The charity was founded by the council and the Community Foundation for Surrey in 2014 to help transform the lives of less fortunate members of the community.

When the council set up the lottery, Guildford Philanthropy received 10% of all ticket sales. That has been used to help vulnerable local residents.

Ian Doyle, director of Service Delivery, said: “Helping vulnerable residents is at the heart of everything we do as a council. Our Community Lottery has helped Guildford Philanthropy and more than 130 good local not-for-profit organisations raise money for projects which benefit the local community.

“We really value the great work Guildford Philanthropy does for our communities and our residents.

“If you are a local not-for-profit organisation, our weekly lottery can help you raise money. It’s all online and easy to set up. You’ll get your own fundraising page, online marketing materials and marketing support, all free. Sign up here: www.guildfordlottery.org.“

Peter Cluff

Peter Cluff, the Philanthropy chairman, said: “During the pandemic, we have worked with charities including Foodwise TLC, helping them provide more than 30,000 cooked meals for over 300 vulnerable families in the first four months of the outbreak.

“We’ve given 13 grants totalling more than £141,000, supported several local charities and donated 50 laptops to Kings College so their students could continue to learn online at home.

“Guildford has one of the biggest wealth gaps in England. We have 2,350 children living in poverty and nearly 6,000 adults without any qualifications. The contributions from the Guildford Community Lottery go towards helping vulnerable members of the community and providing work experience to help people get jobs.

“We are hugely indebted to all our donors who have stepped up over the past year and helped us make a difference. In particular, I thank local businesses who have become corporate ambassadors, and have contributed through their annual donations, mentoring support, advocacy and volunteering opportunities.“

One ambassador, Unigold 2000, helped procure the laptops Guildford Philanthropy bought for Kings College. Managing director Matt Gaskin said: “Philanthropy does so much for the community. We are proud we have helped provide laptops.Giving back to the local community is really important.

“We recommend local businesses join us in becoming one of their corporate ambassadors. It’s also great to see so many local initiatives, including the Guildford Community Lottery, that help local good causes raise money in an easy way.”

Find out more about how to become one of Guildford Philanthropy’s corporate ambassadors here: https://guildfordphilanthropy.org.uk/our-supporters/our-corporate-ambassadors/.

To sign up to our Community Lottery visit: www.guildfordlottery.org.