsurfer.com/sclt.
It would be great if you could like and follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay up-to-date with our progress.
For any other questions, email info@stokescroftlandtrust.org.
Let’s invest in our community.
Many thanks,
Keith Cowling
Stokes Croft Land Trust, Director -
Fundsurfer launches Winter 2021 Afghanistan Funding Appeal
An update for Supporting Afghan families in need
Dec 22 2021
Thanks for your support it means a lot. We have now set up a registered CIC to manage donation allocation and have launched our Winter campaign to provide as much help as we can.
- Fundsurfer is seeking £5 million in funding from online and offline donations to support Afghan refugees this winter
- The funding would support thousands of Afghans under threat from the Taliban, sourcing safe housing and longer-term evacuation and essential resource
- A short film has been produced to encourage investment from high net worth donors
Fundsurfer, which has acted as specialist advisors to the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Energy for the past three years, has launched a funding appeal to support Afghan refugees facing direct danger this winter.
The appeal, which aims to raise £5 million to reach thousands of at-risk Afghani’s seeking refuge through registered charities, has already received support from high net worth donors, philanthropists, and investors. These funds will be used to directly support the transitions and placements of families from Afghanistan.
Under Taliban control, millions of families have no access to food or basic resources to survive. Millions are starving and the situation is getting worse by day. Thousands of Afghans are being targeted directly by the Taliban and many are being beaten and detained. The UN and international governments are moving slowly and there is a lack of government strategy and evacuation programmes from the UK and US. With a harsh winter approaching, many Afghans will be stuck without heat, shelter, and food. Those in hiding will be stranded in cold winter conditions and unable to reach the safe houses.
The funds will be used to create a humanitarian route into Kabul, fly food and medical resources into Afghanistan, and help partner NGOs to pay for resources on the ground, including employees to distribute the resources. A short film has been made to showcase the fundraiser and its goals.
Led by Dominik Byrne, who has raised over £2 million in voluntary donations and has helped distribute funding from UK, EU, and US donors across the world, the Fundsurfer is set up to support and work with registered charities in the UK, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. All money collected will be distributed by Presidium Network, a UK CIC (Reg no:13716487).
Dominik is trained in the Sphere Standards of Humanitarian Aid, and understands the disruption of funding and resources into crisis areas. He has directly consulted the Afghanistan government over the last three years and is backed by UK politicians such as Siobhan Baillie MP and Lord Jim Knight.
Since the fall of Kabul, Fundsurfer has been working tirelessly to support 450 people facing real-life threats to reach safety, championing their cause to the UK and US government. It has also been running fundraising for impact projects in education and energy.
Fundsurfer has joined forces with the US charity, Joint Task Force for Anti and Counter Corruption, which was operational for over 7 years in Afghanistan. It aims to keep as many people as safe as possible before they exit the country. It is also advising other established networks that are helping over 2,000 people who are facing danger and need to leave Afghanistan safely.
The charity has three land and air evacuation routes now open to Pakistan, Qatar, and Tajikistan both through land or air. In Pakistan, accommodation, food and basic resources are needed to support families escaping. Fundsurfer aims to take over two hotels in Islamabad to house families for up to three months until they can be moved to a final asylum destination such as the UK, EU, or US.
Pakistan has agreed to issue free temporary visas if Fundsurfer can pay for the families’ stay and get them processed with third party states. This will save thousands of lives. In the UK, US, and EU, funding will be used to cover housing, food, travel, language lessons, and other essential resources. Fundsurfer already has an established network of UK Refugee and Community based NGOs in place, including GARAS and Community Aid Box, to help distribute resources.
Since 2014, the Fundsurfer platform has raised over £20m through its online and offline fundraising and partnerships with high net worth donors. For more information, please visit the dedicated crowdfunding and investment platform at fundsurfer.com and donate to the Afghanistan funding appeal here fundsurfer.com/afghansupport.
You can watch the fundraising film below:
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Over £150,000 invested so far!
An update for Help the Stokes Croft Land Trust purchase its first building and bring it into community ownership
Dec 16 2021
Hi,
Yes! In just three weeks since launch, we have now reached over £150,000! Thank you for investing with us; we are one step closer to reaching our minimum target of £272,000 - can we get to £200,000 before the end of the year? With your support, we can…
Remember that money will not be taken from the chosen payment method (debit/credit card or bank transfer) until the project has reached its target level, this may not be until February 2022.
