Boardmasters Foundation 2024 Funding Applications Now Open – Over £142,000 Raised

Boardmasters has announced that its Foundation funding applications for 2024 are now open, giving local projects and charities the chance to benefit from the festival’s fundraising efforts. This year, over £142,000 has been raised for the festival season, with the funds set to be distributed to successful applicants in Spring 2025.

Andrew Topham, Boardmasters Founder and CEO said, “The funds raised at this year’s Boardmasters festival are a testament to the power of community spirit. The record-breaking final sum is not just a number; it’s a reflection of our commitment to Cornwall and our desire to give back to the region that we are proud to call home. The Boardmasters Foundation was created with a clear goal of supporting culture and community across Cornwall, something that we, as a festival, are incredibly passionate about. Through the generosity of our audience and the power of the Foundation, we are able to do just that year-on-year. I’m very proud of all we’ve achieved so far through the Boardmasters Foundation and very much look forward to seeing what’s next.”

Boardmasters 2025 will take place from Wednesday 6th August to Sunday 10th August, 2025. Boadmaster 2025 Ticket presale sign ups are now open and festival goers can add their name at www.boardmasters.com.

What Is the Boardmasters Foundation?

Established in 2017, the Boardmasters Foundation was created to give back to the community and support local causes, with a focus on both culture and community. Since 2002, Boardmasters has raised money for various projects and in recent years, the Foundation has been at the heart of their charitable efforts.

The Foundation supports individuals, groups, charities, and organisations that align with their key pillars of focus:

• Culture: Supporting organisations involved in surfing, music, creativity, education, and Cornish culture.
• Community: Supporting those in the festival’s vicinity (Newquay, Porth, Whipsiderry, Tregurrian, Watergate Bay, and Fistral), as well as groups within Cornwall that focus on diversity and inclusion, such as accessibility, gender equality, LGBTQIA+ support, and raising awareness of societal issues like homelessness and mental health.

How to Apply

Boardmasters is encouraging any projects or charities that align with their values to apply for funding. Applications will be reviewed, and selected projects will receive a one-off donation in 2025. On average, the Foundation supports up to 25% of the requested funding, with the amount varying depending on the project’s needs.

Interested parties can apply here before the deadline at midnight on Sunday, 5th January.

For more information, visit the official Boardmasters Foundation page.

Boardmasters 2023 Funds | £115,000 DONATED TO…

Recipients of the 2023 Boardmasters Foundation grants included Cornwall Pride, Team England Para (Adaptive), The Wave Project, Newquay Food Bank, Newquay Safe Spaces, Black Voices Cornwall and a host of other exceptional organisations and businesses, along with over 10 schools in the region who received combined funds totalling £20,000. 2023’s donations have also been used to fund independent creatives in Cornwall, develop community spaces, add facilities at Newquay train station, support community outreach programs, provide surf therapy courses, and support trainers and teachers, among other initiatives.  The Boardmasters Foundation donated for a second year to The Schools Consent Project, continuing its proactive work in stamping out anti-social behaviour at a societal level, engaging with schools in Newquay and wider Cornwall. Through the donation, workshops were hosted at high schools in the region, with volunteer lawyers teaching students the legal definition of consent, aiming to normalise conversations, safeguard young people and drive down sexual offending rates.

Drew Creek, Mayor of Newquay said, “I am thrilled to hear that half a million in funding has been donated in the area by the Boardmasters Foundation, it really does make a difference here. Boardmasters and the Foundation have worked hard to support local community organisations and projects including funding towards our world class skatepark Concrete Waves, Newquay Foodbank and all schools in Newquay ensuring funding reaches those that need it most and helping to support children within our community.”

Carolyn Webster, CEO, CLEAR Support said, “The most welcome donation from the Boardmasters Foundation has been used to develop a whole-town approach to safe-spaces in Newquay, enabling organisations across the town to collaborate and to access CLEAR training and resources. It has had an immediate impact in the creation of a network of Safe Spaces and also a legacy in that it has inspired CLEAR to develop a blue-print to spread this approach across other towns in Cornwall. Thank-you Boardmasters!”

Steven Mildenhall of Treviglas Academy said, “Being part of a school that is geographically so close to the one of the largest music festivals in the country feels very special, and the support that the Boardmasters Foundation has given the school is of huge value and benefit to our students. Not only does Boardmasters enable our school bands to perform at the festival, but the donation from the Boardmasters Foundation this year will go towards enhancing our sound and lighting facilities in the performing arts, and in doing so will inspire and widen opportunities for all students. Thank you Boardmasters!”

Fred Andrews, Cornwall Team Leader at Wave Project said, “On behalf of my team here at the Wave Project, I’d like to say a huge thank you to the Boardmasters Foundation for this incredible donation. The money we have been awarded will be used to fund our award winning Surf Therapy sessions here in Newquay and across Cornwall, helping young people from across the county who are struggling with their mental health to access the sea and enjoy the waves in a safe, supportive environment.”

Liam Jolly, Director of Auction House added, “Auction House is delighted to have received support from the Boardmasters Foundation. Since 2018, Auction House has evolved from an unfunded studio project into a public-facing exhibition and project space showing exhibitions of Contemporary Art in the heart of Redruth. This summer, after two years of major renovations carried out by our landlords, we are excited to move back into our building. These improvements bring increased overheads and pressures, and we couldn’t be considering making this move back without the Boardmasters Foundation’s invaluable support. We are extremely grateful for their generosity.”

Zoe Nixon, Strategic Manager at Newquay Foodbank said, “Like other foodbanks, we’ve seen a massive increase in people coming to us. We’re up 37% on last year for the number of people using our services. The reasons people are coming to foodbanks are far more complex than they have been in the past. A large proportion of the issues are related to financial inclusion, and we have been able to provide full-time citizens advice support to those who use us. This very generous donation will enable us to support in the region of 400 households over a three month period. Donations of this type make our ongoing issue of raising capital far easier and for that, we are very generous.”

Mark Warren manager of Newquay BID said, “We are thrilled to have received funding from Boardmasters Foundation to purchase staging infrastructure that can support events for the community through the year and also the funding to provide training to launch the first town centre wide Safe Spaces project.”