Leeds Community Foundation

Leeds Community Foundation We invest in the grassroots community organisations making a real difference to local people everyday.

Vision:
Leeds Community Foundation: creating cities of opportunity for all. Mission:
We create positive change in the communities of Leeds that need it most.

Take a look at our current funding opportunities for community organisations in Leeds 👇 Jimbo’s Fund: £1,000 to £10,000T...
09/10/2026

Take a look at our current funding opportunities for community organisations in Leeds 👇

Jimbo’s Fund: £1,000 to £10,000
The Leeds Fund Small grants: Up to £5,000
The Leeds Fund Microgrants: Up to £2,500 | Up to £500 for unconstituted groups

Learn more about each programme and apply on our website 👉 https://www.leedscf.org.uk/open-grants/

"Our service users have really benefited from coming up here. They’ve got confidence, cooking skills. They’ve learned mo...
07/10/2026

"Our service users have really benefited from coming up here. They’ve got confidence, cooking skills. They’ve learned more about eating well and keeping themselves healthy. Even going on public transport or walking. All the things that you build up to actually get here are part of somebody’s rehab journey."

Meet Jess! She works at Askets, and refers people to Season Well's Feed Yourself Well project at Chapel FM Arts Centre...

“I’m the Pathway Inclusion Worker at Askets. I work in the Community Rehab Team, supporting people with enduring mental health challenges, and I’ve been able to refer people to Season Well’s Feed Yourself Well project.

It’s been so important to have an accessible, inclusive cooking project that’s met our service users’ needs. Sometimes people with severe mental health might be excluded from a group if they miss a certain number of sessions, or they might have to wait until the next block opens to be able to start. Whereas this is very flexible, it’s very fluid. The group is nice and small, it’s open. And everything they cook is stuff they could make at home or on the inpatient ward.

Our service users have really benefited from coming up here. They’ve got confidence, cooking skills. They’ve learned more about eating well and keeping themselves healthy. Even going on public transport or walking. All the things that you build up to actually get here are part of somebody’s rehab journey. And it’s helped people to get the skills to live independently in the community, or go to supported living.

Of course, it’s helped people build better physical and mental health, too. And I think it’s also about making connections with other people. A few people have made friends. They’ve gotten to know people and look forward to seeing them when they turn up. They’ll ask ‘Is so-and-so coming today?’. And it’s helped people get out into the community and access local things – even looking into volunteering roles.”

Season Well aims to get more people using local, seasonal, sustainable food to create great tasting, healthy meals, whilst respecting the environment. They help people learn how to grow food, host workshops and classes on seasonal cooking and share hints, tips and recipes that anyone can try. They’ve had several grants from Leeds Community Foundation, including ones from Transforming Mental Health Grants, Flint Family Fund and Climate Action Leeds.

Closing soon 📣 Jimbo's FundGrants for community organisations to support people experiencing adversity in Leeds💵 Grants:...
06/10/2026

Closing soon 📣 Jimbo's Fund

Grants for community organisations to support people experiencing adversity in Leeds

💵 Grants: £1k-£10k
📍 Location: Leeds
🕑️ Duration: 12 months (fixed)
📆 Deadline: 12/10/2026 at 12 noon
🗨️ Decisions: February 2027
💻 Apply: http://leedscf.org.uk/jimbos-fund

One year into their 3-year projects, and the organisations we funded through the QFutures Community Fund are already mak...
05/10/2026

One year into their 3-year projects, and the organisations we funded through the QFutures Community Fund are already making a real difference. 682 people supported. 281 people with better digital literacy. 206 people with more practical skills. And 167 people feeling more confident.

The QFutures Community Fund is our partnership with rural broadband providers, Quickline.

When Quickline were appointed to rollout full fibre broadband across rural Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, they committed to investing in local communities too. And they chose to do that in partnership with Leeds Community Foundation and other community foundations in the areas they’re working in.

In Leeds and Bradford, we funded 8 community organisations to help families develop digital skills to support employability.

They’re running digital drop-in sessions, giving people access to laptops and tablets, teaching people how to do things online, and so much more. And they’re making sure the support is accessible, with numerous groups delivering their work in multiple languages.

Give a Gift are using their grant for their Digital Welcome Hub project. Over the 3-years, they’ll support refugees, asylum seekers and communities experiencing racial inequity to improve their digital and employment skills.

That looks like helping parents and carers look for jobs, write CVs and access public services. And engaging children and young people with coding games, digital art and online safety activities.

Their courses are designed to be accessible for the people they work with. They’re incorporating translation and language support, introductions to digital basics and a focus on staying safe online.

In the first year, people are already developing essential digital skills, gaining confidence to use digital devices and completing everyday online tasks independently.

40 people say they’ve improved their digital literacy.

35 people have grown in confidence and self-esteem.

2 people have become self-employed or gained employment.

And Give a Gift say “The project is reducing digital exclusion and helping participants develop practical skills that will support their future education, employment and wider participation in society.”

We’re proud that Quickline chose us as their partner to make a meaningful difference for local communities. And with 2 more years of the projects to go, we’re excited about the impact that’s still to come.

