Ten Buckinghamshire Charities Receive £120,000 in Grants

Last Wednesday, at the Elgiva Theatre in Chesham, ten charitable organisations received a share of £120,000 in cash grants to help further support their vital work and community services.

The awards were made as The Clare Foundation's annual Angels' Den philanthropic initiative came to a grand finale for another year. Hosted by Bucks Radio presenter Nathan Cooper, the event saw 6 entrepreneurs donate £10,000 each, with the Clare Foundation matching the donations for a total cash pot of £120,000.

The beneficiary organisations and cash awards made to each include:

Myeloma UK, helping people with Myeloma gain access to the latest treatments, is awarded £10,000. Director of Fundraising, Matt Wynes, says, "One person is newly diagnosed with Myeloma every week so we will use the funding to provide a dedicated Myeloma UK specialist to work with doctors and nurses across Buckinghamshire."

£10,000 is granted to Hector's House which delivers crisis support, education, and access to mental health services. Fundraising Manager, Karyn Taylor, comments, "The demand for mental health services is at an all-time high at the moment."

Agnieszka Alborzpour, Manager, of The Wednesday Club is thrilled to receive £25,000, which she states will "give us a chance to expand and dream bigger, we will welcome more members to our club and introduce more activities" as part of the charity's mission to reduce loneliness and isolation.

Wendover Shed, which supports practically minded people in and around Wendover to work on projects, share ideas and experiences with each other, benefits from a grant of £12,000. "The money will be going towards a new workshop, a space that is big enough for people to socialise in" explains elated Bob Duggan, Chairman of Wendover Shed.

Next in line was Hope After Harm, who were awarded £10,000. CEO, Thalia Jervis, says, "The money is going to go towards our amazing young people's program."

Restore Hope and One-Eighty, help support people facing hardship or crisis by providing practical help, working together they were awarded £20,000. Susie Besant, CEO of One-Eighty says, "For us it isn't just about a one-off project, it's a long-term sustainable project."

"We are looking to grow our work in Buckinghamshire especially The Scholars program" is how Steina Adolfsdottir, Director of Philanthropy from The Brilliant Club plans to put their charitable award of £6,000 to good use.

Likewise, Richard Hudson, Chief Executive of Bucks Cricket says his organisation will benefit from "working much more in Aylesbury, a town with not much cricket as there's only one club." As it receives £6,000 to make cricket more accessible for everyone across Buckinghamshire.

Residents of Buckinghamshire will benefit from improved specialist care and guidance, delivered by Autism Early Support, which is gifted £6,000. "The award will help us scale up our reach through the parents' portal." says CEO, Sarah Sweet-Rowley.

Inspire Bucks and Mehiel Foundation, working in partnership, will benefit from a grant fund of £15,000 – helping to support vulnerable people by providing care and opportunities. Paul Irwin, Founding Trustee of Inspire Bucks concludes, "All the money we got will go directly to the children at Christmas, funding the gifts." And Lawrence Patrick, Founder and CEO of Mehiel Foundation added "we are now able to extend the support to even more families."

Martin Gallagher, The Clare Foundation's CEO, commented on the 2025 initiative, "The awards we have made will directly help communities to improve the daily lives of people living, working, and learning in Bucks. I also wish to thank the Angels for their generosity and support – their insight and wealth of experience have enabled us to really drive impact for all recipient organisations."

Mike Clare, Founder and President of the foundation, concludes, "This year's awards have been awesome – I am genuinely thrilled with the support we have received from our Angels, our partners, and the local media across Buckinghamshire. Angels' Den makes a significant and measurable impact. That is exactly what we set out to do."

The awards will take place in 2026 and are expected to be bigger than ever. Initial details will be announced in the coming weeks.