Bright is very fortunate to receive donations – from the public, legacy donations, corporate, staff fundraising and our volunteer cafes.
All the profits raised from our trust volunteer cafes come back to the charity!
Did you know that you as a staff member of Northumbria Healthcare can apply to use these funds? Your application must be used to support our charity objectives: to add a bit of brightness to our patients, staff or community.
Some of this funding is restricted to a specific ward or department, but we have other funds that might be more suitable to support your project/idea.
Important update, January 2026:
2025/26 has been another great year in awarding grants to our teams throughout the trust to help enhance patient care, improve staff wellbeing and add a bit of brightness.
Some of the projects and initiatives have been truly inspiring and everyone at Bright couldn’t be prouder to help fund them. We’re pleased to confirm that over £550,000 in funding requests has been received during this time.
It is now really important for the Bright team to take some time to reflect on the last year, whilst also do some strategic and financial planning for the year ahead. Part of this planning will also include moving to a new system to allow our grant application process to be a more improved process for all involved.
This means we will need to be closed for grant applications until the spring to complete this work. Further updates future funding rounds and on the new system will be shared soon.
Guidance on funding requests:
We have provided grant application guidance on training, transport, accommodation and refreshments.
Head over to the Digital Workplace. This is where you’d also submit IT help requests.
Sign into your account and find our Bright application form: https://myservices-dwp.onbmc.com/dwp/app/#/checkout
This can also be found under the Communications tab.
Complete our bid application form with as much detail as possible:
Now, you wait! Your form will be sent to our Bid Approval Committee, they will carefully read over your request.
They will each decide whether your bid is a good use of charitable funds.
You will be notified by email if your bid has been successful. The full process usually takes about 4-6 weeks.
Please note: if your bid is over £25,000, your bid will go through a slightly different approval process and may take more time.
Give us feedback! It’s really important that we hear from you, your colleagues, and even your patients about what we’ve funded.
This helps us tell a powerful story – showing our supporters how their donations lead to real, meaningful change for patients and staff.
We may ask to do some comms work on your bid. This might be a social media post, blog, podcast or video.
If you want to shout about your bid and get the ball rolling, get in touch with our Comms Officer – lauren.pitt@northumbria.nhs.uk
Our team is here to support you, please get in touch:
Karen Streener
Grants, Delivery and Impact Manager
Isha Chowdhury
Admin Assistant