Hitched Communities was first founded by current trustees Gary Wootten (Chairman), Sarah Evans and Libby Higgins (Treasurer) in 2013. Its mission, to manage the Hitch Fund, a community fund provided by Hitch Marketing, to design and deliver social innovation projects with the potential to scale, that focussed on the health, wealth and wellbeing of the most vulnerable adults and children in society. This was inspired by the book of psalm, chapter 10 verse 18 ‘to serve the fatherless and the oppressed so that man may do no more harm’.

During this time, and until this day, a range of initiatives and programmes have been supported and delivered of both national and local significance, some of which you can find in Our Work (link to our work).

With limited capacity amongst the directors, in 2021 Hitched Communities made a step change and took the decision to engage Grant Sellars, a highly experienced sustainable funding and programme manager, to help deliver our mission through consultancy services to generate income to fund third sector programmes, whilst also resourcing and managing new social innovation projects of our own. The results have been exciting.

To support the mission and help further resource social innovation projects, in 2022 Hitched Communities began moving towards charitable status. New directors, Nick Godbehere, Holly Dixon and Dave Cutter, were recruited having had an active role in the Hitch Fund for many years. Official charitable objects were created in line with our mission, and on 10th January 2023 Hitch Communities became an official Charity.

Our Vision

Helping people achieve the change they want in their lives

Our Mission

To co-design person centred programmes, shaped by those with lived experience so our work can support people to fulfil their potential in society

Our Charitable Objects

To promote social inclusion for the public benefit by preventing people from becoming socially excluded, relieving the needs of those people who are socially excluded and assisting them to integrate into society. ‘Socially excluded’ means being excluded from society, or parts of society, as a result of one of more of the following factors: unemployment; financial hardship; youth or old age; ill health (physical or mental); substance abuse or dependency including alcohol and drugs; discrimination on the grounds of sex, race, disability, ethnic origin, religion, belief, creed, sexual orientation or gender re- assignment; poor educational or skills attainment; relationship and family breakdown; poor housing (that is housing that does not meet basic habitable standards; crime (either as a victim of crime or as an offender rehabilitating into society).”