Customer and Community Investment Fund
Find out more about our Customer and Community Investment fund and the charities we have helped here.
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The latest news
MHA
The ‘Let’s Get Living’ project, funded by LNER's Customer and Community Investment Fund, has enabled Methodist Homes Association (MHA) to organise almost a hundred daytrips for older people in West Yorkshire and the Northeast Region.Take a couple of minutes to check out the film opposite, showing people enjoying an MHA-run day trip to Whitby on the North York Moors railway.
Carr Gomm - Men in sheds
One of the charities LNER have recently supported with the Customer and Community Investment Fund, is Carr Gomm- Men in Sheds, which is based in Craigmillar, Edinburgh.
The shed acts as a meeting place where local men experiencing loneliness and isolation can come together to share skills, build self-esteem, and forge friendships. The shed helps to improve confidence, self-esteem, and provides a safe space for men to talk about their mental health, while work side by side on projects.
Watch Video
Canal & River Trust
The Canal & River Trust cares for over 2000 miles of canals, rivers, reservoirs, and docks, some of which date back 200 years.
The charity applied to LNER’s Customer & Community Investment Fund (CCIF) for funding to create a network of floating ecosystems along the Regents Canal. The canal runs through the heart of London, including passing over the East Coast Main Line just outside of King’s Cross.
Watch Video
Vision Care
Vision Care for Homeless People (VCHP) has received a £12,000 donation from London North Eastern Railway’s (LNER) Customer and Community Investment Fund (CCIF).
Café 16 Newcastle Cathedral
Café 16 at Newcastle Cathedral is one of the many projects LNER supports through our Customer and Community Investment Fund (CCIF).
The café provides training, mentoring and employment to prison leavers, enabling them to get their lives back on track.
The Wave Project
Our Customer and Community Investment Fund awarded £30,000 to help The Wave Project deliver their award-winning surf therapy programme to 100 vulnerable young people in Tynemouth and Dunbar throughout 2022.
What is the Customer and Community Investment Fund?
LNER’s Customer and Community Investment Fund (CCIF) supports charities, our customers, and the communities of our route, focusing on the causes that are of key importance to us.
The core themes the fund supports are mental health, education and employability skills amongst marginalised groups, diversity and inclusion, and environmental sustainability.
Changes to be aware of, when deciding to apply.
- The maximum amount that can be applied for is £50,000.
- Preference will be given to small and medium charities, over larger charities.
- New environmental focus area.
- Biodiversity
- Sustainable Travel
- Waste Reduction and the Circular Economy
For further details on these areas, please click here.
Learn more about the projects we’re supporting, click here or by viewing the factsheet.
What we're looking for
We are looking for applications located within 10 – 15 miles of the east coast mainline, where there is an identified social need. Which outlines how the project will work with the community to mitigate the social need and therefore help to create a more inclusive, prosperous and connected community.
Funding will need to be spent in full, and projects completed within the financial year (April to March), in which the funding is gifted.
For further information on what we are looking for in an application, and what is outside the criteria, please read the Charitable Giving Policy.
If you have any questions about a CCIF application, please contact the CCIF inbox CCIF@lner.co.uk
What does a good application include?
- An application that clearly links in with one of the following areas - mental health, education and employability skills amongst marginalised groups, diversity and inclusion, environment and sustainable mobility
- A factual but concise application, that clearly outlines what the identified need is, how the grant will be spent, and what success would look like.
- Budget breakdown of funding request, overall project budget and key project milestone.
- Details on whom the primary beneficiaries are and numbers of beneficiaries.
- What benefits will be delivered initially and a mechanism for measuring the benefits and impact.
- Please click here to access the Application form template which provides guidance and questions to consider, when completing the application form. Only applications submitted via the online application will be accepted.
Application Timeline
- Application window Open - 7 August 2023
- Application window closes - 24 September 2023
- Applications will be reviewed and shortlisting process to take place - September / October 2023
- A shortlist of projects will be shared with the LNER community (including colleagues, stakeholders, and charities), as well as LNER customers who will be asked to help shape the final list of projects we would like to support – November 2023
- A list of projects LNER would like to support will be submitted for approval – December 2023
- A decision will be made on which projects will be taken forward – January to March 2024
- Successful applicants will be notified – April / May 2024
How to apply
The application window is closed.
For guidance and information on completing an application to the Customer and Community Investment Fund, please view the CCIF Guidance Document, Application form template and Charitable Giving Policy.
Standard Complementary Train Tickets
We’re happy to donate a pair of standard complimentary train tickets, for travel on London North Eastern Railway trains, to fundraisers which align with our dedication to Mental Health, Employability, Environment and Diversity and Inclusion.
Each individual request is assessed on a case by case basis and always subject to availability. Before you apply, please read the Charitable Giving Policy, and if you still want to make an application, please fill in this form.