Charities across Yorkshire are being encouraged to apply for funding from LNER’s 2027 Customer & Community Investment Fund (CCIF).

Grants of up to £10,000 are available to small and medium-sized charities based within 15 miles of the East Coast Main Line for projects that support LNER's three key priorities: better for planet, better for people and better for places.

Among the organisations to have benefited previously are environmental charity Aire Rivers Trust, which is now encouraging other groups to put themselves forward.

Interest in the fund continues to grow, with more than 400 applications in the latest funding round. Seventeen projects were selected for support, helping deliver tangible benefits to local people and communities.

The Aire Rivers Trust, a Yorkshire-based charity dedicated to preserving the River Aire, works to improve biodiversity through river clean-ups and data-gathering projects across Yorkshire.

The LNER funding helped it to recruit and train more volunteers to collect data, which can highlight vulnerable areas and shape future restoration projects.

Other charities based in Yorkshire that received support from LNER include Smart Works Leeds, that used CCIF funding to help deliver coaching and clothing for women searching for employment.

Sam Riley-Gunn, Citizen Science Officer for the Aire Rivers Trust, said: “The LNER funding helped us to expand our Riverfly monitoring into North Leeds, allowing us to highlight some of the most polluted stretches of river in the Aire Catchment.

“This programme has played a big part in our efforts to protect the river, while working closely with different groups and members of our local community. We would encourage other charities to submit a bid for this year's CCIF funding.”

More details about the CCIF and the application process can be found here.


Rachael Wilson, Community Investment Manager at LNER, said: “Our communities are at the heart of everything we do. Through the Customer and Community Investment Fund, we are proud to support organisations delivering positive change for people, places and the environment.”

“We look forward to receiving applications from charities and community groups whose work is helping to build stronger, more sustainable communities across the LNER route.”