Terra Firma

Terra Firma Charitable Trust

The mission of the Charity Committee of the Terra Firma Charitable Trust, a non-profit charitable fund formed and funded by Terra Firma Capital Partners Limited and its employees, is to make charitable investments which will directly benefit our local community in the borough of Southwark.

We aim to act as a good neighbour and help develop a sense of pride within our community through donations to locally-based charities that support programmes in Southwark and/or to non-locally-based charities which have programmes that focus on Southwark to which we can specifically earmark our donation.

We will support programmes that put an emphasis on programmes that aid and educate children and help the elderly, but will consider proposals outside of this scope if they meet our community focus mission.

Between 2006-11, the Terra Firma Charitable Trust committed over £1.2 million to charitable organisations working in Southwark, and over this period, Terra Firma Capital Partners Ltd donated 10% of its net annual profits to the Trust and the Private Equity Foundation. We aim to fund charities on a 3-year basis so that they can confidently plan and undertake long-term projects.

Addaction

3 Year Funding (2011-13)

With over forty years of experience, Addaction's mission is to help transform the lives of people affected by drug and alcohol problems. Their key focus is on relapse prevention through aftercare which helps ex-addicts to rebuild their lives through education, training and employment opportunities. The expected returns are personal, social and also financial – drug users are estimated to cost the government £44,000 per year through the NHS, criminal justice system and financial dependency on the state.

Age Concern

6 Year Funding (2007-12)

Age Concern is dedicated to the promotion of the well-being of all older people and to help make later life a fulfilling and enjoyable experience. They support all people over 50 in the UK, ensuring that they get the most from life as well as providing essential services such as day care and information.

Bloomfield Learning Centre

2 Year Funding (2007-8)

The Bloomfield Learning Centre is a charity that offers diagnostic assessment and tuition for children of between six and sixteen years of age who have specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia. The Centre operates with the Department of Child Psychology within Guy’s Hospital, London.

Children's Country Holiday Fund

5 Year Funding (2009-13)

The Children’s Country Holidays Fund was established in 1884 by the Rev Samuel Barnett and his wife Henrietta. Originally called “The Country Holidays Fund to Provide Fresh Air for Ailing London Children” the charity’s aim was to take children from London’s slums away to the country or seaside for holidays in the fresh air and country surroundings. In 1932, 1933 and 1936, the author A.A. Milne wrote appeals for CCHF in the Times newspaper which raised over £6,000. (In today's money, this would be over £250,000.) And due to their experience and knowledge, in 1940, CCHF are asked to assist with the evacuation of London's children.

Create Arts

6 Year Funding (2008-13)

Create Arts uses creative arts to help transform the lives of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable people in our society. Using leading professional artists, Create develops and delivers an extensive, UK-wide programme of education and community activities across all art forms. Since its foundation in 2003, Create has run more than 2,970 workshops, mainly as part of sustained, life-changing programmes, for over 19,700 participants.

Downside Fisher

3 Year Funding (2009-11)

The Downside Fisher Youth Club has supported socially excluded young people in the Bermondsey area for over 100 years. It was originally established as a boys club in 1908 and since that time has worked with disadvantaged children, helping them learn from each other and offering challenging experiences and learning opportunities that are not otherwise easily available in Bermondsey.

Kids Company

4 Year Funding (2007-9, 2011)

Kids Company is a charity founded by Camila Batmanghelidjh in 1996 in order to provide practical, emotional and educational support to vulnerable inner-city children and young people. Terra Firma funding helped set up the Kids Company's Urban Academy, a post-14 educational and life skills academy based at Sherborne House, SE1. It is specifically designed to meet the needs of young people who reject or have been rejected from other educational facilities. The Academy provides a balance of courses to help with their life management, including helping young people get their driving licence, passport application and register with a G.P. along with study and business skills, maths and English, drama, film production, fashion studies and more.

Princes Trust

6 Year Funding (2006-11)

Around one in five young people in the UK are not in work, education or training. Youth unemployment costs the UK economy £10 million a day in lost productivity, while youth crime costs £1 billion every year. The Prince’s Trust is a UK charity that helps young people overcome barriers and get their lives working. Through practical support including training, mentoring and financial assistance, it helps 14-30 year olds realise their potential and transform their lives.

St Christopher’s Hospice

3 Year Funding (2008-10)

Founded by Dame Cecily Saunders, St Christopher’s has been caring for people in the final stage of their lives since 1967. The charity is a pioneer in the arena of palliative care and the first to combine pain and symptom control with emotional, spiritual and practical support. The hospice cares for around 2,000 people a year, including around 850 people who are looked after at home daily. St Christopher’s has inspired innovation in 110 countries and continues to provide world-leading training via courses and clinical placements to 7,000 health professionals annually.

Tomorrow’s People

3 Year Funding (2008-10)

Founded by Grand Met (Diageo) in 1984, Tomorrow’s People has been running as an independent charity since early 2005. In that time, Tomorrow’s People have helped change the lives of over 400,000 people across the UK who had been resigned to long-term unemployment and welfare dependency. They engage with the people who are the hardest to reach by giving them one to one support in their own community, helping them to find the right job and to keep it long term. On average, 90% of people helped by our specialist employment advisers are still in work 3 months on, 76% 12 months on.

Unicorn Theatre

3 Year Funding (2008-10)

The Unicorn Theatre is one of the leading producers of professional theatre for children in Britain. Founded in 1947, its mission is to create amazing shows for children which are fun, challenging and exciting – shows which rise to the challenge of a child’s imagination.

Victim Support

2 Year Funding (2009-10)

Victim Support in Southwark was set up as an independent charity in 1983 to work with victims and witnesses of crime across the borough. Staff and volunteers are trained to contact people affected by crime to offer free, confidential support and practical advice. People are referred to the charity by the police and agencies or they make direct contact themselves for help. This extends to families and friends of those who have been affected by crime and witnesses who are called to give evidence.

Vitalise

3 Year Funding (2009-11)

Vitalise have been operating since 1963 and provide an alternative to traditional residential respite care. Each Centre offers short breaks in a relaxed, holiday style environment with a variety of trips and activities. Guests, who include disabled people and elderly people who require a high level of care, are supported by volunteers who provide companionship and assistance.

XLP

5 Year Funding (2008-12)

XLP is a South London-based charity that aims to provide support to young people to encourage wise lifestyle choices. In 1996, in response to a stabbing in a school playground, the school’s headmaster asked Patrick Regan, a local church-based youth worker, to come into the school and work with their students and teachers to help with difficult behavioural issues. This was the beginning of XLP. Over the years XLP has grown from working in a single school to operating in over 30 schools and communities across Southwark, Lewisham, Greenwich, Bexley, Tower Hamlets and Newham.