Ep.94 Tony Cowling & Peter Webb | How Reading Rotary Club Uses Business Skills to Support Local Causes: Reading Charities Hub

This episode features Peter Webb, Chair of the Webb Kingpin Foundation, and Tony Cowling, President of the Reading Rotary Club and Director of Reading Rotary Community Projects. They discuss how entrepreneurial property initiatives, targeted local grants, and cross-organisation collaboration are transforming support for Reading-based charities. The conversation explores the practical acquisition and operational vision behind Holybrook House, the new "Reading Charities Hub" co-owned by the Webb Kingpin Foundation and Reading Rotary Community Projects. The episode details how the charity Number 5 will act as the lead tenant, giving them the physical space needed to expand their essential community operations while managing day-to-day facilities. Peter and Tony explain that alongside property support, the organisation provides fast-turnaround, accessible grants ranging from £250 to £1,000 for local causes. Finally, the discussion covers the broader growth plans for Reading Rotary Community Projects and the vital role of volunteer skill-sharing. Tony reflects on the strong community impact of their micro-grants and concludes by issuing a call for younger, digitally skilled professionals to join the Reading Rotary Club to help modernise its operations.   KEY TAKEAWAYS Sustainable Community Investment: Discover how Reading Rotary Community Projects leverages real estate and business acumen to build self-sustaining funding streams, reinvesting 100% of property yields back into the local area. Frictionless Funding Access: Learn how local organisations can bypass lengthy, complex grant applications through an accessible 10-minute online form designed to deliver rapid, low-barrier support. The Power of Corporate Skill-Sharing: See how professionals use their core business skills to solve operational challenges for charities and drive high-impact community growth.         TIMECODES 00:00 Welcome to Peter and Tony 00:40 Background to how Reading Rotary Club are helping charities with properties 01:32 How Reading Rotary club can help local charities (with their property issues) 03:37 Reading Rotary Community Projects' first property purchase 05:46 Peter's background in property 06:14 The challenges faced by local charities and how Reading property's portfolio helps them 07:26 About Webb King Pin Foundation 08:24 About the application process when applying for grants 09:52 Welcome to Tony Cowling 10:11 How Tony got involved with Reading Rotary Club and Reading Rotary Community Projects 10:34 Why Reading Rotary Community Projects is unique 11:22 Why it's taken a while to get Reading Charities Hub off the ground 11:55 How Reading Charities Hub will function 13:28 What else Reading Rotary Community Projects offers (grant applications) 14:50 What happens to the income from the Reading Charities Hub 15:27 Examples of grants awarded to local groups 16:26 The number of good causes across Reading 17:26 Reading Rotary gives away £30k a year to local causes & its local impact 18:42 How Reading Rotary Club is looking to develop and bring in diverse audiences 20:57 Closing thoughts