The Power of Local: Love Norfolk
In 2024, Love Norfolk showed just how far local funding can go. With over £1 million invested and more than 40,000 people supported across the county, the programme has proven that when you back small, you unlock big change.
From funding frontline services battling loneliness to supporting new ideas to get communities moving, Love Norfolk has helped small charities and community groups respond to real needs in real time—on their own terms. Over 1,000 people every week found warmth, food, and connection in a Hot Spot funded through the programme this winter. And with 63% of applications receiving funding, more groups than ever before were able to put their plans into action.
Why Love Norfolk Matters
A new report from NCVO, Power of Small, shines a spotlight on the vital role played by small charities but also the structural barriers that often hold them back. These organisations are embedded in their communities, responsive to local needs, and often working in places others can’t reach. But they face serious challenges when it comes to funding, visibility, and support.
Love Norfolk was created over a decade ago by Norfolk Community Foundation to tackle exactly these barriers, investing in the strength, ambition and innovation of the county’s smallest organisations.
Here’s how the programme is making a difference, one grant at a time.
1. Fixing a Broken Funding System
Too often, small charities are held back by funder-driven models, excessive admin, and funding that can only be used for tightly restricted projects. Love Norfolk flips that model on its head.
Funding can be used for anything: from keeping the lights on, to trying something completely new. It’s flexible, proportionate, and community-led—with local people sitting on the grant panels to decide how money is allocated. This means decisions are rooted in lived experience, not just paperwork.
2. Challenging the Culture and Power Gap
Small charities often feel excluded from decision-making spaces, and from funding pots dominated by larger organisations. That’s why Love Norfolk is exclusively for small charities and grassroots groups.
It’s designed to elevate voices that too often go unheard, with an application process that’s accessible and a structure that puts trust in local people to know what’s best for their communities.
3. Providing Practical Support That Works
Small charities don’t just need funding—they need help navigating challenges, building systems, and planning for the future. But knowing where to start isn’t always easy.
Through the Foundation’s Skills Exchange programme, groups can access tailored support in areas like governance, digital skills, and operations from local businesses. Love Norfolk isn’t just a fund; it’s often the start of a journey, designed to grow confidence, capacity, and connections.
Case Study: Happy Futures in North Norfolk
One powerful example of Love Norfolk in action is the Happy Futures project in Wells-next-the-Sea.
With the help of Love Norfolk funding, Coastal Health and Wellbeing at Wells Community Hospital teamed up with the Pandora Project to support women and children affected by domestic abuse.
In rural towns like Wells, Fakenham and Holt, support can be hard to access. Survivors often face isolation, a lack of transport, or can’t safely use phones or the internet. Services based in Norwich or King’s Lynn may as well be a world away.
The Happy Futures project started with a weekly therapy session—but thanks to flexible funding, it’s grown into a wider support network offering one-to-one and group therapy, creative and therapeutic wellbeing activities, empowerment workshops on life skills and confidence, and a safe, community-based space to build positive relationships.
Building on something they knew worked, the team also used their Nourishing Norfolk food hub as a gateway to reach more families, offering a safe and informal space for people to ask for help.
Over 20 families are already taking part, and interest is growing. It’s a simple, powerful model—trusted support in a trusted place. And it wouldn’t have been possible without the responsive, community-driven support of Love Norfolk.
Local Power, Local Impact
As national conversations focus on how to support the voluntary sector, Love Norfolk offers a model that works—one that starts from the ground up, trusts local knowledge, and helps the smallest groups do their biggest work.
In a world of complex systems and one-size-fits-all approaches, Love Norfolk keeps it simple: listen, trust, support. Alongside the Love Norfolk Fund, we help others invest in grassroots communities to help create great spaces and places for people to connect with their communities and be a part of something great.
We’re proud of what’s been achieved so far—but there’s much more to do. If you’re keen to help local groups, charities or small organisations do more and want to help, visit our Love Norfolk page or get in touch.
[Published 30.04.2025]
