The history of Tees Valley Community Foundation

The Mott Foundation is a successful charity, part of a huge network of Community Foundations across the USA, most of which were established in the early 20th Century.

The link to this claim is that the UK was challenged by the Mott Foundation to seek out three areas committed to establishing its own Community Foundation, each aspiring to build an endowment that would generate income to support their local community, in perpetuity. The bait was an offer of $1,000,000 to the first three to raise an endowment of £1,000,000.

Just prior to this, Ken Kime OBE, a local, retired RAF Squadron Leader and an influential member of the voluntary sector in Cleveland, set about creating a new charitable trust. His ambition was to harness the success of local businesses to help the community across the area.

On July 31st 1988, under Ken’s watchful eye, The Cleveland Charities Trust was formed with the support of a group of willing volunteers including Geoffrey Collins, Peter Gowland, James Grierson, Malcolm Bainbridge and Ron Norman, a successful local businessman and Chairman of the Teesside Development Corporation.

Just over a year later, Ron became a Trustee of the new charity, set up the previous year with the slogan ‘Keep it in Cleveland’, under the guidance of the newly appointed Director Jenny Hopper.