Trusts and Foundations
Thanks to our funders
We are very grateful to our Trusts, Foundations and other grant-making bodies for their support.
They enable us to maintain and improve our current level of service, cover core costs and provide new equipment to our members. We can continue with established projects and provide new ones, thereby making it possible for our charity to improve the physical and mental health of people affected by Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s and other related neurological conditions.
We are incredibly grateful to them.
The Harpur Trust:
A local Trust that has been inspiring and supporting the people of Bedford to help them improve their lives for over 450 years. They have provided us with a generous grant to kick-start our Parkinson’s initiative, enabling us to offer our services to this new community in summer 2024. We now have over 50 people with Parkinson’s benefiting from our therapies and services.
Please do contact us if you have Parkinson’s and are interested in what we can offer.
Panacea Charitable Trust:
This charity has provided almost £5 million of funding to more than 100 local organisations and educational programmes. Its social-related grants fund is designated to support Bedford and its surrounding local community across a broad range of initiatives and recipients.
We have been grateful recipients of their grant for several years, most recently for our project: ‘A Holistic Approach to MS’, which considers the whole person, not just the illness, and supports physical & mental health through core and complementary therapies.
Wixamtree Trust:
Another supportive Trust, they focus most of their support on organisations and projects that benefit the people of Bedfordshire. We received a generous grant from them for our physiotherapy service.
National Lottery Community Fund
We received a generous grant from the National Lottery which will help solidify plans for our charity, going forward, and benefit people with neurological conditions like MS and Parkinson's.
A BIG thank you to the National Lottery Community Fund and to everyone who plays the lottery for this amazing support of our work!
The grant, which is about 20% of our budgeted annual income, works out at approx £84k per year for five years. We are absolutely delighted at the news, but still need to work hard to raise the rest.
Gale Family Charity Trust, Sandy Charities, Bedfordshire Charitable Trust, Potton Consolidated Charities, Northampton Municipal Trust Charities, and several other local Trusts
These local Trusts have been supporting our services for several years, including several others that prefer not be be named.
To all of you, a very big thank you for supporting not just our core services, but also the hydro-pool extension that has enabled us to take this therapy to the next level.
Frank Branston Charitable Trust
We want to extend a big thank you to the Frank Branston Charitable Trust, managed by the Bedfordshire and Luton Community Foundation, for their incredible support of our hydrotherapy service.
Their generosity has enabled us to continue providing this essential therapy to people living with MS, Parkinson's and other rare neurological conditions. Several members are experiencing a better quality of life, and greater confidence in their daily lives.
The Amateurs Trust
The Amateurs Trust supports charitable causes in Bedfordshire, amongst others, in particular, health related charities.
We would like to thank them for their generous grant towards the exercise therapist role that will have a primary focus on helping people improve their cardiovascular fitness and strength.
Roger & Jean Jefcoate Trust:
Roger Jefcoate is a patron of our charity. He was made a CBE for services to disabled people, was awarded the Order of St John and in 2011, he became a Deputy Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes.
The Trust has generously supported our charity for several years.
St John’s Hospital Trust:
Formed in the late 1100s, it is one of the oldest trusts in the UK. It was set up to provide a Hospital for poor and destitute males of the Borough of Bedford, who had fallen on hard times. A very supportive Trust, they have provided us with a grant for core services.
Thank you!
We are also very grateful to the Woodroffe Benton Foundation, E A Timson Family Trust, the Strangward Trust, the Potton Consolidated Charity, , Robert Lucas, the Page Fund, and several others that have made it possible for us to provide our 40 years of service.
Recent Projects
Hydrotherapy pool project:
Hydrotherapy provides multiple health benefits to people with neurological conditions and we refurbished and replaced our old hydro-pool this year in 2023. This has made it possible to extend our hydro-pool facilities to people with other health issues.
We could not have undertaken this large project without the support of several Trusts and donations from members and organisations that appreciate the physical and mental health benefits provided by our hydro-pool.
We would like to thank all the Trusts for their support. We received the first grant for this project from The Childwick Trust. Several other generous donors have asked not to be named.
Equipment:
More than 75% of people with MS have problems with balance, and falls are highly prevalent; it is estimated that 56% fall at least once in a 3 month period. Injuries are common if manual lifting and handling is attempted.
We needed a mobile hoist to enable us to move members with limited mobility without putting unnecessary strain on them or their carer, and reduce the risk of an injury to the lowest level possible.
The Hospital Saturday Fund provides grants of over £2.3million to illness or disability charities. Their generous grant has allowed us to purchase a mobile hoist to help prevent injuries to our members.
Funding our work
If you are considering supporting our work by making a gift through your charitable trust or foundation, we would be delighted to hear from you. We are always happy to talk about all aspects of the therapies and services we provide to people affected by MS.
We will identify the activity or project most suited to your charitable objectives, provide clear proposals and applications outlining the outcomes of your donation, along with the costs for the project.
We can provide you with reports and feedback on the difference your gift has made to our charity.
You are very welcome to visit the MS Therapy Centre and speak to our members, Trustees, volunteers and staff about the work we do and the benefits it provides.
Please get in touch
Please email Swarupa Vaingankar, our Trusts and Foundations Fundraiser today or call us for an informal chat.
Email: trusts@mscentrebedsandnorthants.com
Call: 01234 325781
Latest funding news
Read all about the ways Trusts and Foundations have been supporting our charity.