Midcounties and Its Members Give Over £200K to Good Causes in First Year of Community Fund

The Midcounties Co-operative has distributed over £200,000 to more than 680 community groups and causes over the last year through its Doing Good Together Fund.

From theatre groups and primary schools through to food banks and mental health support groups, the initiative has provided vital funding to the community causes that mean the most to members of The Midcounties Co-operative.  

Launched in September 2024 after members said that they wanted the opportunity to give more back to their local areas, The Doing Good Together Fund celebrates its one-year anniversary this month.

Every time a member spends with Midcounties, whether that’s buying their dinner in a Your Co-op Food site, booking a holiday with Your Co-op Holidays, taking out a broadband contract with Your Co-op Mobile, or enrolling their children into a Your Co-op Litte Pioneers nursery, a proportion goes to support local community causes chosen by them.

Through the Fund, members can nominate local good causes to receive funding, with each of the 410 Midcounties sites, which include food stores, nurseries and travel branches, giving a minimum of £500 to the community organisations and causes that matter most to local members.  

The Doing Good Together Fund’s first birthday comes as The Midcounties Co-operative is also marking its 20^th anniversary, following two decades of growth as one of the UK’s largest independent co-operatives.

The Doing Good Together Fund is just one example of how Midcounties makes a positive impact in local communities. Since being established in 2005, the Society has given back more than £5.4 million to good causes, while colleagues have volunteered an incredible 560,000 hours to support local charities and community groups – ranging from delivering tens of thousands of free meals to children during the school holidays, to helping revitalise local green spaces and even working with the Community Heartbeat Trust to support the installation of defibrillators at several of our stores.

Tarra Simmons, Head of Community and Democratic Engagement at The Midcounties Co-operative, said: “The Doing Good Together Fund really demonstrates what makes a co-operative unique as it gives members a direct say in the causes they want to support and shows that when they spend with us, more of that money stays in their community and has a positive impact on their local area.

“It’s been amazing to see the impact that the Fund has had since its launch, and I’d like to thank all of our members and the vital community groups and causes we’ve been able to support for helping the Fund achieve so much in its first year.”