Children in Need 2024 'snubs' Cornwall

The BBC's fundraising charity Children in Need has been accused of 'snubbing Cornwall' this year. Since it launched its first TV appeal in 1980, more than £1 billion has been raised for good causes big and small all over the country.

In Cornwall several projects have been supported over the years through the charity's small grants programme including 4Elements CIC in Pool which received a three-year grant of £30,000 back in 2019 to provide music and media workshops for young people in the local community.

Cornwall Music Service Trust in Truro also received £27,950 to provide music therapy sessions to children and young people living with life threatening health issues while Callywith College in Bodmin also received a three-year grant of £23,985 to provide a range of physical activity opportunities for young people.

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The same year, the Newquay-based national charity The Wave Project received a three-year grant of £ 296,000 through the Children in Need's A Million and Me campaign to support its Prescription Surf programme and see more children aged eight to 13 benefit from surf therapy.

While more than 26 projects have benefited from more than £1.6 million in Cornwall from the Children in Need telethon, this year fundraising will leave out the county.

On its own website, Children In Need said the areas of focus in the South West this year are East Devon, Mid-Devon, Torridge, Plymouth, Swindon.

No South or North Devon and no Cornwall either.

The charity said: "We recognise the interconnected and complex challenges and issues that children and young people face. Below are our current thematic and geographical areas of interest for South-west region.

One woman who contacted CornwallLive about it said: "I wanted to bring to your attention a significant issue affecting local charities in Cornwall. BBC Children in Need will not be providing grants to Cornwall this year. This decision means that local charities supporting children in need will miss out on crucial funding that was previously available.

"Given this situation, it may be advisable for people to consider donating directly to local youth charities. This post is not to criticise the work that BBC Children in Need do, it is just to highlight that Children in Cornwall will not benefit this year and local charities may struggle because of this."

She posted the same message on The Peoples Princess Pavilion Falmouth Independent Group, a public group with 2,700 members, on Facebook where it generated some debate on whether or not it might be better for people to donate directly to local charities rather than give to a much larger pot like Children in Need.

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Replying to the post Jenny Simmons said: "I agree keep donations local. I can't believe no support for Cornish charities."

Natalie Nicholas added: "It makes no sense. Having worked in secondary education for the best part of 20 years, Cornwall has some of the areas of most deprivation in the country. I think it’s super important we open up conversations about this and look at our local communities and how we can support our neighbours."

However Simon Eastment argued that the Children in Need's guidance might still have scope for Cornish charities to apply for funding. He said: "I dont think this is necessarily true. Guidance says “Geographic and thematic interest are not intended to act as a barrier for organisations applying to BBC Children in Need.” I would interpret the guidance notes as saying there are areas of greater need that exist that they want to prioritise based on demographics . Prioritising rather than exclusivity."

On its website Children In Need said: "Geographic and thematic interest are not intended to act as a barrier for organisations applying to BBC Children in Need. "Areas of interest are a part of local plans of action, inform our discussions with the sector and help us to identify issues and barriers to access at a local level. We want to reach children and young people not fairly represented in our portfolio at a local level.

"The funding landscape changes and the sector operates within a fast-moving environment. We monitor and test our areas of interest on a regular basis and will adapt in response to the changing environment, informed by our sector discussions and analysis."

A BBC Children in Need spokesperson said: “BBC Children in Need is currently funding 10 projects in Cornwall to the value of £649,309 which are delivering support for children and young people in your local community. Alongside this, BBC Cornwall staff recently took part in our Thousand Mile Challenge to raise funds and increase awareness about the work we do in the county.

"We welcome applications from all corners of the UK and each application that we receive goes through a robust assessment process to ensure that funds will be used to make the biggest difference to children and young people who are facing challenges. We particularly encourage those in areas of interest where we are under-represented to apply to us, to ensure our funding is reaching as many children and young people as possible, but this does not exclude any organisation applying.

"We rely on the generosity of the British public who fundraise and donate to us and we’re extremely grateful for their support. However, the need is greater than ever and right now we are only able to help 1 in 8 of the projects who ask us for money.”

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