We provide grants to local charities and community groups across the North East, Cumbria and North Yorkshire through the Newcastle Building Society Community Fund.
In 2024 we are continuing our focus on addressing key issues in our area identified by the Vital Signs reporting in employability, food poverty, debt management, homelessness, and the environment.
To find out more about Vital Signs please visit the Community Foundation here.
In May 2024 we awarded £57,000 to 12 different charities across the North.
Here’s more about the most recent grant recipients and the amazing work they do:
Grant awarded - £5000
Citizens Advice Carlisle and Eden provide a wide range of support around relationships, benefits, legal, and finances, to anyone who wants to access their services.
The grant will be used to help update the IT equipment in Cumbria to help improve cyber-security standards and provide more support to the service users.
Visit Carlise and Eden CAB’s website to learn more about the charity.
Grant awarded - £5000
Northumberland pride is a leading LGBT+ charity providing a wide range of support service across the North of England. They support youths and adults with services ranging from; mental health and wellbeing, hate crime support, domestic and sexual violence, and abuse.
Our grant will be used to give financial support training for staff to provide approximately 200 hours of financial support to the charity’s service users.
Visit Pride Action North's website to learn more about the charity.
Grant awarded - £4924
Skills 4 Work (Gateshead) Ltd supports young adults with a variety of disabilities and/or mental health conditions to make the difficult transition from education to the workplace, and maintain positive mental wellbeing. They offer groups to help the service users become work ready, along with work placements, wellbeing walks and gardening.
The grant will be used to give supported training and work experience to young people via its community lunch programme in Gateshead.
Grant awarded - £5000
Meadow Well Connected through their community centre The Meadows works to connect local people of all ages through its garden, café, and work in the community. They provide adult day care, alternative education provision, alcohol support, IT and job support, community and wellbeing groups.
The money from the grant will be used for core costs towards delivering essential services to low income families and individuals in North Tyneside.
Visit The Meadows' website to learn more about the charity.
Grant awarded - £4000
Berwickshire Swap supports children and families struggling with clothing poverty. They organise and deliver children's clothing, toy, book and baby equipment swap events. The charity helps families live more sustainably and helps create a circular economy with less children's clothes ending up in landfill.
The grant money will be used to hold Swap events in Northumberland along with expanding the emergency clothes parcel service in the county.
Visit Berwickshire Swap's website to learn more about the charity.
Grant awarded - £5000
The Angel Trust offer a wide range of support for people in Bishop Aukland and County Durham through their food bank and clothing drives. The charity also provides funding and support for projects to enhance the local community, promote good citizenship, promote health, or relieve financial hardship.
The grant will be used to help with salary costs allowing the charity to expand its foodbank and pantry offer in Bishop Auckland.
Visit Angel Trust's website to learn more about the charity.
Grant awarded - £5000
YMCA Northumberland provides wrap around support for communities in Northumberland with a particular focus on the needs of young people. The provide grassroots youth programmes to support and empower young people to help them reach their true potential. They run youth sessions and outreach work from their centre in Ashington along with collaboration with the RAF to run Airplay sessions in Boulmer.
The grant will be used to expand the charity’s cookery project for young people in Ashington.
Visit YMCA Northumberland's website to learn more about the charity.
Grant awarded - £4097
The Parochial Church Council operates the Cramlington Foodbank. They provide three days’ nutritionally balanced emergency food and support to local people who are in crisis, providing poverty relief in an area of significant disadvantage.
The grant will go towards utility costs, a new laptop, and printer. This will free staff time and allow a speedier and more holistic service.
Visit Cramlington Foodbank's website to learn more about the charity.
Grant - £5000
Hambleton Foodshare is a community partnership which provides emergency food parcels for people who are struggling to feed themselves and their families. They aim to provide three day emergency food parcel to people in temporary financial crisis in Northallerton and the Hambleton area, helping to raise living standards and combat poverty.
The grant will support additional food provision in Northallerton and the surrounding area after a period of increased demand and a need for longer term support of service users.
Visit Hambleton Foodshare's website to learn more about the charity.
Grant - £5000
Whitley Bay Big Local aims to bring people together to reduce loneliness and address the needs of people who live locally. They offer a community café and garden along with many volunteer led activities and workshops including; children’s acting, community shop, sewing and knitting groups, bike repair, and mental health workshops.
Our grant will help fund a food bank coordinator role to manage donations and stock, process memberships, and coordinate volunteers more efficiently.
Visit Whitley Bay Big Local's website to learn more about the charity.
Grant - £4999
Impact Family Services works to improve the lives of children and adults who have been affected by conflict and domestic abuse. They work to improve relationships across families, strengthen family resilience and reduce family breakdown. They offer information and advice, tailored individual sessions, and group work programmes.
The grant will be used to assist with core funding for salaries to enable it to expand its support to build financial resilience and food security for victims of domestic abuse in South Tyneside.
Visit Impact Family Services' website to learn more about the charity.
Grant - £4887
Emmaus North East is one of 29 projects across the UK, they provide a home and meaningful work experience in social enterprise, and funded training to give formerly homeless people the support they need to get back on their feet.
Our grant will be used to provide additional tailored support to individuals in South Tyneside experiencing homelessness. Particularly in supporting trauma-informed therapy and wellbeing sessions.
Visit Emmaus North East's website to learn more about the charity.
Our Community Fund grants