Please tell everyone you know to help us spread the word and get more people involved in this truly exciting project. Make sure you are following us on Facebook and Twitter for more updates. If you have any other questions, please get in contact at info@stokescroftlandtrust.org.
Together, we can make a difference.
Many thanks,
Keith Cowling
Stokes Croft Land Trust, Director -
Can you help us reach more local people and businesses?
An update for Help the Stokes Croft Land Trust purchase its first building and bring it into community ownership
Dec 10 2021
Hi,
Thank you for supporting the Stokes Croft Land Trust’s community share offer campaign. We are close to reaching yet another milestone, with almost £150,000 invested of our £272,000 minimum target and we have around 150 investors so far.
Below, we have dedicated a special thank you video to everyone who has made this possible so far.
We want to make sure that we hit our targets before our deadline of Monday 28th February 2022 and to ensure this becomes a reality, we need your help further!
Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter and register your interest on our website to hear regular updates from the campaign. Share the Fundsurfer page with your friends, colleagues and networks far and wide so that our message reaches as many people as possible.
If you have any questions about other methods of getting involved, please contact info@stokescroftlandtrust.org
Together, we can create a new model for the ownership of land and buildings as our part of making a better future for our city.
Many thanks,
Keith Cowling
Stokes Croft Land Trust, Director -
Halfway to our minimum target in less than a week!
An update for Help the Stokes Croft Land Trust purchase its first building and bring it into community ownership
Dec 1 2021
Hi,
Since our community share offer launched last Thursday, we have raised over 50% of our minimum target of £272,000. We would like to thank every person or business who has purchased shares to help bring local buildings and land into community ownership.
We are not resting at the halfway point! We’ve still got plenty to achieve and you can help us further by telling your friends, colleagues and family members what we are aiming to do to change how the buildings and land in our city are owned. For regular updates, follow us on Facebook and Twitter or subscribe to our newsletter. If you have any further questions, please email us at info@stokescroftlandtrust.org
Thank you for joining us on our mission.
Keith Cowling,
Stokes Croft Land Trust Director -
Over £120,000 raised in 36 hours!
An update for Help the Stokes Croft Land Trust purchase its first building and bring it into community ownership
Nov 26 2021
Hi,
After launching our community share offer campaign at 10am yesterday, we have raised a total of £124,405 which is almost 50% to our minimum target of £272,000. This couldn’t have been possible without your support and so from everyone here at the Stokes Croft Land Trust, we wanted to say thank you.
We’ve still got a fair way to go, so please make sure you help us spread the word by telling your friends, colleagues and family members. For more updates from the Land Trust team, follow us on Facebook and Twitter. If you have any further questions, please email us at info@stokescroftlandtrust.org
Thank you for joining us on our mission.
Keith Cowling,
Stokes Croft Land Trust Director -
A quick update on the good that you do
An update for Sleep Pod sky dive 2021
Oct 12 2021
Hello.
Just wanted to say a final thank you - as well as updating you on the Sleep Pod Skydive 2021 fundraiser - You have been joined by well over 600 others that have donated to support the work that Sleep Pod (charity no 1187295) does as well as supporting our 16 strong skydiving crew !
Initially the target was £15,000 (500 people) and that was smashed even before anyone got into a plane ! Now the grand total is at just over £21,000 (700 people) and is still climbing as we are keeping the fundsurfer open for another week or so.
Thank you
To everyone that has donated - proving that when people come together we can do great things
To the Hinton Skydive centre and fundsurfer team - thank you for all that you have done to support the work of Sleep Pod.
To the Sleep Pod Team - your passion for helping others knows no bounds and is constantly impressive.
Final thought
If you want to help organise a Sleep Pod build, if you have a company that might want to help organise a Corporate Sleep Pod build, if you want more information on what we do or have a great idea for a fundraising event - we would love to hear from you - please email info@sleeppod.uk
If however, you have watched in awe at the bravery of the first 16 Skydivers and want to stand on the shoulders of these giants !!!!!!!! then why not sign up for next years event - the Sleep Pod Skydive 2022 - email us at - givingsupport@sleeppod.uk so we can update you on our plans
Sleep Pod - For dreams of a better future.