As Foothold’s honorary treasurer, I know first-hand how important donations and legacies are to funding our life-changing support for engineers and their families. For 134 years, they have helped us ensure no-one in the engineering community has had to face life’s challenges alone.

But I’m sorry to have to share with you that today, we’re facing challenge of our own. And I’m writing to you to personally ask for your help.

Since the IET stopped collecting donations for Foothold alongside membership renewals in September 2023, we are experiencing a financial crisis that has left us with a loss of 35,000 donations from our community.

This will reduce our charitable income by £350,000, meaning an average of around 992 monthly and one-off grants could be at risk. Leaving some of the most vulnerable members of our community without the support they need to heat their homes, put enough food on the table, or access urgent medical care.

And with the continued fall-out of the cost of living crisis, Covid pandemic and international instability, record demand for our support is growing still. Putting us in a situation where we may have to take the heartbreaking decision to limit our support.

I’m hoping to avoid this outcome by finding 14,160 people in our community who can donate just £25 each year, and I thought you might like to be one of them?

By helping us reach this goal, you’ll ensure we have the financial security to meet this challenge head-on, so we can continue to support our community to meet their own challenges in 2024 and beyond.

If you can, please make a regular or one-off donation today.

Thank you.

Gareth Price
Trustee & Honorary Treasurer

P.S. We understand that times are hard right now. If you are unable to give as much as £25, please donate whatever you can if you are in a position to do so. Every pound counts, and will make a real difference to a community member like you.