Recent updates

The latest news from our projects

  • 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: 

     

  • 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. 

    https://youtu.be/zqxjwuXQ5KM

    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.

  • Sleep Pod - you are part of the story

    An update for Sleep Pod sky dive 2021

    Oct 6 2021

    Thank you so much for your support - we have hit our Target of £15,000 with two days to go. 

    Our brave skydivers are gearing up for an amazing event this weekend as the weather is looking great. Doing a skydive for charity - for people who might never be able to say thank you, really is very special. We are delighted to have a 16 strong Sleep Pod Skydive 2021 crew, who in turn have your support. What ever you have contributed is really appreciated.

    Our target of £15,000 represents 500 people that will have a Sleep Pod emergency shelter this winter. As we know the need is great we will continue to push - all monies we raise go to buying the materials and to getting Sleep Pods who need protection this winter.

    So we push to get more people involved - so if you have anyone that might want to support the way that you have, then the link will remain open for you to pass the details around. 

    We are Sleep Pod and what we do matters. It matters most to the people that sleep in our emergency shelters when the world is dark, when the nights are cold and the weather is terrible. When the nights are long and the environment scary our Sleep Pod offers some protection and support. 

    Thank you for sharing our vision and being part of the Sleep Pod story. 

     

    Sleep Pod - For dreams of a better future.

     

  • Dovercourt Fundraiser Update

    An update for Save Dovercourt Road Green Space

    Sep 30 2021

    Hi all. A few months ago we started a crowdfunder as we believe that getting professional representation to eradicate and/or minimise increased traffic, safety, parking and pollution with the depot redevelopment gave us the best chance of success. I’m pleased to say that the letter of objection has now been done in time for the consultation deadline.

    Thanks to all who have contributed so far. We still have funds left to use at the next stage which we believe will be needed. Here is the letter for anyone to read who wishes to do so. If you have any questions about the letter, the crowdfunder or anything else that the Residents Group is doing please feel free email us.  

    Here is the link to the letter.

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EDCD3dDWrbJilgc92prNF4aYyCOgYA5S/view?usp=sharing

     

    Kind Regards

    Dovercourt Residents Action Group  

    dovercourtresidentsgroup@gmail.com

     

  • النسخة المحدثة الجديدة new updated version

    An update for The Subtle Art of True Democracy In Arabic

    Sep 30 2021

    تحياتي 

    وصلنا لنسخة محدثة جديدة اشاركها معكم، نعمل على تحسين التنسيق واللمسات النهائية ونقترب من النهاية

    Hi all

    we arrived new updated version here

  • Latest update on Afghanistan

    An update for Supporting Afghan families in need

    Sep 17 2021

    We are now supporting over 250 people in Afghanistan who are still in the country, we were able to get out 10 people during the airlifts. We are mainly helping people that need to cross legal borders. 90% of the people we are supporting have been displaced and have nothing. We have been working with UK Politicians to lobby for the home office to approve applications to the UK. We are working directly with registered and regulated NGOs in Afghanistan and Central Asia to help facilitate funding directly to families and those in need. Your help means a lot.

    Fundsurfer is working with approved UNHCR and ICVA (International Council of Voluntary Agencies) partners to ensure funding goes where it will help the most. It's been an awful situation made a little brighter by the messages of support we have received from our donors and partners. We will keep you updated on progress (as much as we can safely) over the coming weeks.

    We are planning a number of fundraising events and campaigns throughout 2021 and will share details for those as they go live.

    If you want to get involved with fundraising for Afghanistan drop us a line anytime at info@fundsurfer.com

    Thanks again for sharing and donating to the project.

    The Fundsurfer Team.