The Royal Countryside Fund and The National Lottery Community Fund support Northumberland rural organisations with £79,000 in funding
March 10, 2025
The Royal Countryside Fund (RCF), the charity focused on the unique issues facing farming and rural communities, has awarded £79,000 of funding to three rural community organisations in Northumberland, in partnership with The National Lottery Community Fund.
The Royal Countryside Fund (RCF), the charity focused on the unique issues facing farming and rural communities, has awarded £79,000 of funding to three rural community organisations in Northumberland, in partnership with The National Lottery Community Fund.
The three Northumberland organisations funded through this programme are:
- The Nurture Project CIC, a community interest company which provides educational outdoor experiences, has been awarded £30,000. This funding will go towards a new project to enhance community cohesion through connecting with nature.
- Rural Design Centre Ltd, a not-for-profit centre which works with a range of rural stakeholders to understand business support and innovation activities, has been awarded £29,700. This funding will allow the centre to co-design and pilot a new community-led rural enterprise service.
- Lesbury Community Shop Ltd, a community-owned and run, non-profit-taking, village shop and provider of community-focused services, has been awarded £19,365. This funding will allow the shop to create a complete annual event program, with dedicated days to support local charities, groups and craftspeople.
This latest funding is part of the RCF’s first county-based programme, targeting rural organisations in Cumbria and Northumberland which have the potential to ‘power up, not prop up’ their communities.
Keith Halstead, Executive Director, The Royal Countryside Fund, said: “We’re all very excited to work closely with these fantastic Northumberland organisations to see how they put their collective ideas in place to shape the future of their local communities. We’re incredibly grateful to The National Lottery Community Fund for their support in this partnership and we want to extend our thanks to National Lottery players, for helping to fund these amazing community-led projects.”
Duncan Nicholson, Regional Head of Funding for North East & Cumbria at The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “We are rooted in the communities we serve, and we know grassroots groups and charities can have a huge impact, so we are proud to be working in partnership with The Royal Countryside Fund to support organisations in rural Northumberland to improve lives in their local communities.”
To date, the RCF has invested more than £12 million in over 500 rural community-led projects.
