From Banksy to Burkina Faso, the work of two Folkestone businesses may be diverse but they have one thing in common.
DB Fabrication and Amor Europe are the latest recipients of grants from Folkestone Community Works (FCW) and will use the money to build on the good work they do.
FCW, which is run by Folkestone & Hythe District Council, invests EU funding into small- and medium-sized businesses in Folkestone's East, Central and Harbour wards.
DB Fabrication, based in Tontine Street, is one such business. Run by Simon Davenport, it fabricates street furniture for local authorities, artworks for galleries, art institutions and individual artists, as well as designing and producing props for production companies and tv channels.
The company also project manages large-scale exhibitions and installations. Clients include Banksy, TATE, Folkestone Triennial., BBC and University of the Arts London.
Simon found out about FCW from the Creative Folkestone tenant newsletter and successfully applied for a grant. He said: "The money has allowed us to expand production ability and grow the business. The four upgraded machines enable us to take on different types of jobs.
"It has taken the business to the next level in terms of ability to fabricate. We can now compete with much larger companies on a bigger range of contracts and tenders."
Simon said the application process was fairly straight forward and the support from the FCW team was "invaluable."
He added: "I grew up in Harbour ward. I have a vested interest in seeing it thrive. It's great to see local businesses getting a helping hand."
Amor Europe is a Christian charity based in Castle Hill Avenue, Folkestone. It has three areas of work, all focussing on children: building homes (currently in Mexico, South Africa, Moldova and Kenya); training church leaders (Africa and Asia) and eradicating waterborne disease by installing water filters (The Gambia, Ukraine and Burkina Faso in West Africa).
It is the work in Burkina Faso that will benefit from the FCW grant. Team leader John Fudge (pictured) said: "I applied because we have a huge vision for poverty alleviation. Our cause is compelling, and we know what we do works.
"The FCW grant will help fund the technical costs for the next two years of reporting on the impact of the water filters using a world-class system."
"This will be in Burkina Faso in West Africa, which has endemic waterborne disease problems. We will be reporting on 400 families and we will use the data to appeal to larger trusts, hopefully to scale up our operation to set millions of people free from water poverty."
John's advice to anyone thinking of applying for a FCW grant is simple: The amazingly helpful FCW team will do their best to help you but you must check the exact process before spending any money."
He added: "We expect to see about 2,500 people become healthy directly from this project, but we are aiming for many more. The data reporting system funded by FCW really does open that possibility."
Cllr David Wimble, Cabinet Member for the District Economy, said: "These are the types of business that FCW is there to help. DB Fabrication can only continue to grow its impressive list of clientele and Amor Europe's vision to help children born into poverty around the world will thankfully, come nearer reality."
Leader Cllr David Monk added: "We have already helped businesses such as DB Fabrication and Amor Europe to the tune of £350,000 but there are just six months left for others to benefit from the last of the funding. We urge anyone who meets the criteria to apply as soon as possible."
More details about the FCW project (including how to apply) can be found here: https://folkestone.works/folkestone-community-works/
Anyone with a project to discuss, is asked to email: folkestonecommunityworks@folkestone-hythe.gov.uk
European Structural and Investment Funds
The project is receiving up to £2.5 million of funding from the England European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Department for Work and Pensions (and in London the intermediate body Greater London Authority) are the Managing Authorities for European Regional Development Fund and European Social Fund funding through the Growth Programme, funds established by the European Union to help local areas stimulate their economic development. By investing in projects the funds will help to support innovation, businesses, skills and employment to improve local growth and create jobs. For more information visit https://www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding.
Date published: 31 August 2022