Ten Sussex charities benefit from funding following Angels' Den event

The Angels' Den event, organised by Focus Foundation, took place recently at Brighton i360.

Inspiring pitches were made in front of the Angels and an audience which included Mayor of Brighton & Hove, Amanda Grimshaw, and Deputy Lieutenant, Michael Bedingfield. Also present were the Patrons of Focus Foundation Anita Dobson and Andrew Bernardi.

Each charity was given two minutes to pitch to the Angels, followed by questions from the panel.

The Angels were:

• Chris Goodman, who co-founded Focus Group back in 2003 and later co-founded Focus Foundation
• Rob Starr MBE, who founded Seico Mortgages and later The Starr Trust
• Sarah Willingham, the owner of the iconic i360, The Nightcap Group and an investor on Dragon's Den
• Nazila Blencowe, the founder of Baron Homes Corporation
• Martin Gallagher, CEO of The Clare Foundation. 

Uckfield based Children's Respite Trust, who provide respite care for disabled children and support for their families, were awarded more than £30,000.

The charity were awarded £17,500, and then secured a further £13,440 in an extra award based purely on votes from the audience and match funding from Pebble Trust and Focus Foundation. Fund will enable the Trust to build a sanctuary and provide 2000 extra hours of care.

Brighton Table Tennis Club were awarded £25,000, Grassroots Suicide Prevention were awarded £12,500, Pelican Parcels received £7,500, Launchpad Collective and The Real Junk Food Project Brighton each received £8,750.

MindOut mental health charity for the LGBTQ community, Springboard, Sussex Nightstop and WOLO Foundation were each awarded £5,000.

Chris Goodman, co-founder and trustee of Focus Foundation, said: "The purpose of the Foundation is to connect communities allowing grassroots charities to thrive, and our first ever Angels' Den was a perfect example of that.

"It was a spectacular showcase featuring some incredible local charities, and I know that the money will make a huge difference to their work across Sussex.

"It was a very proud evening for the outstanding team at the Foundation, and we look forward to similar initiatives where we can make a real difference to people's lives."