02/10/2026

Calling all community organisations in Leeds! Take a look at our current open grants 👇

Jimbo’s Fund
To support people experiencing adversity in Leeds.

The Leeds Fund Small grants
For smaller/midsize community organisations to support their communities.

The Leeds Fund Microgrants
For small and emerging organisations to support their communities.

Learn more about each programme and apply on our website 👉 https://www.leedscf.org.uk/open-grants/

We’ve been proudly partnered with The Grammar School at Leeds since October 2024. Each year, staff, students and alumni ...
29/09/2026

We’ve been proudly partnered with The Grammar School at Leeds since October 2024. Each year, staff, students and alumni have taken part in a whole host of fun activities, raising vital funds that we distribute to charities across Leeds.

We’ve also had the pleasure of hosting students on visits to some of the community organisations we fund. They’ve been a wonderful opportunity to showcase the collaborative nature of our partnership, giving students the chance to see what their fundraising efforts support, and for members of the community to meet young people who are committed to making a difference.

Recently, we caught up with Brooke and Eva, Year 13 students and Charity Leaders at The Grammar School at Leeds…

🗨️ How have you been involved with Leeds Community Foundation?
Leeds Community Foundation is our school charity partner. Our charity events throughout the year within our community raise money for the charities the Foundation supports. A highlight each year is Prefect week – a whole week focused on fundraising, through a series of events such as Staff vs Students football, and led by our Prefect body.

🗨️ Why is it important to you to support local communities?
For GSAL, it is important to be active in the wider Leeds community, and to give back to our city. Furthermore, it is vital for our pupils to recognise their privileges, and to use it for the greater good.

🗨️ What do you love about Leeds?
Our favourite thing about Leeds is the diversity and friendliness of the people, in our own community and throughout the city. As an avid Leeds United supporter, I appreciate the sense of unity that this city can achieve, and want to work towards it with the Foundation.

🗨️ What advice would you give to people who are thinking about supporting Leeds Community Foundation?
Following our visit to 3 of the charities supported by the Foundation in July, we have been made aware of the vast and impactful differences that supporting the Foundation can achieve.

We would definitely recommend for anyone thinking about supporting the Foundation to do the same. Explore first-hand how donations are used and how they impact lives across Leeds.

Take a look at our open grants to see if there's funding that might work for you 👇 1️⃣ The Hannah Corne Green Futures Fu...
25/09/2026

Take a look at our open grants to see if there's funding that might work for you 👇

1️⃣ The Hannah Corne Green Futures Fund
For neighbourhood-based climate action projects that create healthier, greener and more hopeful futures for local communities.

2️⃣ Jimbo’s Fund
To support people experiencing adversity in Leeds.

3️⃣ The Leeds Fund Small grants
For smaller/midsize community organisations to support their communities.

4️⃣ The Leeds Fund Microgrants
For small and emerging organisations to support their communities.

Learn more about each programme and apply on our website 👉 https://www.leedscf.org.uk/open-grants/

Want to hear some good news? We've got your covered.Our monthly newsletter is full of stories about good work going on i...
24/09/2026

Want to hear some good news? We've got your covered.

Our monthly newsletter is full of stories about good work going on in our communities and the people who help make it happen.

So if you want to guarantee yourself a few feel-good moments each month, join us 👉 https://www.leedscf.org.uk/sign-up-to-our-newsletter/

We’ve awarded £50,000 through the latest round of Addressing Mental Health Inequalities in Minority Ethnic Groups Grants...
23/09/2026

We’ve awarded £50,000 through the latest round of Addressing Mental Health Inequalities in Minority Ethnic Groups Grants, our partnership with Synergi-Leeds.

This round of funding aims to address a specific issue: the rate of Black men being detained under the Mental Health Act in Leeds. Black men in the UK continue to be overrepresented at every stage of detention – from police custody and mental health sectioning to immigration holding and prison custody. Through this programme, we’re funding Black-led organisations in Leeds to work within their local community and alongside statutory services to change this.

We’ve funded 6 organisations through this programme: Afrikindness, BLACK HEALTH INITIATIVE, Community Black Achievers, GIPSIL Ltd, Ol’ Man Swanny and Umoja Leeds.

Some of their funded activities include:

- Community outreach and culturally responsive mental health interventions, including community-led engagement sessions, safe spaces for Black men to discuss mental health, peer support groups, culturally tailored workshops and awareness campaigns to reduce stigma.

- Holistic, person-centred support that looks beyond clinical needs, addressing wellbeing, identity, social connection and life circumstances, delivered through both group and structured 1:1 sessions.

- Exploring the themes of aspiration, grounding and identity through a photography project, alongside workshops covering expressing emotions, mental health strategies and building support networks through friends and community.

This targeted round of funding follows a multi-year grants programme that supported nearly 2,000 local people from minority ethnic backgrounds with their mental health. 12 organisations used £300,000 of funding to build capacity, reduce stigma, increase trust and support early interventions for mental health needs.

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C/o Ove Arup & Partners Ltd Floor 4, No. 12 Wellington Place, Leeds
Kent
LS14AP

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Tuesday 9am - 5pm
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Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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