Where Do Your Contributions Go?
2022 - 2023
In the financial year 2022 - 2023, £35,000 was distributed in general grants, £3,280 for school uniform grants, £5,150 in fuel grants , £16,500 in Co-op vouchers and a variety of other grants totalling £61,323.
2021 - 2022
In the current financial year 2021 - 2022, at the end of October 2021, £10,439 in grants had been made to 58 families or individuals in urgent need.
2020 - 2021
The annual expenditure on grants in the financial year 2020-2021 was £24,340, including £3,500 spent on a new fuel grant of £100 which helped 35 individuals and families over the winter period.
£12,460 was spent on buying Co-op gift cards for clients of local helping organisations.
£1,319 was spent on sleeping bags for people who are homeless.
Administrative costs were £711.
2019 - 2020
The annual expenditure on grants in the financial year 2019-2020 was £14,588.
£12,000 was spent on buying Co-op gift cards for clients of local helping organisations.
£1,812 was spent on sleeping bags for people who are homeless.
Administrative costs fell to £228.
2018 - 2019
The annual expenditure on grants in the financial year 2018-2019 was £18,229.
£6,200 was spent on buying Co-op gift cards for clients of local helping organisations.
£1,048 was spent on sleeping bags for people who are homeless.
Administrative costs fell to £535.
Grants
These are made to individuals and families who live in the DT1 and DT2 postal areas (Dorchester and its surrounding villages).
They are made only on application from a professional person who knows the client’s circumstances and knows that the need for a grant is genuine.
The maximum grant is £250 and no more than two grants will be made for anyone.
The circumstances in which such a small amount of money makes a difference are very varied and there are no strict criteria except that paying off a debt (unless a very small one) or purchasing floor coverings are not normally covered.
The application for a grant can be received by DPA trustees by e-mail, letter or telephone – contact details available by using the e-mail at the head of this website.
Local Community Projects
Second Chance Furniture in Weymouth – the first furniture recycling scheme in Dorset – was the first project initiated by DPAG (as DPA was then known). It opened in 1994, quickly became an independent charity and company. In the spring of 2018, after careful consideration and consultation, it was decided that there was no longer a need for Second Chance Furniture. The scene has changed since the early 1990s and Dorset Reclaim, which started in East Dorset after Second Chance was up and running, is a large and effective furniture recycling scheme covering the whole of Dorset. There are also now many charities with furniture stores and there are websites that enable unwanted furniture to be recycled. Second Chance had kept its prices very low for 25 years but was struggling to cover the rising costs of its accommodation and transport, so closing it while it still had funds was wise. It obtained permission from the Charity Commission to divide its remaining reserves between two local charities that have referred clients to it over many years and Dorchester Poverty Action is proud to have been involved and grateful to be one of these beneficiaries..
The Wyvern Credit Union was started by a group of people from DPAG but was always an independent body governed by the Financial Services Authority and has grown to cover a wide geographical area extending into Somerset. In 2021 it was merged with the Great Western Credit Union.
Meal Tickets for People who are Homeless started 20 years ago and ran until 2013. It was a partnership between DPAG and the Top o’ Town Café in Dorchester, enabling people with no means of obtaining a hot meal to have one, especially at weekends.
The Hub – a daycentre in Dorchester to provide services for people who are street homeless – was set up by DPAG and opened in Dec 2002. It became an independent charity and was taken over by Bournemouth Churches Housing Association in November 2009. It flourished until about 2012 when use of it gradually decreased and closed in April 2015. The loss of it is viewed with sadness by many local people.
Made of Money was a teaching scheme to help families learn to budget and control their spending. It ran successfully for a couple of years but with an ongoing difficulty in finding groups interested or willing to learn.
Survey of West Dorset voluntary organisations that help people - the results of this survey and the slowly growing website of local helping organisations was passed on to a new local charitable foundation called Help and Kindness. They are developing the website under that name to make it into a really useful tool for professionals and public to access.
Dorchester Poverty Action are not taking on new projects at present and since 2018 our main focus has been on making grants and working closely with other local charities.