The Sedel-Collings Foundation’s support of Cornwall Community Foundation reaches £1 million milestone
The Sedel-Collings Foundation has reached an extraordinary milestone, awarding more than £1 million through Cornwall Community Foundation (CCF) to support charities, community groups and voluntary organisations across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
Established in 2006 by Rae Sedel and John Collings, the Sedel-Collings Foundation was created with a clear mission: to empower and sustain vital community services. Following the founders’ passing in 2021, the Sedel-Collings Foundation has continued their legacy under the stewardship of four dedicated volunteer trustees, who work closely with CCF to ensure the fundA sum of money made available for grant making, often with specific criteria/conditions. is managed with the same vision and values as when it begun.
Today, the Sedel-Collings Foundation supports communities through two dedicated funds managed by CCF. The ‘Sedel-Collings Fund’ provides grants to small charities and grassroots organisationsGroups of people coming together on a local level to address an issue. working to support mental health, suicide prevention, women’s empowerment as well as tackling loneliness, disadvantage and social isolationLoneliness, lack of access to human interactions., helping improve the lives of people across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
In 2025 alone, this fund distributed over £193,000 and helped 6,191 people focusing on supporting mental health projectsA piece of work that delivers an output. and food poverty reduction.
Their second fund is the recently created ‘Support the Supporters Fund’ which recognises that those helping others also need support. The fund invests in the wellbeing, resilience and capacity of frontline staff and volunteers working with people facing some of life’s greatest challenges, helping ensure they can continue delivering essential services to their communities.
Alongside their own two funds, they also generously contribute to our other partners’ funds including the Care Leavers Fund which provides financial support and practical assistance to help young people leaving care transition towards independent living, education and employment.
Earlier this month, Amy Buzza-Blackwell, Philanthropy Director at CCF, and Lisa Dymond, Grants Officer, joined the Sedel-Collings trustees on a visit to several organisations that have benefited from their funding. The group visited The Pearl Exchange in Bude, The Old Bank in Camelford, Carefree Cornwall in Redruth, and West Cornwall Women’s Aid and YMCA Cornwall in Penzance, meeting the inspiring people behind these projects and seeing first-hand the lasting impact of the Foundation’s generosity.
YMCA Cornwall, declared their thanks:
“On behalf of all the residents and staff at YMCA Cornwall, we wanted to say a huge thank you to the Sedel-Collings Foundation for helping us support young people at risk of homelessness. Over the past two years we’ve received over £18,000 of funding to support the work we do and we are all incredibly grateful.”
The trustees’ commitment extends far beyond grant-making. They have regularly stepped in to support projects that narrowly missed out on funding elsewhere, ensuring valuable community initiatives can still go ahead. They also generously share their knowledge, expertise and encouragement with the organisations they support, demonstrating a genuine passion for helping Cornwall’s voluntary sector flourish.
Over the years, the Sedel-Collings funding has enabled The Old Bank in Camelford to restore its community food larder, helped Georgia’s Voice expand its reach, funded outdoor nature and wellbeing sessions at Falmouth Food Co-op’s Loveland, and supported The Hugs Foundation to recruit a full-time Youth Facilitator. The Hugs Foundation investment alone has enabled the delivery of more than 642 hours of wellbeing interventions, supporting 109 young people. These are just a handful of the many projects that have benefited from their remarkable generosity.
Annie Little, Trustee of the Sedel-Collings Foundation says:
“The more organisations we visit and the more people we meet, the more we see both the scale of the need and the extraordinary work being done to address it. Our partnership with Cornwall Community Foundation is central to this. Their knowledge of local communities helps us ensure that our support reaches the organisations where it can make a real difference. Reaching £1 million is a wonderful milestone but we very much see it as part of an ongoing commitment.”
Amy Buzza-Blackwell, Philanthropy Director at Cornwall Community Foundation, said:
“Words cannot express how grateful we are to the Sedel-Collings Foundation for their continued partnership and generosity. Their unwavering commitment to helping people and strengthening communities across Cornwall is truly inspiring. We are incredibly proud to work alongside the trustees, and to see the life-changing impact their support continues to have on so many individuals and organisations.”
As the Sedel-Collings Foundation celebrates this incredible £1 million milestone, its legacy continues to transform lives across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, ensuring communities are stronger, more resilient and better equipped to support those who need them most.
