Emmanuel House secures final £75k to buy Goose Gate home
Emmanuel House has secured the final £75,000 needed to buy its Goose Gate building, with hundreds of small donations helping the charity reach its March deadline and secure its long-term future.
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One week ago Emmanuel House announced they were £75,000 short of a bid to buy their building. Today, they announced that they have successfully filled that gap, with around half the amount made up by individual donors contributing £5 or £10.
"The little donations add up to just as much as the big ones," said Nicola Ramsdale, Marketing and Fundraising Manager for the charity.
The charity was set up in 1976 to give assistance to those who were suffering through homelessness, and since then their remit has widened: their ethos is now to provide services to help everyone meet the same level of basic human needs, whether they are homeless, sleeping rough, vulnerable, or potentially about to be any of those things.
53-61 Goose Gate is a City Council owned building, with Emmanuel House as long-term tenants.
"There has been ongoing conversations with the council over the past three years," Nicola told us. "We finally got to a point of getting a valuation and agreeing a price. At the start of February, we agreed the heads of terms. So we had from the start of February to the end of March to get us over the line."
The council valued the property at £535,000 and gave a deadline for 31 March for funds to be raised. The charity managed the bulk of the funds by pooling reserves and reaching out to donors - the charity gets very little public funding and none at all for their core services. The remaining £75,000 was raised in just one week.
"Owning our home will give Emmanuel House stability, resilience, and the freedom to plan confidently for the future," said Isabella Harriss, CEO of the charity.
The work of the charity has only increased over time.
"There is a consistent rise in need. We see that through the number of people coming through the door," said Nicola. "We're seeing 60-70 people for breakfast. 30-40 people for lunch every day. Food is what brings people here; food, warmth, shelter. The essential things you need to live. There's a lot more we can offer once they're in through the door."
Emmanuel House has seen an increase in users with more complex and sometimes overlapping concerns, known as "severe multiple disadvantages". These mounting problems are generally very difficult to overcome by an individual, and are often considered systemic. The charity hopes to offer help to these people, but cannot do so alone.
"We have a network of partners around the city to make sure individuals get the support they need," Nicola told us.
Funding for the charity does not end with this successful campaign. They receive no statutory funding and rely on the generosity of donors to survive. Directly donating is not the only way to support them though. They have a charity shop on Goose Gate as well as some stock on eBay. Coming up in September, they are a Charity Partner for the Robin Hood Half Marathon, which is another good way to raise money for a good cause.
