Over £75,000 distributed across Selby District through the Heart of Yorkshire fund in 2025

The Heart of Yorkshire Fund supports community groups throughout the former Selby District that uplift communities by addressing local people’s needs. The fund focuses on the key priorities of health and wellbeing, education and training, the environment, and community sector resilience, helping to improve lives. 

In 2025, we held two rounds of the fund, in March and in September, awarding £75,449  to 13 community organisations.  

Since 2021, Two Ridings Community Foundation has distributed over £257,751 through 44  grants to support local initiatives benefiting rural areas, as well as the market towns of Selby, Tadcaster and Sherburn-in-Elmet. 

Supporting local initiatives  

This year’s grants range from £10,000 to The Clothing Bank who provide high-quality, seven-day clothing packs to individuals and families experiencing crisis or hardship. Their funding meant they could provide schoolwear packs for families dealing with financial strain. 

£2,239 has been given to Selby CodeDojo to support holiday activities that teach children the basics of IT, helping them go beyond just using technology. Through their regular coding and technology sessions, they support young people as they learn to build games, animations, and websites based on their own interests. 

Other local groups are using their funding in different ways: 

• Eggborough Methodist Church purchased a new sound and vision system for the church hall. This will improve the experience for everyone who comes to their community events. 

• Emerging Voices expanded its wellbeing choir to cover Selby, with the funding covering core costs. The choir is an informal singing group open to adults with lived-experience of mental ill-health, with a tea-break for socialising between members that forms a vital part of the sessions. 

• Reflect providing support to anyone living in Selby facing a crisis surrounding a pregnancy. This funding increases the number of support sessions that they offer in Selby and raises awareness of their free services. 

• Sherburn and Villages Community Trust oversee 3 vital community services: The Old Girls’ School Community Centre, Sherburn & Villages Community Support Network and Sherburn and Villages Community Library.  The grant will help them generate more income through attracting a new cafe lease and investing in these facilities.  

• Selby District Vision supports people who are suffering from sight impairment and sight loss. The grant has gone towards the overall running costs that include rent, staffing and insurance costs. 

• Home Start – Goole and District employed a Family Support Organiser to continue their work supporting families in Selby.  

• Effectus Theatre have scaled up the impact of its vital anti-bullying and internet safety initiatives by expanding outreach to more schools and significantly increasing the number of children who benefit from their work. 

• Thunk-It Theatre CIC delivered 10 x free sensory sessions for families with children under the age of five in the rural Tadcaster area; they also performed a bigger piece for the group. 

• Skipwith Heritage Group are undertaking an archaeological excavation which started in Summer 2025, opening three trenches to examine the medieval moated manor house and village. 

• Toolbox Drama uses arts-based workshops to help adults with additional needs and learning disabilities overcome isolation and loneliness. This funding delivered 7 weeks of outreach work providing artistic and sensory activities. 

• The funding that Autism Arena CIC received covered for staff, printing and travel expenses to provide in-person and online support sessions for parents in Selby with autistic children. 

• Camblesforth Methodist Church received funding to create a community hub in this rurally isolated village, transforming a former Methodist church and installing a new kitchen. 

• Spirit of Christmas who support disadvantaged children and promotes family interaction, will use their funding to cover core costs for their neurodiversity stay-and-play sessions, SEN toys, poverty-related support and a Christmas toy bank, creating new opportunities for everyone. 

• Funding for Community Furniture Store will enable staff and volunteer training, enhancing their volunteer program to boost wellbeing, teach new skills, and offer structured opportunities for personal development. 

• Selby and District Scouts are upgrading the toilet facilities at the Tamarak Campsite, making it possible to host larger camps with an expanded range of activities for youth groups from across the region. 

• Hensall Parish Council runs a Grow Together community planting event to improve the local community garden and encourage its use in isolated areas. Their funding has been used to purchase plants and wildflower seeds. 

• Stutton Social Committee aim to ensure that their rural village hall can continue to be used as a community venue for a wide range of people, so this funding will cover preliminary costs, flooring, insulation, toilets and an accessible ramp. 

• Our Space Selby is expanding its volunteer training program and purchasing laptops to enhance its community hub and café, which offers courses, events, and a welcoming space for residents. 

• Move the Masses have relaunched a previous pilot project that pairs vulnerable adults with dedicated volunteers for weekly walks improving both mental and physical wellbeing. 

Future rounds 

The Heart of Yorkshire Fund enables local organisations to make a significant impact in their communities. By investing in these grassroots efforts, the fund ensures that resources are directed where they can make the most difference. 

Applications for the Heart of Yorkshire Fund will reopen in Summer 2026, offering grants of up to £5,000 for activity projects and up to £10,000 for organisational development. For more information on how to apply, visit tworidingscf.org.uk.