The Northstar Foundation

The Northstar Foundation was set up to support entrepreneurship and social enterprise in the North East of England and Cumbria.

The aim of the Foundation is to help charitable and voluntary organisations in the North East and Cumbria improve their operational and financial sustainability.

The Foundation is particularly interested in working with, though not exclusively, regional organisations that:

• Promote entrepreneurship and the benefits of social enterprise within all sectors of the community.
• Tackle social and educational deprivation within the region.
• Improve educational and training opportunities for young people to raise their aspirations, particularly for those from deprived backgrounds.
• Create employment opportunities for young people, women and minority groups in growth sectors of the regional economy.
• Encourage young people to start their own micro-businesses as a way of developing their self-confidence and financial security.

The Foundation will work in collaboration with other bodies where appropriate. 

As well as offering grants the Foundation can also make social investments in charitable and voluntary organisations either directly or via pooled investment funds.

If you receive significant grant funding or social investment funds you may be required to demonstrate its impact and report it to the Foundation

Matched Giving & Volunteering

The Northstar Foundation further supports the local community by offering to match any fundraising that team members at Northstar Ventures undertake (up to £500 a year each). If team members spend time volunteering for North East VCSEs, the Foundation will also make a donation. 

While the Foundation has wide charitable goals, we already have a number of charitable commitments and are therefore not generally in a position to respond to unsolicited requests for grants or donations.