Community Foundation - Serving Tyne & Wear and Northumberland

• Our Stories
• Success Stories
• Meet our Donors

The Margaret Gordon Memorial Fund

Fiona O'Connor Programme Director of Common Purpose, Fiona O'Connor set up her Acorn Fund in Memory of her Grandmother. When the fund matures, it will support people and projects in the West End of Newcastle.

"I never thought that 'normal' people (who weren't millionaires) could set up and be involved with their own charitable fund. I was amazed. I hope that The Fund will have a legacy which will reach far beyond any memorial plaque I could have for my Grandmother."

Ron and Louise Bowey Fund

"I first set up the Fund as part of my company as a way to support the local community whilst the business grew. When I sold the business, it made sense to boost the fund with profits from the sale and I am now proud to be able to continue the Fund in my own name."

The Ron Bowey Fund supports young people in Northumberland.

The Andrew and Charlotte Dixon Fund

"At Northern Arts an artist came to us 15 years ago and said he wanted to plant 1000 Acorns in an artistic pattern around Newcastle. The project was to create a sculpture but we might not see its full impact for 100 years. I always regretted that we didn’t invest in the artist's acorns but the image has stayed with me. Now I am planting my own. We want to give something back to a place that has done so much for our family and for the development of arts and culture. I have been inspired by the work of the Community Foundation and the impact that individual and corporate donors have made on our great region."

The Andrew and Charlotte Dixon Fund will support culture and the arts.   

The Kellett Fund

Douglas Kellett was a businessman who died in 1987. He owned much of the land upon which Washington New Town is built. Mr Kellett left his estate in trust to his wife during her lifetime and thereafter to charity. Following the death of his wife Gwen in 1996, the Kellett Fund was established at the Community Foundation to benefit older people. The £5million legacy reamins the largest single donation to a UK Community Foundation. It is now worth £7million and has awarded grants of over £3.4million.

The Ted Weekes Fund

Ted Weekes had a lifelong passion for education and was committed to providing the best opportunities for young people. He left half his estate to his brothers and the remainder to set up the Ted Weekes fund to help young people in New Hartley and Seaton Sluice where he lived and served as a County Councillor. 

I'Anson Family Fund

"I have always been greatly impressed by the work that the Community Foundation does. It was very straightforward to make a gift of shares to set up the fund. As I live in Northumberland I want to support local Northumberland groups and my gift of shares has the added benefit of being very tax efficient. It's a win win situation!" 

The Patch Fund

The Patch Fund provides bursaries for disadvantaged young people to study dentistry. The fund was set up anonymously. The Community Foundation guarantees this anonymity.

Allison Greenlees Fund

In 2003 the Trustees of the Allison Greenlees Continuation Trust was transferred to the Community Foundation.

"After we decided to reduce our involvement with the trust, we considered many avenues to take. The Community Foundation operated a professional and personal approach, outlining all aspects of the organisation and the process that would occur. The great advantage is we can still remain involved as advisors to the Fund and have our own criteria for grants without the legal and management responsibility."

Rosemary Nicholson, Trustee

Northumbrian Water Fund

Prudhoe Aged People's Treat, supported by the Northumbrian Water Fund

The Northumbrian Water Fund was set up in 1992 with the objectives of building an endowment value of £100,000 over ten years. A staff committee considers applications quarterly, with the objective of helping grass roots projects based in Tyne and Wear and Northumberland. They usually award grants of under £1,000 to a wide variety of projects.

"The Community Foundation has long held links with the community and voluntary sector, which allows Northumbrian Water to achieve its corporate charitable objectives through targeted grants to local groups. Their strong relationship with the local press and a dedicated public relations manager allows the company to gain positive publicity from our community involvement , while at the same time involving and empowering our staff. It also lets Northumbrian Water take advantage of any corporate tax advantages gained from our charitable donation."

John Mowbray, Communications Director

The Muckle LLP Fund

"The service that the Community Foundation offers is a flexible alternative to setting up a separate charitable trust and administratively much easier. Our fund has been tailored to our needs and the dedicated fund manager helps our staff committee make intelligent and informed decisions on where the money is spent. All our people have really enjoyed being involved in deciding on the grant allocations."

The Muckle LLP Fund makes about 25 grants each year to groups and projects working in Tyne & Wear and Northumberland.

The P&G Fund 

"P&G have invested, with confidence,  in the Community Foundation since 1998.  Since then half of our yearly contribution has been awarded as grants to local North East charities (in line with our focus on the welfare of children 0-13 years of age) and the other half invested in the P&G Fund, on course to hit our  £1m target by 2008. By making this long term investment, P&G has put in place a lasting legacy recognising our heritage in the North East of England"

Janette Butler, Community Matters Manager, P&G UK & Ireland