Access to Art awarded £58,000 by the City Bridge Trust
Howard Lake | 12 February 2008 | News
Access to Art based in Southwark has received a big cash boost thanks to a £58,500 grant, to be awarded over a three year period by the City of London Corporation’s The City Bridge Trust. The grant has been given to the charity to enable disabled and frail older people to access museums and galleries in London, by providing a volunteer gallery Assistant to help them.
Access to Art began life as a project of Age Concern – Wandsworth, to enable disabled and housebound people to access art exhibitions. The City Bridge Trust is helping to expand Access to Art activities, and helped it to become an established independent charity with grants awarded in 1996 and 1998. Today, Access to Art’s membership totals over 270 disabled and frail older people from several boroughs across London. The further City Bridge Trust funding will allow for a Volunteer Coordinator, who is responsible for recruiting, training and supporting the 120 volunteers involved in the project. Last year, volunteers organised 126 trips to museums and galleries in London.
Says Ms Jane Turner, Director of Access to Art “We were delighted when the funds were approved, it will make such a difference to us and be put towards the costs of the charity having a Volunteer Co-ordinator”
The City Bridge Trust has awarded over £200 million to London’s charities and community groups in the last twelve years to help the lives of disabled people, children, young people and older people in London communities, as well as supporting environmental projects and the voluntary and community sector.
It is the largest, independent grant making trust in London following an Act of Parliament in 1995 which allowed surplus monies from the ancient trust (originally set up to maintain the five London bridges crossing the Thames into the City) to be spent for the benefit of Londoners, through charitable grant making. The Trust’s £620 million fund was built up over 900 years, originating from ancient taxes imposed on London Bridge.
Says Clare Thomas, Chief Grants Officer at The City Bridge Trust; “This grant application was commended by our committee and clearly demonstrates the tangible outcomes for Access to Art. We look forward to seeing how the charity’s work will grow as a result.”
To find out more about The City Bridge Trust and its grants, charities should log onto www.citybridgetrust.org.uk
Those wanting to find out more about Access to Art enabling disabled and frail older people to visit galleries and museums in London, please contact Ms Jane Turner (Director) Kingswood House, Seeley Drive, London. SE21 8QR. email
in**@ac********.uk
www.access2art.org.uk. Tel: 020 8761 4898
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.