NCFE today announced its investment in a pilot program to help ensure the longer-term sustainability of the pioneering social impact project – Good for me Good for FE.

The project was launched by London South East Colleges, Loughborough College and East Coast College in July 2021 and has since gained support from 140 FE Colleges across the country. Collectively, this campaign has already generated over £1m of social value through staff and student fundraising and volunteering activity.

As a national educational charity and leader in professional and technical learning, NCFE’s support will help grow, develop and sustain the successful campaign over the next six months – by funding a national project coordinator , website development, marketing and research activities.

Launching the partnership, David Gallagher, Chief Executive of NCFE, said:

“I am delighted to announce our partnership with Good for Me Good for FE; an initiative that demonstrates that FE institutions are much more than traditional educational institutions, but as anchor institutions they are essential to building the social fabric of their local communities.

“I was truly inspired by the college leaders who brought this exciting program to life. Their work to date and Good for Me Good for FE’s vision for the future is fantastic to see – it has the potential to positively impact millions of people over the years to come and that’s why we are honored to be able to invest the resources of NCFE to make this happen.

“On a practical level, opening up volunteering opportunities will help create a generation of young people and adult learners who have the qualities to succeed in their learning and in their lives. We also hope that many of these opportunities will not only contribute to career and career success, but also help learners find deeper meaning and connection with the contributions they make to their local communities and to their own. flourish.

“Our divided world needs new and better ways to bring people together around a common cause and Good for Me Good for FE is doing just that. It is quickly becoming a movement, and we believe that movements need collaborators. We hope and trust that our investment will further inspire others to get involved as well, so that together we can go even further in ensuring that everyone receives the critical skills they need to reach their full potential, while benefiting communities across the UK.”

Good for Me Good for FE built on London South East Colleges’ successful FE Foodbank Friday campaign which was launched during the pandemic and raised funds for community food banks across the country.

To date, the project has generated over £1.6m of social value, with 86,000 volunteer hours, £108,000 in fundraising and 83,000 meals. collected objects. Having surpassed its original £1million target, the campaign now aims to ensure continued impact by growing and expanding opportunities across the UK.

NCFE’s investment will benefit the many colleges involved in the campaign with enhanced coordination and support, research development to measure program impact, increased marketing to promote and capture best practices, and a national platform. campaign resources.

Group Director and CEO of London & South East Education Group, and founding member of Good for Me Good for FE, Dr Sam Parrett CBE, added:

“The support we’ve had for Good for Me Good for FE has been incredible. We’ve reached our social value target of £1m even faster than we could have hoped – but now we need to make sure that this valuable work can continue in the longer term.

“We are extremely grateful to the NCFE for their support and recognition of the value this campaign has on communities across the country. This initial funding will help us secure the future of the GfMGfFE, ensuring it becomes a sustainable model, integrated into the DNA of the colleges.

“As anchor institutions with a civic role, colleges are an integral part of communities. There is great synergy between the goals of this project and NCFE’s own goal of promoting and advancing learning to help create a more just society.

“As an industry, FE makes an immeasurable difference in people’s lives. We can enhance this impact by working with organizations like NCFE – and we look forward to advancing this partnership to achieve our shared goals.

The impact of this work is measured in monetary terms via a social value calculator, which uses the National TOMS framework. This pioneering approach was developed by London South East Colleges and has been independently reviewed by the Center for Local Economic Strategies (CLES) and the Social Value Portal.

During and after the pandemic, colleges were increasingly eager to do more and more than half of FE colleges nationwide have now signed up for Good for Me Good for FE, encouraging their staff and students to undertake a wide range of volunteering and fundraising activities.

Going forward, the GfMGfFE and NCFE will work on a sustainability strategy for 2022/23 – engaging with all committed colleges and partners to help develop and shape this. Your comments, ideas and suggestions will be warmly welcomed to ensure the campaign continues to be a success.

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