Jimbo’s Fund 2023

Jimbo’s Fund was set up in 2008 by a local businessman, Jimi Heselden, to make a difference for people in Leeds. The programme funds a broad range of projects and activities that support people in the city who are experiencing hardship. Sadly, Jimi passed away in 2010, but the programme continues to support local projects across Leeds, carrying on his legacy. 

Now in its 16th year, the most recent round of the Fund was held in January 2023. In this round, 29 organisations were awarded grants, with a total of £395,000 invested. 

The organisations that were awarded funding are: 

• • • • Community Unity 
      • Dance Action Zone Leeds 
      • Dial Leeds Ltd 
      • Getaway Girls 
      • GIPSIL 
      • Grassroots Enterprise for Social Inclusion and Poverty Relief 
      • Heads Together Productions/Chapel FM Arts Centre 
      • Kidz Klub 
      • Leeds Baby Bank 
      • Leeds Children’s Charity 
      • Leeds Community Spaces 
      • Leeds Mind 
      • Leeds Mindfulness Cooperative CIC 
      • Leeds Space Network (LSN) 
      • Mafwa Theatre 
      • Nigerian Yorkshire Communities Network UK CIC 
      • Phoenix Dance Theatre 
      • Positive Futures WY CIC 
      • Project Hope Leeds 
      • Proverbs31Woman CIC 
      • Rainbow Junktion 
      • SNAPS (Special Needs And Parent Support) Yorkshire CIO 
      • Space2 Leeds 
      • St George’s Crypt 
      • St Luke’s Cares 
      • The Canopy Housing Project 
      • The Youth Association 
      • Trust Leeds 
      • Zest Health for Life 

The funded activities include: 

• • • • A weekly gardening group for local residents to learn new skills, make friends, green their neighbourhood and improve their mental health. 
      • ‘RISE UP’, a project delivering weekly football sessions, one-to-one mentoring, and a positive rewards incentive programme for at-risk boys including those not in education, on the verge of exclusion or with negative peer networks in the local community. 
      • Working with individuals with learning disabilities, and/or autism, on a 1:1 basis alongside partnering with local employers to develop employment opportunities. 
      • A mobile food share programme, delivering weekly food parcels to local families who may be struggling due to unemployment or redundancy, or affected by the rising cost of living. 

These grants add to the already incredible legacy of Jimbo’s Fund. Since 2008, the Fund has made more than 660 grants, investing almost £15m in Leeds communities. 

For more information on grants awarded, visit the What We’ve Funded page.