Foundation of Light may get grant lifeline
reserve helping to support the charity and voluntary sector in the city.
The report to cabinet reads: “The council has been involved with the Foundation of Light since its inception, contributing a significant amount to the original construction of the Beacon of Light facility.
“The proposed additional one-off grant would assist in ensuringtheongoingfinancial sustainability of the charity, so that it is better able to meet its business plan targets through to August 2021 and the resulting social benefits for the city, aswellashavingasecurefinancial standing to meet the challengesarisingfromCOVID-19.”
In 2018, the Beacon of Light facility opened offering a range of sports and education activities.
The venue is operated by the Foundation of Light charity and aims to engage young people and their families, via football, to deliver personal development activities to enhance skills, motivation and career opportunities.
According to cabinet papers, as of February 2020, morethan7,000peopleaweek were using the centre. The city council previously contributed about £3m towards the £20mBeaconofLightinreturn for “specific use and advertisingrightsinrespectofthefacility”.However,documentsstate that the Foundation of Light had a financial loss in the year endedAugust31,2019,andhad to rely on its reserves until the end of December.
A match-funding campaign was later launched to replenish the reserves and was successful in raising halfa-million pounds in private donations.
Sunderland City Council’s grant aims to support the charity and the ongoing delivery of its social benefit programmes at the Beacon of Light. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the city council’s cabinet has been meeting remotely with meetings live-streamed on its YouTube channel.