Exeter Chiefs Foundation reaches £3.5 million milestone

Exeter Chiefs Foundation has reached the heady milestone of £3.5 million of money raised after 15 years since the organisation’s inception in 2011.

Established by Exeter Rugby Club’s CEO Tony Rowe CBE and a fellow group of businessmen with a passion for fundraising and rugby, the Foundation has been collecting and distributing money ever since to support good causes in the greater Exeter area.

Money raised for the Foundation comes from bucket collections on match days, the annual Community Walk and Christmas Lunch, plus other formal events, like the Sandy Park 20th Anniversary Dinner.

The Foundation 15, a group of businesses that sign up to raise at least £2,000 a year, and Foundation Members who pay any annual fee of £25, both contribute to the central pot before money is shared out to designated charities and organisations that go through the grant application process.

Exeter Chiefs Foundation’s chairman Rowe said: “The aim of the Foundation was always to support people in need from our city and the surrounding area. Every pound our supporters donate on match days or at any of the events they support goes to good causes on our doorstep. Any financial milestone is worth celebrating as it means Exeter people’s lives are being enriched by the generosity of our supporters.”

Recent fundraising activities have included a bucket collection at the Lewis Capaldi concert at Powderham, the Chiefs; End of Season Dinner, the Exeter Chiefs Cycle Club’srides to Toulouse and Leicester, the Exeter Chiefs Women’s Exposed calendar and Give Us A Wave’s World’s Toughest Row across the Atlantic.

Organisations that have benefited from grants in the last year include Jay’s Aim, Brixham Primary Academy, The Hollow Lane Club, Co Create Exeter and Exeter Food Action.