The Community Foundation North East grows giving and philanthropy, enabling people and businesses to support vital causes in our communities.

Every year, we award grants to 100s of small charities across North East England, through funds set up by our generous donors. Last year we awarded 1253 grants totalling £8.4m to 622 organisations and 91 individuals.

We are supporting the North East Charity Awards because we want to see our communities thrive with fairness and generosity changing lives and helping everyone feel they belong. That means having a strong and vibrant civil society which these awards recognise and celebrate.

Our mission at Point North is simple: make today better and tomorrow brighter for our communities.

With the invaluable support of our donors, we work with local communities to fight poverty and enrich lives for people across County Durham, the Tees Valley and the wider North East.

We make it simple for you to have a positive impact in the communities you care about and support causes that matter to you.

The Banks Group is a family business based in County Durham established in 1976, employing people across the north of England and Scotland. We develop land for a variety of uses including property development, mineral extraction and have recently launched a new house-building business Banks Homes. We undertake all projects in a sensitive and careful manner, this is what we call development with care to ensure that our developments have a positive long-term effect on the environment and the local communities that host our developments.

Millfield House Foundation is a small charitable foundation funding policy work to address the root causes of poverty and inequity in the North East. Through support for our Strategic Partners, the Foundation promotes policy change by funding work that informs discussion and influences public policy. We focus on the underlying causes of poverty and inequality and take a relational approach to grant-making.

The Foundation supports the Outstanding Contribution to Social Change award to celebrate the important work charities across the North East undertake to amplify the voices of the people they work with and campaign for change. Charities and other civil society organisations have always played an important role in bringing about social and policy change. At a time when too many in the North East still face daily challenges as a direct result of poverty and inequity, we need charities to continue this vital role and we look forward to hearing about the work of this year’s nominees.

As one of the leading local law firms for businesses, Muckle LLP is delighted to sponsor the North East Charity Awards. We're all about trust, teamwork, responsibility, and care, values that extend beyond our legal services and into our community engagement. We're thrilled to have achieved Investors in People ‘Platinum’ status, ranking 2nd in the world for law firms accredited across 75 countries.

In 2024, we proudly became the first Certified B Corporation® law firm in the North East and Cumbria, joining a global community of over 7,800 purpose-led organisations. Additionally, for over two decades, we've donated 1% of our annual profits to the Muckle Fund at The Community Foundation, totalling almost £700,000 in grants to local charities and organisations.

Sponsoring the North East Charity of the Year award aligns perfectly with our values. We're excited to celebrate the remarkable achievements of charities in the North East and showcase their incredible contributions to our community.

At Sage, our roots run deep in the North East. We’re proud of where we come from, and we’re passionate about making a difference in the communities around us - especially here at home. From our global headquarters in Newcastle, we’ve grown into a company that serves millions of small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) worldwide. But no matter how far we reach, our commitment to the North East remains central to who we are.

We know that access to opportunity isn’t equal for everyone. That’s why our purpose is to break down barriers so that everyone can thrive - starting with the SMBs we support and extending to the wider communities we’re part of. Through Sage Foundation, we harness what’s unique and powerful about Sage - our people, our technology, and our network- to create meaningful, lasting impact.

Sage Foundation was launched in 2015 with a clear mission: to empower colleagues to give back through volunteering and fundraising. Since then, we’ve evolved. Today, our focus is on driving deeper, high-impact partnerships that tackle inequality and equip underrepresented groups with the digital skills and tools they need to succeed in an increasingly tech-driven world.

We’re excited to be part of the North East Charity awards and can’t wait to celebrate all that’s amazing about the North East Charity sector.

VONNE is the regional support body for the North East Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Sector. We represent over 1,400 member charities, voluntary organisations, community groups, networks and social enterprises from across the region, with further reach through our many networks . VONNE depends on the support of our members to inform and underpin our work strengthening the North East VCSE sector and supporting the people and communities of the North East. We support charities to be well informed on the policy, practice and strategy developments which affect them and we work strategically to ensure their voice is heard. We facilitate partnerships and build opportunities for collaboration between the sector and external stakeholders.

We also provide funding information and facilitate programmes to build skills and capacity and develop leadership, governance and innovation in the sector. Together our community of over 1,400 members enable us to create a collective voice and represent our membership regionally and nationally. We’re thrilled to be supporting the North East Charity Awards again this year, and to be sponsoring the Uniquely North East Award, which celebrates our fantastic region and the wonderful and unique charities who dedicate their services to our local communities.