You set it up once, probably didn’t think too much about it, and then got on with your life. But here’s what happens on our end: that regular gift becomes part of how we plan, how we respond, and how we show up for people across the Wakefield District who are going through the hardest times of their lives.

We want to take a moment to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who gives regularly through the Foundation’s Our Regulars scheme, whether this is via Direct Debit or payroll giving. You might not always hear from us about exactly where your money goes, and we thought it was time to change that.

The power of dependable

One-off donations are wonderful, and we’re grateful for every single one. But there’s something uniquely valuable about knowing, month in, month out, that a certain amount is coming in. It lets us plan. It lets us say yes to people faster. It means we’re not scrambling to cover an urgent request for help whilst waiting for funds to land.

When someone comes to us in crisis – perhaps they’re facing homelessness, fleeing a difficult situation, or simply can’t afford the basics – the last thing they need is to be told, ‘We’ll see what we can do, funds are tight this month.’ Regular giving means we can meet people where they are, when they need it. That’s not a small thing.

It really does add up

We know that £5 or £10 a month can feel modest, especially in today’s economy. Perhaps it’s the price of a coffee here and there, or a couple of magazines. But when ten people each give £10 a month, that’s £1,200 over the course of a year. When a hundred people do it, that’s £12,000, which is enough to change a significant number of lives in our communities.

We serve the Wakefield District, the Five Towns, and the SESKU areas. These are our neighbours. These are people we might pass in Trinity Walk or see at the school gates. And many of them, through no fault of their own, find themselves in situations they couldn’t have predicted and can’t easily get out of alone.

We don’t do off-the-shelf

Something we’re proud of, and which we think sets us apart, is that we don’t offer a standard package of support. Every person and situation is different, and we treat it that way. There’s no lengthy form to fill in, no rigid criteria to meet, no sense that you have to fit a particular box to deserve help.

We’re also deeply woven into the fabric of Wakefield’s third sector. We work alongside and collaborate with many brilliant local organisations, and when someone approaches another charity for help and doesn’t quite fit their criteria, they often find their way to us. We do our very best to make sure nobody simply runs out of road when it comes to finding support. When other doors close, we try to make sure ours is still open.

That’s only possible because of our connections, our flexibility…and our funding.

What more could we do?

We won’t pretend we’re doing everything we could. The honest truth is: there are people in Wakefield right now who need help that we aren’t quite resourced to give. There are situations we could respond to more quickly, more thoroughly, more generously, if we had a more stable base of regular income to draw from.

A genuine thank you

If you’re already one of ‘Our Regulars’…thank you. Genuinely. You might never meet the people that your giving supports, but please know it matters. It matters in ways that are hard to put into words.

If you’ve been thinking about joining the scheme but haven’t quite got round to it, now’s a great time. You can set up a regular gift from as little as £5 a month at https://wakefieldcf.org.uk/get-involved/our-regulars/.

Wakefield looks after its own. Help us keep doing that.