Our 2026 feedback
We’ve published our latest feedback report, sharing what people value about working with Point North and where we’re making improvements.
Every 18 months, we invite our fundholders and donors, organisations we’ve funded, and groups whose applications have been unsuccessful to tell us about their experience.
We want to understand how well we’re supporting people to give locally and helping organisations access funding. Our July 2026 survey asked what worked well and where we could do better.
Read our 2026 feedback report for the full survey results, what donors and community groups told us, and the changes we’re making in response.
How likely are people to recommend Point North?
We use Net Promoter Score (NPS), an internationally recognised measure of how likely people are to recommend an organisation.
Scores range from −100 to +100, with higher scores indicating a stronger willingness to recommend us.
Our results were:
- Fundholders and donors: +69
- Grant recipients: +83
- Unsuccessful grant applicants: +36
What you told us
Approachable staff and local knowledge came through strongly in the feedback. Fundholders valued having a named contact who understands their aims, alongside the administration and checks we carry out on their behalf.
Community groups appreciated helpful conversations before applying and staff who understand their work. One grant recipient described Point North as “Responsive, caring and effective.”
There were also clear requests for improvements.
Some groups felt the paperwork involved was disproportionate to smaller grants.
Returning applicants wanted to avoid uploading the same documents repeatedly, while unsuccessful applicants wanted clearer explanations of decisions and more consistent feedback.
What we're doing in response
Some applicants told us their feedback had arrived late or hadn’t arrived at all. We checked our records and found that we had missed a small number of applicants. We’ve since introduced fortnightly checks to identify gaps and reviewed the reasons we give when declining applications.
We’re also developing a new online application system with clearer prompts and the ability to reuse governing documents while they remain current.
Other actions include making assessment criteria and reporting requirements clearer before groups apply, and explaining the level of competition for selected funding programmes.
As an IVAR Flexible Funder we regularly review our processes and systems to make sure we are reducing burdens on applicants.
For fundholders and donors, we’re making communication choices clearer. We’ll also test whether a short, plain English summary would make our fund agreements easier to understand.
Read the full report
Thank you to everyone who shared their experience. Your feedback is helping us make practical changes to how we work.
The full report brings together the findings, explains the scores and sets out our actions and timescales.
Get in touch
If you would like to tell us about your experience, please get in touch.
0191 378 6340
