Brighter Futures Radiotherapy Appeal for Swindon's GWH receives £72,500 funding boost

• The Good Exchange launches in Wiltshire matching charitable projects with funders, donors and fundraisers
• Brighter Futures aims to raise £2.9 million to provide radiotherapy treatment using The Good Exchange
• Grant funders, charities and community organisations invited to join new fundraising platform

Wiltshire, 15 March 2017: Brighter Futures Radiotherapy Appeal will receive a £72,500 match funding boost from Greenham Common Trust thanks to new fundraising platform The Good Exchange.

The Charitable Trust has agreed to match £1 for £1 on any donations and grants (up to £72,500) made to the appeal through The Good Exchange to help raise the £2.9m it needs to bring vital cancer treatments closer to home for patients at Great Western Hospital.

Brighter Futures launched the Radiotherapy Appeal at Great Western Hospital, in May 2015, in a bid to raise the £2.9 million needed to make radiotherapy treatment available in Swindon, meaning local cancer patients no longer have to make the daily 70-mile round trip to Oxford.

The £2.9 million appeal, run by Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation’s Trusts charity, will help fund the expensive specialist equipment needed to provide radiotherapy treatment. The radiotherapy will be provided by Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, after expanding their service in Oxford to the Great Western Hospital in Swindon.

The Good Exchange has now officially launched in Wiltshire bringing charities like Brighter Futures and community organisations together with grant funders, donors and fundraisers to support local projects and transform neighbourhoods.

The online fundraising platform automatically matches charitable projects with multiple sources of grant funding through a single application which local organisations can share online, create fundraising events and encourage the public to fundraise for their appeal all in one place.

Brighter Futures Jane Leighton said: “The Good Exchange is a fantastic way to raise funds for local charities.

“We have seen how the platform can transform appeals like our Radiotherapy Appeal with match funding from charitable trusts, grant giving organisations working together in partnership to support projects and the ability to attract fundraisers.

“Please support us through The Good Exchange and help bring radiotherapy to Swindon.”

The Good Exchange has already helped The Rosemary Appeal, a campaign aiming to raise £4.5m to build a cancer and renal dialysis unit at West Berkshire Hospital, raise over £2m in less than four months.

Representing The Rosemary Appeal, Secretary of the Newbury and Thatcham Hospital Building Trust, Dr Rob Tayton, said: “The Good Exchange has enabled us to raise an extraordinary amount of money towards the appeal. The ability for funders to match fund donations from the public and local companies and other funders has given us an incredible boost, and the support we receive from The Good Exchange team is excellent.

“Getting access to significant grant makers who made donations through the website has made such a difference. Because of the commitment of funders and generosity of the public, we have been able to contract the building team earlier than we expected. We hope to open the unit by autumn this year.”

If you are thinking about offering Brighter Futures a grant why not register on thegoodexchange.com and offer to match donations or other grants to the appeal which could double or triple the value of support. Or if you are a company why not make Brighter Futures your charity of the year. Just register as a funder and your employees can register as fundraisers for the project and you can double the donations they raise for the appeal.

The Good Exchange’s Chief Operating Officer Ed Gairdner said: “We are delighted to be able to support projects such as Brighter Futures and help them to achieve their fundraising goals. We are already working with a number of funders to support hundreds of charitable projects and we are looking to grow thegoodexchange.com even further in Wiltshire, Hampshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire. We are also talking with national funders and community foundations to help regenerate deprived communities across the country. If you are fundraising for a local project, are a grant-giving organisation or want to support projects you care about through donations or fundraising, please visit thegoodexchange.com and help transform your community.”

The Good Exchange is looking for charitable trusts and foundations, local authorities, housing associations, philanthropists, commercial Corporate Social Responsibility programmes and social enterprises to join The Good Exchange as funders.

Charities, local authorities, schools, churches, amateur sports clubs and community organisations are very welcome to register as applicants and fundraise for local projects large and small on The Good Exchange.

If you want to support Brighter Futures through donations or fundraising please visit their fundraising page on The Good Exchange http://bit.ly/2lfLLpf

If you are interested in awarding a grant or match funding to The Rosemary Appeal or any other project on thegoodexchange.com please contact [email protected]