Lower Precinct Shopping Centre has launched the search for its next charity partner and is asking the people of Coventry to nominate their favourite causes. The partnership will run from October 2016 until September 2017, giving one local charity the chance to raise money and awareness at the city centre shopping destination.

This partnership will see winning charity have the opportunity to fundraise at events within Lower Precinct, including the flagship Student Shopping Night on 5 October, which draws in over 10,000 attendees, and a selection of festivities across the Christmas period. Moving into 2017, the chosen charity will also be able to fundraise at popular events surrounding the Easter and Summer holidays. The winner will also enjoy promotions via Lower Precinct’s website (lowerprecinct.com) and their social media channels. In addition, the local retailers will be highlighted of their organisation as a lower cause that they could support.

The success of previous winners includes last year’s chosen charity, Myton Hospice, in which the publicity gained through this competition enabled them to achieve greater funding to maintain their ethos of ‘treating patients with dignity and respect’. As a charity that helps up to 1,000 patients and their families, Myton Hospice is a vital part of the community, and a testament to what this competition hopes to continue to achieve in Coventry.

The first stage of the search is a call out for people to put forward their charities who are a not-for-profit charity, have a UK Registered Charity Number, and are located in the CV postcode area, with activities directly benefiting the people of Coventry. In addition to staff or volunteers able to attend regular events and fundraise, and have existing branding and marketing materials like pop-up banners, information leaflets, branded collection buckets.

Nicola Cormell, Centre Manager at Lower Precinct, said:

“We are really passionate about giving back to the community and our ‘charity of the year’ partnership gives us the chance to work side-by-side with a local charity and help raise money for their cause. Our shoppers and retailers are really supportive of the partnership and we’ve enjoyed working closely with Myton Hospice over the past year. Even better, activity through Lower Precinct has helped raise almost £2,000 for the charity.

“I’m looking forward to reading the applications we get in. It’s a shame we can’t support everyone but we’re relying on the people of Coventry to choose a cause to support over the next 12 months. I’d urge anyone who is close to a charity that fits the criteria to take the time to enter them,” she concluded.

Applications for the charity partnership are now open; visit lowerprecinct.com for full details and to download the application form. The deadline is 1 September, following which the entries will be shortlist and will go to a public vote for two weeks.

If you’re a charity and this sounds like something you’d be interested in, please visit Lower Precinct website and download an application form.

Lower Precinct Shopping Centre is one of Coventry’s leading shopping destinations, comprising over 25% of the city centre’s retail stores. Welcoming around 200,000 shoppers each week Lower Precinct is home to brands including Next, H&M, New Look, Select, The Entertainer, Pandora, F Hinds, Clarks, Lush, Carphone Warehouse, Caffe Nero, and Pizza Hut, and many more.