Cambridgeshire Community Foundation has announced that it has now awarded more than £40 million in grants to support communities across Cambridgeshire since it was established in 2004.
Since its founding, the Foundation has supported over 3,000 charitable and community organisations, helping fund projects that improve health and wellbeing, support both young people and older residents, strengthen community connections, create opportunities for people facing disadvantages, and more.
The £40 million figure represents grants distributed through a wide range of charitable funds established by local organisations and individuals who want to make a lasting difference in their community.
The Foundation’s portfolio of over 70 funds includes partnerships with councils, philanthropists and local businesses like The Cambridge Building Society, Birketts, Cheffins and more, each with a community fund that focuses on supporting particular causes and/or geographic areas.
Michael O'Toole, Chief Executive of Cambridgeshire Community Foundation, said:
Reaching £40 million in grants awarded is a remarkable milestone, but what matters most is the difference that investment has made for people's lives across Cambridgeshire.
Behind every pound granted is a story of local generosity creating local impact. This achievement belongs to our supporters, partners, volunteers, trustees, staff and community organisations who have worked alongside us over the past 22 years to address need and create opportunity.
We are incredibly proud of what has been achieved together, but we also know there is much more to do. Communities continue to face significant challenges. Cambridge remains one of the most unequal cities in the country, with a 12-year difference in life expectancy between the most and least deprived residents. We are also seeing many disparities across health, employment, education and more between the north and south of our county.
Our ambition is to grow local giving, build new partnerships, and ensure even more funding reaches the organisations making a difference on the ground.
As we celebrate this milestone, we remain firmly focused on the future and on supporting a thriving, resilient Cambridgeshire for generations to come.
One of the most recent grants that helped the Foundation reach this milestone was awarded by The Cambridge Building Society Community Fund to Concrete Rose Collective CIC.
The grant is helping to establish a ‘bank of mum and dad’ for care-experienced young people and care leavers facing financial barriers at critical moments in their lives. Mike Farrington, Operations Lead at Concrete Rose Collective CIC, commented, “Most people have a ‘safety net’ of friends or family to turn to when they need a bit of extra financial support. That is not always the case for the young people we support”. The initiative will provide access to emergency and opportunity-based funding for costs such as housing deposits, training courses, and employment-related expenses, helping young people overcome barriers to independence and progress.
Peter Burrows, Chief Executive of The Cambridge Building Society, said:
Congratulations to Cambridgeshire Community Foundation for reaching this major milestone. Working together, we have pledged more than £400,000 to good causes and charitable projects – including innovative multi-year grants to support charities like Concrete Rose – to help tackle housing issues and deliver long-lasting change across the communities we serve.
The Foundation celebrated their milestone at a special event in July, kindly supported by CCLA Investment Management and hosted by PEM. The event brought together the current and former team, including the President, Vice Presidents, staff, trustees, ambassadors, and volunteers, whose dedication has helped shape the organisation’s growth and impact since 2004.
As Cambridgeshire Community Foundation looks ahead, it remains committed to growing local giving, ensuring that charitable funding continues to reach the people that need it most in the county we call home.
