What We Have Funded
Herefordshire Community Foundation has an expert understanding of the issues facing the county and how best to deliver funding to tackle these challenges. To achieve real impact, we work together with many partners, including the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector, as well as statutory bodies and our generous donors.
Statistics
- 23 years making a difference in Herefordshire
- £7,802,314 raised & donated to local causes
- £604,206 grants made in 2024/25
- 551 community grants awarded in 2024/25
Connecting local donors with local causes
We enable local donors to support their local community. There are lots of ways to give, from donating to a one-off appeal, through to setting up a long-term fund with specific aims. In 2024/25 local donors awarded a total of £330,170 in grants to 142 organisations and individuals.
Building local funds for long-lasting support
We help donors establish long-term community assets (endowment funds) which effectively safeguards monies for the future in order to provide ongoing financial support to the county’s communities. For more information on how to open a Fund, please click here.
Previous Grants Awarded
Herefordshire Community Foundation is committed to transparency and we work with 360Giving to publish information about our grants.
360Giving is an initiative which helps UK funders to publish their data in an open and standard format online.
Take a look at the grants we have awarded by clicking on the link below which will open a new window.
This work (i.e. the spreadsheet of grants awarded) is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, click here . This means the data is freely accessible to anyone to be used and shared as they wish. The data must be attributed to Herefordshire Community Foundation. We believe that with better information, grant makers can be more effective and strategic decision-makers. 360Giving provides support for grantmakers to publish their grants data openly, to understand their data, and to use the data to create online tools that make grant-making more effective. To view Herefordshire Community Foundation’s Open Data Policy, click here.
Responding to issues
We are swift to respond in times of crisis and set up appeals to help those in need. We also recognise long-standing issues, such as fuel poverty, and are committed year-on-year to raising funds to make a difference to vulnerable households.
- Flood Appeal
Set up to support individuals, community groups and charities affected by local floods. In 2024/25 HCF awarded a total of £24,250 in grants, supporting 77 individual households, 3 local schools and a sports centre. - Help for Refugees Appeal, 2022
Established in response to the war in Ukraine to assist the resettlement of refugees and encourage community connection - Surviving Winter Appeal
Raising funds to help vulnerable households cope with energy costs since 2011.
Helping distribute national funds
We are regularly commissioned by other funding bodies to make grants locally on their behalf. The largest programmes we’ve distributed recently include:
- Small Sparks, Herefordshire Council and Government UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) 2025 Grants of up to £1,000 are available to support informal, grassroots initiatives and priority will be given to inclusive and accessible community activity. £50,000 to distribute.
- Household Support Fund, Herefordshire Council & Government 2022 – 2026
Helping vulnerable households including disadvantaged families with young children, the elderly and the disabled, to access grants for energy bills, water bills and essentials, such as cookers. - Let’s Create Fund on behalf of Arts Council England 2021/22
Distributing £28k to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee through cultural activities, from a creative picnic and community concert to street parties, art exhibitions and a 10ft lion puppet. - Covid Relief Funding from the National Emergencies Trust 2020/21
Distributing £380,617 in covid-related emergency relief to charities and community groups across the county. The funding was used to support local food projects, digitisation of services, PPE, food boxes, mental health support, money advice and many other vital services to help those in need. - Covid recovery Funding from Herefordshire Council 2020-21
Distributing £473,150 to help communities recover from the impact of covid-19. Supported initiatives ranging from local green spaces and growing projects to mental health services and creative therapies.
Enabling individuals, families and charitable organisations to easily set up funds
Organisations with charitable motives can make use of our know-how to easily set up their own funds. We navigate the legal and governance requirements on their behalf, so they can concentrate on distributing funds. Our expertise means they can proceed, safe in the knowledge that everything is being managed properly.
At HCF, we are also here to help families and individuals set up memorial and legacy funds. They are a great way to honour a loved one and give in perpetuity to the causes you care about by making a single gift that keeps on giving, i.e. an endowment fund. We can help reduce the administrative burden of setting up a separate charitable memorial trust/foundation with the Charity Commission.
Examples of projects we have supported in this way include:
Memorial and Legacy Funds
- Andrew Basnett Fund was set up in 2025 and remembers the talents of international blacksmith and art metal worker Andrew Basnett, by inspiring and supporting the next generations of artisans.
- George’s Fund is a fund set up by Laura Hughes in 2020 to celebrate the short and special life of her son George. The fund has given out £71,796 in grants across two rounds of funding for projects that promote the interests of Herefordshire’s primary-age children.
- Joanies Fund was set up in 2003 in memory of Joan Simpson and Joan Hughes. Their legacy is supporting a wide range of community projects that work with young people aged 0 to 25, leading to employment, accreditation, further education, training, and integration. The fund is open to applications across England and Wales.
Funds set up for Organisations
- Hereford Military Festival, 2024
- Logistics Aid, 2022
- Laptop2kids campaign during the covid-19 lockdown, 2020
- Knife Angel Hereford, 2020