Community Foundation North East: the Gosforth charity behind £191m of grants

Tucked away on Woodbine Road, a short walk from the High Street, is one of the most quietly influential organisations in the region. Community Foundation North East works from Philanthropy House in Gosforth. Since it was set up in 1988 it has awarded £191 million in grants to charities and community groups across Tyne and Wear, Northumberland and the wider North East.

Most people will never have heard of it, yet many will have used something it paid for: a youth club, a lunch club, a dementia support group or a community hall's heating bill. This guide looks at where it came from, how the money works, what it has funded recently, and how local groups and residents can get involved.

From a £120,000 start to £191 million

The Foundation began life in May 1988 as the Tyne & Wear Foundation. According to a 2022 profile in Civil Society, its first grant panel met in 1989 and gave out £120,000. Early grants from the Charities Aid Foundation and the US-based Charles Stewart Mott Foundation helped build its first endowment to £3 million.

Its work expanded to Northumberland in 2000. For years it was known as the Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland, and it now operates as Community Foundation North East. It describes itself as the largest community foundation by asset size in the UK, one of around 2,000 community foundations worldwide.

The scale today is striking. In 2024/25 alone it made 1,224 grants worth £8.9 million to 597 organisations, many of them small groups that would struggle to attract a national funder's attention.

How the money works

The model is simple once you see it. Individuals, families, companies and other funders set up named funds with the Foundation. Much of that money is invested as a long-term endowment, and the income it earns pays for grants year after year. A gift made decades ago can still be funding local projects today.

That is why so many funds carry a name. The Ringtons Fund, set up in 1995 and reflecting the values of the Smith family behind the Newcastle tea company, marks 30 years of grant-making in 2026. Others are newer, such as the Bishop of Newcastle Foundation Fund announced this year.

The Foundation is governed by a board of trustees drawn from business, philanthropy and the public and charity sectors. Its work is organised around three aims: inspiring philanthropy, investing in communities and influencing change.

What it funds

Grants are focused on five areas: tackling poverty, widening access to opportunity, improving health and community safety, strengthening culture and community life, and sustaining the environment. A few recent examples, all published by the Foundation, show how far the money reaches:

• Youth work in Cowgate, Newcastle. £18,132 from the Ron and Louise Bowey Fund is paying for youth work qualifications for three young women at Projects4Change. Between them they have supported more than 450 young people aged 11 to 25.
• Dementia support in Hexham. A £9,910 grant from the Belong North East Fund pays for a part-time coordinator at Chrysalis Club Tynedale, which reaches around 300 people a month, including people living with dementia and their carers.
• Young mothers in South Shields. The Ringtons Fund gave £4,546 to Bright Futures for its six-week Mothering and Managing Somehow programme, which equipped 24 young mothers with skills such as budgeting and household management.
• Women and girls across the region. The North East Women and Girls Fund offers two-year unrestricted grants to specialist services. Its endowment stands at around £550,000, with an ambition to reach £1 million. In its last round, applications totalled £207,000 against £70,000 available, a clear sign of how much demand there is.

Recent news from the Foundation also covers £123,353 awarded through its Lead the Change programme and grants made through the Mayor's Opportunity Fund to tackle isolation.

More than grants

Alongside funding, the Foundation offers training and pro bono support for charities and community organisations. Its events programme this autumn includes a Chairing Network for charity chairs, a webinar on inclusive governance and an online gathering for first-time trustees.

It also publishes research on the region. Vital Signs North East, most recently published in October 2025, looks at ten themes including the economy, education, health, homes and the environment, asking where philanthropy can make the most difference. Third Sector Trends tracks the health of the region's charities and community groups. Both are published on the Foundation's website.

How local groups can apply

Groups apply online through the Foundation's grantee portal, and need to register an account before their first application. Some funds have set closing dates, and several are open now with deadlines in November and December 2026. If no named fund fits, organisations based in Tyne and Wear or Northumberland can make a general application at any time of year.

Grant sizes vary by fund. The maximum award on the organisation funds listed ranges from £1,500 to £30,000, and there are smaller grants for individuals, such as the Young Musicians Fund and the Alan Hull Bursary. Eligibility differs from fund to fund, so check the details on the funding pages or call the team on 0191 222 0945.

How residents can give

You don't need to be wealthy to take part. The North East Giving Network lets people give together from £30 a month and meet others who care about the region. North East Will Power encourages people to leave a gift in their Will. Businesses and families can start their own named fund, and the North East Roots Fund is aimed at people who have moved away but want to give back to the area they grew up in.

Not to be confused with

Gosforth has two foundations in the news this year. Community Foundation North East is the long-established regional funder described here. The Gosforth Community Foundation is a separate, newer charity, which has been raising money towards the Central Park play area refurbishment.

Best for: A Gosforth-based charity that has quietly put £191 million into North East communities since 1988, and one any local group should know about.

Run a local group that has been supported by the Foundation? We would love to hear about it. Get in touch.