Welcome to our first newsletter of 2025. To start the year we are delighted to announce that we have appointed a new CEO, Mary Hancock, who will be joining us from the end of February. You can read more about Mary and the considerable skills and experience she’s bringing with her in the General News section. We look forward to working with Mary towards our vision of a Devon that works for everyone, today and tomorrow.

In our Insight and Learning section we share some of the first findings from our project to understand the strengths and challenges of the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector in Devon. And in Grantmaking we have updates on grants made with funding from the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) and funds that we are in the process of distributing as larger grants.

Our grantmaking isn’t possible without our donors – in the Giving section Clare Bryden explains why she has decided to leave a legacy to Devon Community Foundation.

Alongside this there are stories about our grantees, information about upcoming events and details of other funding available. It’s already shaping up to be a busy and productive year and we look forward to sharing much more about our work and the difference it is making over the coming months.