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      Making a Difference in the Communities We Serve

      At Northern, we’re proud to be the biggest passenger train operator outside London, connecting people and places across the North of England every day. But we’re about more than just transport. We care deeply about the communities we serve —and our vision is ‘to make a positive impact for the North in all we do and for all we serve.’

      One way we do that is through the Northern Customer and Community Fund. This fund helps support local projects that improve lives and bring communities together. Each year, we focus on a key theme to guide the fund and make sure we’re creating meaningful change. 

      The fund is open to customers, charities, community groups, not-for-profits—anyone who’s working to make things better in their local area. We’d love to hear your idea – whether that’s offering free employment support, empowering underrepresented groups, reducing social isolation or any other initiative which will have a positive impact. We believe the best ideas come from the people they’re designed to help—so we encourage communities to help shape the projects we fund.

      What are we looking for?

      This year, we’re focusing on two things that really matter: connectivity and social isolation.

      Connectivity means helping people feel part of something—whether that’s through better access to places, services, or each other. A recent study showed that nearly half of UK adults have felt lonely at some point in their lives. That’s a big number, and we want to play our part in changing it.

      We’re looking for projects that bring people together and help them feel connected to their local community. If it helps reduce isolation and builds community spirit, we’d love to hear about it.

      The fund is open to projects that will make a difference somewhere within our network. That covers most of the North of England—but if you’re not sure, just check our route map. Your project doesn’t need to be connected to a station or the railway—it just needs to happen within 10 miles of one of our stations or train care centres.

      Not sure if your idea fits? Drop us an email at ccif@northernrailway.co.uk and we’ll be happy to help.

      You can apply for grants of £2,500, £5,000 or £20,000, and there’s £200,000 in total available this year. You don’t need to provide match funding, but if your project has extra support behind it, that’s always a bonus.

      What won’t fit the bill?

      We’re open-minded about what’s possible—but there are a few things we can’t fund. We’re unable to support:

      • Projects designed to generate commercial return for Northern
      • Ongoing services or feasibility studies for new rail services, stations or lines
      • Projects that form part of Northern’s existing commitments or business plan
      • Projects that rely on Northern to deliver any part of the work

      All funded projects need to be finished by 31 March 2026. If your project is successful, we’ll ask you to send a short update in December 2025 and a final report by 3 April 2026.

      Who can apply?

      Almost anyone with a great idea! We welcome applications from customers, local groups, charities, not-for-profit organisations —and our very own Northern colleagues too. If you’ve received A CCIF grant before, that’s fine—you can still apply, as long as it’s for a different project. However, if you receive any other funding from Northern, you are not eligible for the CCIF grant.

       I’ve got a great idea—how do I apply?

      The application is simple. Just complete our online form from the link below—but please note, it can’t be saved and returned to later.

      What happens next?

      Applications open on 18 June 2025 and close at 11:59pm on 18 July 2025. Unfortunately, we can’t accept late entries.
      First, we’ll check that your project meets the basic criteria. Then, every eligible application is reviewed by a panel made up of Northern colleagues from different teams. They’ll score each project and meet to discuss the results together—making sure each application is looked at fairly and with care.

      Once the panel has agreed on the final list, it goes to Rail North Partnership for approval. We expect to start awarding grants from October 2025.

      Please make sure your organisation has a linked bank account—we’re not able to pay grants into personal accounts, even if the applicant is part of the organisation.

      We’ll aim to contact all applicants as soon as possible to let you know the outcome. Because of the number of applications we receive, we’re not able to offer feedback on unsuccessful applications—but we truly appreciate every idea we receive.

      If you have any questions at all, you can reach us at ccif@northernrailway.co.uk.

      Good luck—we’re excited to hear from you!

      Case Studies from 2024

      Special Needs Under Fives

      Special Needs Under Fives are a longstanding charity giving volunteer opportunities for people across Bolton to support special needs children between the age of two to five, within early years settings. Their volunteers provide one to one essential support to a child for one session per week. Each volunteer they recruit receives an induction, safeguarding training and a DBS check. After completion, they support a special needs child within a pre-school setting in their local community.  

      Special Needs Under Fives wanted to grow and develop their team of volunteers, by recruiting and training more people which the funding has paid for. The project has contributed to the wider Bolton economy by engaging in support for young children and schools.  

      To find out more visit the Special Needs Under Fives Support website.

       

      Extra Time

      Extra Time provide mentoring workshops on confidence building and rekindling skill sets. They are primarily aimed at older people who have been out of work for some time. They give support to help people gain paid employment or volunteering opportunities. 80% of people who attend the courses report an increase in their confidence and belief. Extra Time aim to build confidence and develop presentation and interview techniques increasing possibilities of employment. They also offer a one to one mentoring service which gives advice on looking for work and completing applications. Funding from the Northern Customer and Community Fund helped pay for more courses and training to take place.

      Find out more on the Extra Time website

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