The Orchard Foundation is a funding body within Orchard Fostering, dedicated to providing opportunities to the children and young people in our care. In particular, the Orchard Foundation specialises in providing funding in areas where they may be financial barriers to entry – like the artistic, sporting or scientific fields.
The Orchard Foundation is another avenue through which Orchard Fostering shows its commitment to building brighter futures for the children and young people in our care. Read on to find out more about our fostering funding programme.
If you’re interested in foster care, please reach out to Orchard Fostering today. We’re available on the phone or via email – you can also fill out a form directly on our contact page.
What is the Orchard Foundation?
Established in 2021, the Orchard Foundation is a four member board tasked with identifying and supporting opportunities for youths in the care of Orchard Fostering. The support programme is designed to offer funding for young people across cultural and social areas.
To what areas does the Orchard Foundation provide fostering funding?
The Orchard Foundation has a broad remit, with the main goal being the continued support and promotion of the best interests of the young people in our care – especially in areas for which there may be barriers to entry. Too often, young people in foster care can miss out on areas of passion– the Orchard Foundation aims to ease potential financial barriers that can emerge – and increase participation in young people’s areas of interest.
Areas of interest that the Foundation supports are far-reaching – the Foundation considers any and all applications and are always open to new ideas. The major areas the Foundation provide funding to are as follows:
- The arts – including the dramatic arts, visual art, etc.
- Clubs and community groups
- The pursuit of cultural expression or cultural experiences
- Sports – leisure activities, outdoor pursuits or lessons and training
- An interest in science or agriculture
- The improvement of social circumstances/ social life
Each area listed above is worthy of receiving financial support from the Orchard Foundation. If your ideas don’t fit into the areas above, don’t worry – as mentioned, the Foundation are open to any and all applications. All you have to do is make the case that the benefits you’d receive from the grant would contribute to building a brighter future and making your household’s fostering journey even more rewarding.
Who can apply for foster care supports funding from the Orchard Foundation?
Four times a year, the Orchard Foundation meets to consider applications for grants that have been submitted to the Foundation. The Foundation accepts applications from all children and young people who are part of Orchard Fostering. Effectively, the Orchard Foundation operates as a community benefit fund – and any member of our fostering community is eligible to apply.
The application process is simple – all you do is fill in a form and send it to the Foundation. The form can be requested via email. The most important part of the form is the ‘what is the funding for?’ section – here, you make your case to the Foundation.
The application is made by the foster carer, with the input and support of the child or young person in their care. The carer is assisted by their link worker and their child’s social worker in completing the application – allowing the entire community of care to be involved in the fostering funding support process.
What kind of benefits does the Orchard Foundation’s fostering funding programme entail?
The most important thing about the Orchard Foundation is that the funding provided goes directly and solely towards positively impacting the lives and experiences of young people in the care of Orchard Fostering. Since its establishment in 2021, the Foundation has funded brighter futures for many children in our care, across a variety of areas. Let’s look at some rewarding stories of foster care supports provided by the Foundation.
At Orchard Fostering, we place a huge value on the importance of education (check out our education-focused blogs on “how to handle the first day at school” and on back to school). The Foundation has funded multiple educational pursuits since its inception, including the purchase of a new laptop, as well as providing grants for grinds.
We’re also big fans of getting out and about – keeping fit and getting exercise is a key component in staying both mentally and physically well. One of our more exciting uses of the supports provided by the Foundation was the funding of a series of horse-riding lessons for a child in a foster care placement. The Foundation has also provided funding for other leisure and sporting activities – all of which are a great means of staying fit and well.
If you are interested in applying for the Orchard Foundation’s fostering funding support/ fostering funding benefits programme, why not start working on an application today? Applications are open and we look forward to hearing your ideas for building a brighter future for the child or young person in your care.
If you’re interested in foster care, please reach out to Orchard Fostering today. We’re available on the phone or via email – you can also fill out a form directly on our contact page.