Tees Valley Community Foundation

The Foundation funds a wide range of causes including poverty alleviation (food provision, fuel poverty relief, winter hardship), health and wellbeing (mental health services, counselling, therapeutic activities in schools), employment and skills development (training, mentoring, employability programmes), youth and family projects (after-school clubs, family support, carer respite, early intervention), elderly care (befriending, social inclusion), and community development (grassroots sports, cultural activities, peer support groups, capital improvements). All funded work must take place in and benefit the Tees Valley communities of Darlington, Stockton-on-Tees, Middlesbrough, Hartlepool, and Redcar and Cleveland.

Eligible organisations include voluntary or community organisations, registered charities, parish or town councils (community-led), and schools (with restrictions). The Foundation prioritises small VCSE groups with lived experience leadership and a strong local connection. Beneficiaries include children and young people, families in crisis, older people, vulnerable individuals, and deprived communities. Organisations must be operating in and benefitting one or more of the Tees Valley boroughs. The Foundation does not make grants to individuals, except through its bursary fund.

The Foundation does not fund individuals, national organisations lacking local roots, projects outside Tees Valley, duplicative services, non-charitable activities, statutory replacements, or individual endowments. Some programmes also exclude overseas travel, religious activities, and organisations whose sole purpose is not supporting the community.

The Foundation welcomes unsolicited applications and offers flexible, responsive grantmaking. It provides crisis-responsive funding, such as energy poverty relief, and prioritises small grassroots groups. Grants are made in partnership with donors, supporting a range of costs including project delivery and core support.