Community Foundation North East

Community Foundation North East, established in 1988 by local business and civic leaders in North East England, serves as the UK's largest community foundation, trading as a key philanthropy engine for Tyne & Wear (Newcastle, Gateshead, North and South Tyneside, Sunderland) and Northumberland. Its core mission is to improve lives and foster thriving, inclusive communities by growing charitable endowments, uniting donors with local needs, and advancing effective giving through collaboration. Rooted in values of inclusion, transparency, generosity, community empowerment, equality, and diversity, it champions sector-wide efforts like embedding DEI in charity governance and leadership development, while leveraging nearly 300 named donor funds to drive sustainable, place-based change.

As a generalist funder, it supports diverse causes including poverty alleviation, health and mental health, children and young people, older people, environment and green spaces, arts and culture, community development, and equality/inclusion. Grants back small to medium charities and community groups—prioritizing those with incomes under £500,000 (up to £1 million)—addressing disadvantaged areas, hard-to-reach groups, or lived-experience-led initiatives via core costs, projects, equipment, capital, and capacity-building. Recent examples include foodbanks, youth projects, mental health services, refugee networks, women's groups, and environmental efforts.

Eligible applicants are UK-registered charities or community groups based in or serving the core geographic areas (with occasional extensions to Durham or Tees Valley for specific calls). Applications are unsolicited via online portal registration, assessed on rolling basis with decisions typically within 12 weeks; no fixed deadlines or religious restrictions apply. Grants range from hundreds to £25,000. Distinctively, it avoids statutory bodies or non-local work, standing out as a trusted regional convener with proven advocacy, skills support, and alignment of donor intent to grassroots resilience.