STORMZY’S #MERKY FOUNDATION DONATES £500,000 TO THE “EACH DAY. EVERY DAY.” CAMPAIGN, SMASHING THROUGH FUNDRAISING TARGET
Monday 17th August 2020: #Merky Foundation, the charitable organisation set up by award-winning musician Stormzy, has pledged £500,000 to The Black Heart Foundation’s “Each Day. Every Day” campaign. The Black Heart Foundation will be the first UK charity to receive funding from #Merky Foundation’s £10m fund to tackle racial inequality and injustice, announced in June this year.
The “Each Day. Every Day.” campaign was launched by The Black Heart Foundation on July 8th 2020, in response to the Black Lives Matter movement. Its goal was to raise £500,000 from friends, supporters and the general public, to double the number of young people from under-resourced and under-represented communities it has helped to date through its Black Heart Scholarship Programme, taking it from 100 to 200 scholars.
The donation will take the total amount raised to date to over £1.45 million, including £500,000 of match funding from the Board of the Black Heart Foundation in response to the money raised both on Just Giving (www.justgiving.com/campaign/EachDayEveryDay) and through off line donations. The Black Heart Foundation has a 100% pass-through rate policy, with all of its overhead expenses covered by its Board, so that every single pound raised means more scholarships and goes directly to young people.
Ric Lewis, Founder and Chairman of the Board of the Black Heart Foundation, said:
“We are grateful to #Merky Foundation and invigorated by their generosity. Their contribution is an amazing testament to their vision and commitment to higher and further education for ambitious, hard-working young people from the most under-resourced and under-represented communities in our society. With their support we will reach another 50 young people, taking the total number of Scholars we can help to 250.”
“I want to thank everyone that has donated money so far. The response we have had has been incredible. I know there are others who still want to help us hit our original £500,000 crowdfunding target on Just Giving and so we are issuing one final invitation to everyone to get involved, give whatever they can, and be the change we want to see in our world.”
A spokesperson for the #Merky Foundation, said:
“The Black Heart Foundation is an incredible charity and we are proud to make them the first beneficiary to receive funding from our £10 million-pound pledge, announced earlier this year. Their ‘Each Day. Every Day’ campaign is a brilliant initiative and we are elated that our £500,000 donation has played a key part in helping them achieve their target. We encourage others to donate whatever they can to help change a young person’s life.”
The Black Heart Foundation is a UK and US registered charity founded in 2000 by Ric Lewis. In 2013, The Foundation launched the Black Heart Scholars Programme, which provides gap funding for ambitious, committed and talented young people who would otherwise not be able to achieve their potential through Further or Higher Education.
Since 2013, The Black Heart Foundation has provided Scholarships to 100 young people, 85% of whom are from BAME communities. The Scholars have studied at 57 academic institutions in the UK, from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, Bristol and Loughborough through to the commercial flight school at Aer Lingus and The Urdang Academy of performing arts in London. For more information on how to apply for a Black Heart Scholarships please visit: https://blackheartfoundation.org/scholarship-programme/.
To learn more about the Each Day. Every Day. crowdfunding campaign, or to donate visit www.justgiving.com/campaign/EachDayEveryDay, or text BLACKHEART5 to 70085 to donate £5 or BLACKHEART10 to 70085 to donate £10.
ENDS
For further information on The Black Heart Foundation, please contact Eva Simpson at ES-PR: eva.simpson@es-pr.co.uk / 07801184016.
For further information on #Merky Foundation, please contact Rachel Campbell on rachel@wired-pr.co.uk
Notes to Editors:
- The Black Heart Foundation is a UK and US registered charity, founded in 2000 and chaired by Ric Lewis. It provides Scholarships to talented, ambitious and committed young people, removing the barriers to achievement for some of the most under-resourced and under-represented communities in our society.
- Ric Lewis is an entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is Founder and Chairman of the Black Heart Foundation, which aims to remove the barriers to higher education for underprivileged children. He is a Board member of several charities, including the Institute of Imagination (Chairman), Royal National Children’s SpringBoard Foundation and Eastside Young Leaders’ Academy. A business leader, he is Founder and Chairman of Tristan Capital Partners, a London-based real estate investment management company with €10.5+Billion in Assets under Management. He was named as the most influential black Briton in the Powerlist 2019. He gave a TEDx talk in 2019.
- The Black Heart Foundation Board of Trustees is Chaired by Ric Lewis and includes former England Rugby Captain Matt Dawson and former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan. Further information is available here:
- The Black Heart Foundation is a registered charity in both the UK (Charity Number 1136813) and US registered with The Charities Commission. The Black Heart Foundation, c/o Tristan Capital Partners, Berkeley Square House, 8th Floor, Berkeley Square, London, W1J 6DB.
- Applicants to the Black Heart Foundation Scholarship programme must submit a personal essay providing a brief summary of their educational activity and what they hope to do after graduating / finishing their course or programme, a general application form and a budget sheet presenting a clear case of financial need as well as any grants, bursaries, parental contributions, local authority assistance, loans and other scholarships.
- The scholarship programme is open to all young people who are hardworking, under-resourced and who have ambition. All applications are reviewed holistically and applications are assessed on an individual basis. When considering applicants, The Foundation also looks for evidence that either they or their family have made a meaningful but affordable financial contribution towards helping realise their ambitions. This suggests that there is a real desire on the part of the individual concerned to commit to their studies or chosen vocation.
- For more information on The Black Heart Foundation please visit:
https://blackheartfoundation.org/welcome/
https://www.instagram.com/blackheart4good/?hl=en
https://www.facebook.com/blackheart4good
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2DfrGrOZfwYHwZZ7Dbm6GQ - #Merky Foundation is a registered UK charity founded in 2019 by British musician Stormzy – Charity number 1186891. #Merky Foundation provides funding to organisations, charities and movements that are committed to fighting racial inequality, justice reform and black empowerment within the UK.
- Stormzy is an award-winning musician from Thornton Heath, South London. His two albums to date; ‘Gang Signs & Prayer’ and ‘Heavy Is The Head’ both finished at #1 in the UK album chart and were subsequently nominated for the prestigious Mercury Music Prize. Last year he headlined Britain’s prominent music festival, Glastonbury.
His remarkable ascent has been accompanied by his honest and relatable character. A true spokesman of black empowerment and social activism, Stormzy is one of the UK’s most inspiring figureheads who has consistently stood up for people from all areas of life; encouraging his fans and listeners alike to speak openly about their beliefs and fight for their rights. In July 2018, Stormzy announced #Merky Books, an imprint within Penguin Random House UK, dedicated to publishing the best new fiction, non-fiction and poetry, and in August 2018 he announced ‘The Stormzy Scholarship’, an annual studentship to fund two black British students to go to the University of Cambridge. In June 2020, Stormzy announced that he pledges 10 million pounds, over 10 years, to organisations, charities and movements that are committed to fighting racial inequality, justice reform and black empowerment within the UK. - For more information on #Merky Foundation and Stormzy’s recent pledge please visit https://www.stormzy.com/pledge/
