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, May 2026:
Our Spring grants window is now closed.
Our first seasonal grant window was open from Monday 6 April to Saturday 2 May.
Check this page for news on our Summer window, which will be open around July 2026.
We’d love to hear how your idea will:
- enhance patient care and experience
- support staff health, wellbeing or training
- help reduce health inequalities across our trust and community
If you’d like to chat through your idea, find out more, or meet the funder, email bright@northumbria-healthcare.nhs.uk or come along to one of our upcoming Bright drop‑in sessions.
NB: Bright cannot fund ongoing or recurrent costs.
Guidance on funding requests:
We have provided grant application guidance on training, transport, accommodation and refreshments.
Discuss your bid with a senior manager in your team and your dedicated finance manager.
The bid requires sign off from both of these individuals before it can come through to Bright.
Access our bid application form on the Digital Workplace.
Complete our bid application form with as much detail as possible.
Make sure you tell us; why your initiative is needed, how it will make an impact on patients, staff and visitors and any other additional benefits to the Trust and our community.
Case studies and quotes are always helpful!
Speak to the bright grants team if you’d like support with your application – BrightCharity@northumbria-healthcare.nhs.uk
Now, you wait! Your form will go through a careful approval process.
The Bright team review all bids in line with charitable mission, trust strategy and available funds.
The application then goes to the Bid Approval Committee, they will carefully read over your request and may reach out to your for further info.
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 some additional approval stages 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