Grantee portal 
The Northern Angel Fund for Berwick at the Community Foundation North East is this year celebrating its 20th anniversary.
Originally established in 2005 by anonymous donations from a local businessman, the Fund also benefitted from a generous legacy in 2018 from Edith Schlesinger, whose family arrived in the UK as refugees from Germany in the early 1930s, before she retired to Berwick.
The Fund supports charitable activity that improves the skills of local people, enhances community cohesion, and contributes to the unique and diverse culture of Berwick, including Tweedmouth, Spittal, East Ord, and Scremerston. Since inception, the value of the Fund has grown to over £500,000 and it has made more than 250 grants totalling nearly £415,000.
Andrew Ayre, who acts as a local adviser to the Fund commented, “The Fund has grown through lifetime gifts and bequests and the absorption of other small pots of local money to enable worthwhile levels of support to be provided locally. This is especially true when the Fund is able to leverage in additional support from other Community Foundation funds where interests overlap. The Community Foundation is still accepting donations and legacies into this Fund which is now well established as a permanently endowed fund for the future support of the town and borough.”
Recent grants have included supporting Berwick Barracks Heritage Trust to develop a programme of events to mark the 300th anniversary of the founding of Holy Trinity School, providing protective equipment and uniforms for volunteers of Northumberland National Park Mountain Rescue Team, and supporting Tyneside and Northumberland Mind to work with families needing support with mental health issues. Support has also been given to grassroots sports clubs as well as organisations supporting the wider local area such as The Great North Air Ambulance Service and The North Northumberland Hospice.
Sir Philip Mawer of Berwick Barracks Heritage Trust said of the Fund, “The Northern Angel Fund is well named. Its grant of £5,000 to help Holy Trinity School, Berwick, celebrate its 300th anniversary has brought pupils new opportunities for learning and great encouragement to staff and students alike. Huge thanks to all those whose generous donations to the Fund have made this support possible.”
The Northern Angel Fund for Berwick is one of a suite of c300 Funds at the Community Foundation, which includes several that have a primary aim of supporting communities in north Northumberland, as well as those that will make grants in any part of the North East. Since January 2020, 95 Community Foundation Funds have made almost 900 grants totalling £3.7m in the northern part of the county alone.
Ross Wilson, Senior Philanthropy Advisor at the Community Foundation said, “The Community Foundation appreciates the unique challenges that voluntary and community organisations in north Northumberland face, including geographical isolation, unreliable transport links, lower population density, limited digital connectivity, and lower levels of income. Many of the grants that have been made have looked to address these issues, for example via building a strong volunteer base, developing social clubs, and improving employability prospects. Furthermore, grants have been made in the arts and sports, for older people, to support those with additional needs, and to help sustain the natural environment, as well as for organisations’ core running costs over multi-year periods.”
Since January 2020, around 80% of applications to the Community Foundation from the north Northumberland area (including Berwick) have been successful. New approaches from community and voluntary organisations seeking support for their work within these communities are always welcome and the staff at the Community Foundation are willing to give pre-application advice. Find out more at www.communityfoundation.org.uk