2024 was quite a year for the Financial Options Group Charitable Foundation! Our calendar was jam-packed with exciting fundraisers and events – and we’ve supported more local charities and causes than ever before.
Here’s a round-up of our activities in 2024…
In January, we kicked it all off with our Dress Down Fridays fundraiser, having chosen Reach Family Project as our Charity of the Year the previous month. Reach is a Bolton-based charity which operates a volunteer befriending service, social groups, a Christmas toy drive and much more.
In February, the Foundation helped to support Bury Hospice’s For the Love Of Ball at the Village Hotel, Bury, which raised an incredible £42,000 on the night.
In April, the Financial Options Group joined Bury Hospice’s 1,000 Club, committing to monthly donations which when combined with the gift aid Bury Hospice will claim, will equal £1,000 over a 12-month period. This will be pooled together with the donations of 99 other individuals and companies in the Club, for a total of £100,000 to fund a patient’s bedroom.
We continue to be an official Bury Hospice Business Patron, supporting the charity throughout the year through fundraisers, direct donations and promoting Bury Hospice events.
In May, our founder & CEO Christian Pepper was named winner of the Made in Bury weekly business draw and immediately donated the £2,000 prize to charity Bury Hospice. The story even made the Bury Times… you can read the article here.
In August, our Foundation joined Caritas Red Door Bury Red Door in celebrating the opening of its newly updated garden space. We have loved working with Red Door as the facility’s principal corporate sponsor, providing essential funding for its five-day a week activity programme aimed at promoting wellbeing and encouraging signposting for those experiencing or at risk of homelessness in Bury. For the full story, read here.
In September, our Foundation pledged £630 to Lancashire Mind’s Big Give Christmas Appeal. It turned out our donation was key to the charity achieving its target of £2,500 in pledges before the Big Give deadline on the 8th of September, qualifying the charity to continue to the next round of match funding in October.
We later “topped up” that donation, adding another £1,870 to bring the total to £2,500. The funds were invested into the charity’s appeal which raised funds for delivering 1-2-1 support for teenagers aged 11 to 18 who face mental health challenges. The latter donation of £1,870 will allow four young people to begin treatment, receiving six sessions each of one-to-one wellbeing coaching support.
Finally, this Christmas we have been busier than ever, during which time we have supported:
🌟 Hoyle Nursery School, providing a number of gift baskets and individual prizes for the school’s annual raffle
🌟 Bury Hospice, a gift of £205 raised through our annual Christmas Jumper Day fundraiser
🌟 Bury Cancer Support Centre, donating six luxury gift baskets for the annual raffle
🌟 Reach Family Project, sponsoring around 20 Christmas dinners and 30 gift hampers, which were sent to members of the community supported by the charity
🌟 Also donating £672 – the grand total of our 2024 Dress Down Fridays fundraiser – to Reach Family Project
🌟 Red Door Bury, with our CEO & founder Christian and his dad John working at the facility on Christmas Day, with a donation of £1,500 in support of its Christmas day community dinner and centre activities
🌟 The Salvation Army, Bury, donating £1,000 in support of its vital community initiatives including its new weekly café and drop-in offering, as well as its new food shop club
Managing the activities of our Foundation are its director Sarah Kendell and director of people and development Charlotte Banks. Their commitment and dedication to the Foundation have made this year’s activities possible, and we are grateful for all they do.
We are also grateful to our team for their participation in fundraisers including Dress Down Fridays and Christmas Jumper Day.
Operating the Foundation allows our business to benefit in many ways, such as fostering a positive office culture, strengthening team connections and making our work more fulfilling.
In 2025, we will continue our efforts to amplify our positive impact and work to support more people in our local community – here’s to another year of making a difference together!
For more information on the Financial Options Group Charitable Foundation, please visit www.financialopts.co.uk/fog-foundation. Or, follow us on social media at Facebook and LinkedIn
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