Our history
Point North used to be known as County Durham Community Foundation.
County Durham Community Foundation
Since 1995 County Durham Community Foundation (also known as CDCF) has been granting funds to community groups in and around County Durham.
We were founded by County Durham’s former Lord Lieutenant Sir Paul Nicholson and his predecessor David Grant.
Over our 30+ years we’ve made grants to community groups totalling almost £80 million.
This is only possible because of the donors and supporters that give generously each year.
County Durham Community Foundation
Why the change?
Our rebrand and name change are part of a broader strategy to modernise and strengthen our work for the next 30 years.
Since 2020, we’ve seen rising demand for community support as more people slip into poverty. In 2023/24, we awarded over £7 million in grants, which was more than double our pre-pandemic average.
We’re also connecting with a growing international supporter base, people who care about the North East and want to make a difference.
This presents both a challenge and an opportunity: we need to raise more funds to meet the increasing need, while making it easier for donors to find and support us.
Alongside the rebrand, we’re improving our internal systems to simplify grant applications, donations, and impact reporting.
And so, in 2024, we changed our name from County Durham Community Foundation to Point North.
What hasn't changed
Our commitment to County Durham remains as strong as ever.
We’re still the same community foundation, with the same team, values, and accreditation through the UK Community Foundations network.
We’re still the community foundation for County Durham and Tees Valley. And our grantmaking is focussed in these core areas.
We’ve been based in County Durham for over 30 years, and while over time our community grantmaking has grown to include Darlington, Tees Valley, Hartlepool, and Stockton-on-Tees, and the wider North East our home is still right here in Durham.
Our focus is still on getting funds to the people and projects that need them most.
What we do now
Point North is here to support communities across County Durham, Darlington, Tees Valley, and the wider North East, just as we always have.
We provide grants to local charities, community groups, and individuals tackling the biggest challenges in our region, from poverty and isolation to health and wellbeing.
Our funding is driven by the belief that local people know better than anyone what their communities need, and our job is to get funds to the people and places that need them the most.
Our donors come from all walks of life, some are based here in the North East, others just want to support the places that matter to them, wherever they live now.
We work closely with them to make sure their giving creates real, lasting change.
Point North may be a new name, but our commitment to the communities we serve is stronger than ever.
What is a Community Foundation
Point North is the official Community Foundation for County Durham and Tees Valley.
As such, we’re a proud member of UK Community Foundations (UKCF), a movement of 47 accredited and independent community foundations. As individual community foundations, we are locally rooted, and as UKCF members, we are nationally connected.
Community foundations draw on local insight to shape philanthropy and strategic funding. Each year, we collectively mobilise over £180 million to grassroots charities and community groups throughout the UK.
UKCF works with national strategic partners to enable investment in communities at scale.
