Philanthropists, businesses and the charitably-inclined are being called upon to support community groups in Merseyside as a new report is launched highlighting areas for investment.

The Vital Signs report from the Community Foundation for Merseyside points to education, health and community spirit as areas for charitable giving.

The 2014 Merseyside’s Vital Signs Stronger Communities report highlights the poor chances children in particular areas have of becoming prosperous adults, including:

• Educational attainment across Merseyside varies noticeably from borough to borough. For example, the percentage of people in Knowsley who don’t hold any qualifications is 16.2%. This is above the national average of 11% and noticeably higher than the best rate in Merseyside found in Wirral (9%);

• Children born today in some of Merseyside’s most deprived communities face the prospect of a significantly shorter life on average than their more affluent peers in other parts of the country. For example, a male child born in Liverpool has a life expectancy of 75.2 years compared to 78.8 years nationally – a difference of 3.6 years.

In terms of safety, the Merseyside’s Vital Signs report highlights that:

• Crime and anti-social behaviour figures are falling year-on-year in Merseyside and the crime statistics suggest that Merseyside is a marginally safer place to live (66.8 crimes per 1,000 population) than Greater Manchester (66.9 crimes);

• However, there is significant diversity across the region with crime rates varying largely between boroughs. For example, the crime rate in Liverpool at the end of 2013 was 91.29 per 1,000 people, nearly double that of Wirral at 48.79 per 1,000 people. This is further reinforced through the 2014 Vital Signs Community Consultation where 40% of respondents from Liverpool expressed concerns about falling victim to a crime.

Approximately 170 local community leaders have contributed to the 2014 Merseyside’s Vital Signs report to share their views, with 52% rating community spirit as ‘good’ or ‘very good’ and only 4% as ‘very poor’. However, the majority of those who completed the consultation in both Wirral (58%) and Liverpool (55%) rated the sense of community spirit as average or worse.

The report also highlights the positive work of charities and community groups across Merseyside, Netherley Valley Youth Angling Club which uses angling as a diversionary activity to help reduce anti-social behaviour in Liverpool and the children’s charity, Rampworx Skatepark which is the biggest indoor skatepark in the UK based in Liverpool for local young people.

The Community Foundation’s charitable work connects philanthropists and organisations who have a commitment and passion for making a difference with Merseyside’s charities and community groups via grant-making and charitable support to ensure communities are thriving.
Cathy Elliott, Community Foundation Chief Executive, said:

“As Merseyside’s Community Foundation and the county’s philanthropy centre, our role is about creating and supporting a culture of giving that makes a real difference to communities, ensuring they are thriving. “

“As a major charitable grant-maker and community funder in the county, there is a huge need for philanthropic and charitable support across Merseyside at this time. Despite investing around £1 million in 2013 in community projects, we were only able to fund 50% of the funding requests the Community Foundation received from community based organisations which have the ability to undertake life-changing work across Merseyside.”

Sir Terry Leahy added:

“We need more people to get involved with Community Foundation for Merseyside to benefit from their experience and local knowledge to make sure any donation delivers the greatest benefit to those in most need.”

To find out more about the Community Foundation, how you can get involved or to see the full Vital Signs report for Merseyside, visit www.msidevitalsigns.co.uk, call 0151 232 2444 or email vitalsigns@cfmerseyside.org.uk

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