Teesside charities to lose vital source of funding

Charities on Teesside are to lose a vital source of funding after the Northern Rock Foundation announced its closure

Charities on Teesside are to lose a vital source of funding after the Northern Rock Foundation announced its closure.

The Foundation, the charitable arm of failed bank Northern Rock, said its closure was now “inevitable” after Virgin Money confirmed it could not continue to fund it.

Virgin was its only funding source and the Foundation had hoped to agree a viable long term with Virgin solution to secure its future.

The Foundation’s mission was “to tackle disadvantage and improve quality of life” in the North-east and Cumbria.

Over the past 16 years its cash has helped numerous charities and good causes on Teesside, including children’s charity Barnardos.

Only last week Barnardos launched a new project to prevent child sex exploitation following a Northern Rock Foundation report which revealed most prostitutes on Teesside start selling sex before the age of 16.

The Northern Rock Foundation was also among the numerous funders behind the giant £2.7m Temenos sculpture which now stands proudly at Middlesbrough’s Middlehaven site.

For the last decade the Foundation has also supported domestic violence charity My Sister’s Place, based in Middlesbrough.

Earlier this month My Sister’s Place chief officer Becky Rogerson announced that the Foundation had pledged £50,000 towards a £180,000 needed to expand the charity’s premises.

The Foundation’s current grant programmes were due to close at the end of this year. Announcements on what any remaining funds will be used for will be made in the future.

Trustees will begin to implement a plan for an orderly wind down.

Alastair Balls, chairman of the Foundation; said: “It is very disappointing after such extensive discussions to have to accept that Virgin Money will not commit to fund the Foundation in future.

“Trustees are keen to ensure that our remaining funds are used to achieve significant benefit in the North-east and Cumbria and we will announce our plans later this year.”