Potton Consolidated Charity

Potton Consolidated Charity is a longstanding philanthropic trust rooted in 17th-century benefactions, dedicated to relieving poverty, hardship, distress, and disadvantage among parish inhabitants, advancing education for children and young people under 25, furthering Church of England mission, and promoting general community benefit. Its core values emphasize local stewardship, fairness, inclusiveness, and sustained uplift, prioritizing aid to those most in need through opportunity creation and direct welfare. Funding decisions are driven by hyper-local impact, community empowerment, and trustee-led responsiveness to evolving needs, fostering resilience via grassroots partnerships, capacity building for local organizations, and practical interventions that sustain parish vitality.

It supports educational advancement including further and higher education grants, skills training, and youth development opportunities for children and young people under 25 facing barriers, without means-testing to ensure broad access; hardship relief and poverty alleviation for individuals and families in economic distress, social isolation, or crisis through direct welfare assistance; elderly care initiatives assessing needs of older residents experiencing loneliness or vulnerability; disability support for people with physical disabilities, learning disabilities, or complex health needs via inclusive activities and services; community development through grants to local clubs, charities, and groups for recreational facilities, sporting opportunities, after-school clubs, peer support groups, and outdoor activities promoting social cohesion; Church of England projects enhancing spiritual wellbeing and community gatherings; and maintenance of community buildings, open spaces, and facilities enabling day services, befriending, and holistic wellbeing. Interventions favor preventative support, community-led solutions, person-centred aid, and early opportunity-building to address root causes like food insecurity, youth unemployment, family carer burdens, and isolation.

Exclusions encompass non-parish beneficiaries, national organizations without local ties, and activities not advancing core objectives like poverty relief or education. Distinctive priorities target parish families in crisis, isolated elderly residents, disabled individuals, and youth from disadvantaged backgrounds in rural settings, with a unique 350-year tradition of autonomous, flexible grantmaking favoring grassroots groups, Church-aligned ethos, direct individual support, and reinvestment in local infrastructure for enduring, place-based resilience and mutual community support.