Five charities and community organisations dedicated to improving the lives of people and communities across the Liverpool City Region have been awarded £250,000, raised by players of People’s Postcode Lottery.

The social investment, which is awarded by Postcode Innovation Trust, will be distributed across five organisations that are making a significant impact on communities across the region. 

The groups celebrating the funding boost are part of Social Climbers, a joint initiative between Capacity, a Liverpool-based community interest company working on public service innovation in the region, and Postcode Innovation Trust. They are:

• Everton in the Community – Everton Football Club’s award-winning charity provides support services to communities across Liverpool City Region. From mental health support to education and employability, supporting over 30,000 people every year. Funding will mean they can recruit new staff to grow commercial income through venue hire, corporate events, and football camps – helping to diversify their revenue.

• Koala Northwest – provides families with sleep support where there are children in the household who are having sleep difficulty. Poor sleep disrupts children’s engagement, attendance, and achievement in educational settings. If a young person is experiencing anxiety or stress, their sleep is often one of the first areas to be affected. The funding will enable Koala NW to provide accredited sleep practitioner training for professionals to provide sleep support to the families they are working with.
• Options for Supported Living – supports people with disabilities to live their lives to the full through supported living and community support, which is rated outstanding by CQC. The funding will be the catalyst to increase their revenue generation and develop training, community and inclusion activities for people with disabilities. 

• Transform Lives Company – deliver person centred, holistic employment support, helping people to gain good employment (not just any employment). The funding will help them to provide more training and consultancy to employers, meaning they will no longer need to turn away people who don’t fit their narrow grant criteria. 
• WEB Merseyside – award winning charity, provides community based, trauma informed, mental health support for women and young people in Liverpool City Region. The funding will allow them to support more women and young people each year through their charitable work and develop new service provision.

Chris Catterall, chief executive at Capacity, said: 

“This funding will make a real difference to five groundbreaking organisations. It’s the first time these organisations have received social investment funding to continue their inspiring work. It means, through Social Climbers, we can get new investment into our communities and the organisations delivering vital public services in new ways across Liverpool City Region.  

We’re very grateful to players of People’s Postcode Lottery for their support in bringing real change to lives of people in the region.” 

Laura Chow, head of charities at People’s Postcode Lottery, said: 

“Funding raised by players of People’s Postcode Lottery will make a huge difference to communities across Liverpool City Region. The £250,000 raised is a fantastic boost for these five exceptional organisations, allowing them to scale their services and reach even more people in need. It is inspiring to see how these groups are using this support to innovate, grow, and deliver vital services that can improve lives in local communities.”

Social Climbers 

Liverpool City Region is home to incredible, socially minded organisations making a real impact on the lives of local people. Against a backdrop of public sector cuts, increased demand for services, worsening health inequalities and declining mental health, Social Climbers is supporting local organisations making breakthroughs with community-led solutions to delivering public services.

To find out more about Social Climbers and opportunities to take part in the 2025 programme, contact Louisa Burman, Senior Designer and Doer at Capacity via email louisa.burman@thisiscapacity.co.uk

READ MORE: The Thunder Ball raises over £30,000 for local chrildren’s charities