Over nearly a generation, local philanthropy has helped grassroots organisations tackle poverty, improve health and wellbeing, celebrate culture and heritage, and unlock opportunities for young people in every corner of the county. That track record gives us something precious: deep local knowledge, trusted relationships, and a clear sense of where need is greatest and where giving can make the biggest difference. It also gives us a responsibility: to use that experience to look ahead and help our donors invest in long‑term resilience as well as immediate impact and crisis response.

Joining forces on countywide resilience
One of the ways we are doing this is by playing our part in Northamptonshire’s wider resilience agenda, alongside public, voluntary and community partners. By joining the Countywide Resilience Partnership, we are bringing a philanthropic voice and the experience of a place‑based funder into conversations about how our county prepares for and responds to shocks, from the cost of living crisis to emergencies and longer‑term challenges linked to health, inequality and climate.

For our donors, this partnership is an invitation: to see every grant not only as support for a single project, but as an investment in the systems, networks and people that keep our neighbourhoods strong when times are tough. Giving into community resilience means backing local organisations that know their streets, that residents already turn to in a crisis, and that can adapt quickly as new challenges emerge.

Standing with care‑experienced young people
We also know that the future of Northamptonshire will be shaped by the life chances of the young people growing up here today and that care experienced young people often face some of the steepest barriers. That is why we are launching a new fund for care‑experienced young people, designed to offer practical support and opportunity, from education and training to wellbeing and independent living.

In doing so, we are upholding the ambitions of the Care Leavers Covenant, which brings together public, private and voluntary organisations committed to improving outcomes for young adults leaving care. For us as a community foundation, this is about more than a single fund: it is a promise that young people and the next generation will remain at the heart of our work over the next 25 years, and that we will continue to champion their voice and potential in local philanthropy.

What giving today really unlocks
When someone chooses to give through Northamptonshire Community Foundation whether they are an individual, a family, a business or a public sector partner, they are doing three things at once:

• Supporting immediate needs in communities they care about.

• Investing in the long‑term strength of local charities and volunteer-led groups that hold communities together.

• Backing a trusted, locally rooted foundation that can steward funds wisely over time, respond to new issues and make sure support reaches where it is needed most.

Because we cover every postcode in Northamptonshire and work side by side with local organisations, we can help donors connect their values with real‑world impact on the ground –today and over decades. That is what “here for good, and here for Northamptonshire” means in practice.

Looking ahead: 25 forward
As we look to the next 25 years, our ambition is clear. We want to grow local giving so that every community in Northamptonshire has access to the resources it needs to thrive, and so that no one is left behind because of where they live, their background or their start in life. We will deepen our work on resilience and continue to champion the small charities and community groups whose quiet, everyday work changes lives.

The next chapter of Northamptonshire Community Foundation will be written by everyone who chooses to get involved, by donors who decide to start a fund or give regularly, by partners who collaborate with us, and by residents who step forward with ideas to strengthen their communities.

Giving today is how we build the Northamptonshire we want to see in 25 years’ time.

- Rachel McGrath
Chief Executive
Northamptonshire Community Foundation