Charity | Posted on February 19th, 2025 | return to news
Report highlights need and disadvantage in Dorset
Dorset Community Foundation have launched a website featuring stories from people in need or who face disadvantages in Dorset.
A website report entitled ‘Hidden Dorset’ produced by Dorset Community Foundation has highlighted the need and disadvantage in the county.
The Poole charity, which works with donors, funders and businesses to support charities and voluntary groups in Dorset, has awarded more than £20m in grants since its formation 25 years ago.
In the last year, it has worked with BCP and Dorset Councils, the NHS, the National Community Lottery and dozens of private donors to distribute £1.7m to groups tackling poverty, homelessness, disability, mental health, loneliness and a variety of other issues affecting the county.
Chief Executive Grant Robson said the charity first published ‘Hidden Dorset’ as a printed document in 2015 and again in 2018 to inform, encourage collaborative action and conversations and to inspire philanthropy and local giving to address the issues identified within it.
He said there are two reasons for making the report digital. “Firstly, it feels more sustainable and planet friendly to move away from piles of printed material,” he said, “and secondly, being digital means we can continually update the facts and figures contained within it so that it always remains relevant.”
The site is broken down into five areas of need: Work, Education and Training; Loneliness and Isolation; Health, Wellbeing and Mental Health; Disadvantage and Poverty; and Sustainability and Environment.
Each section contains statistics that illustrate the challenges facing Dorset and conclude with the foundation’s own analysis of the need identified not just by the statistics but also groups and charities’ own experiences.
The statistics have been compiled in partnership with Bournemouth University and the data researchers at BCP and Dorset Councils behind the publication of their ‘State of BCP’ and ‘State of Dorset’ reports.
The foundation’s chairman, Tom Flood said: “We are extremely grateful to the university and to the researchers at both councils for their co-operation and guidance, as well as all of the groups who shared their stories. We could not have produced this without their input.”
A new element is the inclusion within each section of more than 20 Frontline Stories – the real-life experience of the charities and voluntary groups working in communities that paint a picture of the daily challenges they face.
Flood said their addition will help bring a better understanding of the work being done to make life better for people in the county. “The groups and charities we have spoken to have been brutally honest about what they are up against: a lack of funding, the difficulties in recruiting volunteers and challenges outside their control like public transport, the after-effects of the pandemic and the rising number of people dealing with mental health issues.
“I hope it will help groups and charities justify the need for funding for their projects, trigger dialogue between donors and potential beneficiaries and open a few eyes to the daily struggles faced by far too many in our county.
“As we said in our previous versions of ‘Hidden Dorset’, the true value isn’t just in the information within, but what is done with it.
“On the face of it, Dorset is a beautiful, vibrant county but scratch the surface and underneath there are areas that are among the most deprived in the UK. While ‘Hidden Dorset’ shines a light very brightly on that, it also showcases the wonderful work going on – much of it supported in some way by us – by some fantastic, dedicated and incredibly caring people.”
See the report at hidden.dorsetcommunityfoundation.org.
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