2026 here we come, and some reflections on 2025
As we step into a new year, there is always a sense of possibility. And while 2025 brought its share of challenges for communities across our region, it also showed us the strength, creativity and compassion that make change possible. It is the extraordinary dedication of grassroots groups – working tirelessly to build communities where everyone can flourish – that drives us forward for the year ahead.
In 2026, we will launch and begin delivery of our new five-year strategy. We’ll be opening new grant programmes and activating our new grants hub and CRM system to make applying for funding simpler and more accessible. Our HEY Confident Futures leadership development programme moves into its sixth year – now with more than 550 members. And we will continue to mark our 25th anniversary, burying a time capsule in Hull in June filled with precious items and reflections donated by community groups from across the region, ready to be opened in 2050.
While we can’t entirely predict what 2026 will have in store, we know that many of the communities we serve will continue to face enduring difficulties in the year ahead. And we also know that grassroots groups will continue their vital work – creating solutions and opportunities that would not otherwise exist, and that change people’s lives.
At Two Ridings, we remain committed to growing, building new relationships, and testing new ways of working, so we can be a reliable, responsive and relevant funding partner, ready for whatever the future holds.
Looking back at 2025
Thanks to generous support from individuals, businesses, councils and funders, we distributed over £2 million in 2025, supporting 500+ community organisations who in turn help and support thousands of people.
Alongside our existing donors, we were delighted to secure the support of new partners including the Randal Foundation, Quickline and the Foyle Foundation, as well as a year’s extension funding from the Department for Media, Culture and Sport for the Know Your Neighbourhood programme in Hull. We are very grateful to the Peter Sowerby Foundation, who committed a further three years of funding to support our work with rural community groups across North and East Yorkshire. We are also thrilled to partner with a new life-time donor to THE LOCAL FUND in Harrogate, whose generosity greatly increases our funding for children and young people in the area.
Our grants team ran an amazing 22 open rounds of funding, working with volunteer assessors and panel members to review more than 1000 grant applications. While each of our funding programmes is distinct, the core themes are consistent: tackling poverty, improving health and wellbeing, building stronger communities, championing equity and belonging, and climate action. The team also ran 12 drop‑in sessions to support applicants and grant-holders, and laid the foundations for our first grantee Communities of Practice in 2026.
In Hull and East Yorkshire, our funding is complemented by our dynamic HEY Confident Futures programme, which delivered 109 opportunities to connect and learn, including a wonderful 5-year celebration at Hull Truck Theatre in July.
It was a year rich in activity and growth. We delivered eight major events, including participating in our first Humber Business Week and the High Sheriff Awards at Allerton Castle. Celebrating our 25-year anniversary with a very special evening at York Art Gallery on 1st October was a joy and a great opportunity to launch our anniversary video voiced by community groups themselves.
We successfully renewed our accreditation as a member of the UK Community Foundations network, demonstrating our continued commitment to excellence across all areas of our operations, and cementing our ongoing participation in this vibrant and generous national organisation. We also stepped up our determination to being a climate-aware foundation, signing up to the Funders Commitment on Climate Change and putting in place an accountability plan of priority actions.
We welcomed new board members—Seb, Michelle and Antonia—and Chris and Franklin will join us in January. They bring a strong mix of community experience, organisational leadership and investment expertise, and their energy is already being felt.
We said fond goodbyes to our two wonderful trustees, Andrew Wilson and Paul Downey as they each completed nine years of service to Two Ridings, as well as our brilliant colleague Harriet Johnson, former Head of Partnerships, as she followed her passion for the environment and for growing flowers.
It was a year full of achievements, and while I can’t list everything here, you can read more in our Impact Report.
Looking ahead to 2026
There is much to look forward to. We are excited to kick off the new year in style, with a Barn Dance Fundraiser in February as part of our 25th anniversary appeal and celebrations. Generous match funding will double every pound raised.
We will also move to our new premises, in the offices of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation next to Homestead Park in York.
In April, we will launch our new 5-year strategy, and look forward to announcing some exciting new partnerships. We are opening some major new funding streams alongside our ongoing programmes, and our grants team will be on the road with a growing calendar of community events, as well as our monthly online Drop-In sessions. HEY Confident Futures will continue to build confidence, skills and connections through a full programme of in-person and online events.
Thank you
To everyone whom we have worked with this year—donors, partners, community groups, and supporters—thank you. Your commitment, generosity and belief in the power of community have made everything we achieved together possible.
Wishing you a joyful and restful festive period.
See you in 2026!
Celia McKeon, Chief Executive