As of January 2026, the Community Foundation for Lancashire (CFL) is running a recruitment drive to attract Lancaster-based businesses to its Lancashire Investors in Community (LIiC) network, which supports small, grassroots charities. The LIiC network brings businesses together to pool annual membership contributions that help fund local groups that struggle to attract larger donors, and to demonstrate direct local impact to participating employers.
Membership starts at £1,000 for businesses with fewer than 250 employees and £2,500 for larger organisations. Annual contributions go into the Foundation’s core costs and help the organisation secure and direct charitable investments to grassroots projects across the county — including communities in and around Lancaster and Morecambe. The model is designed to let even small firms have an outsized, local impact without needing to manage charitable activity themselves.
A core feature of LIiC is the ‘Seeing is Believing’ visits, which give members the chance to visit funded projects such as the Lower House Sensory Farm (based outside Wray, near Lancaster). These visits let business leaders see first-hand the outcomes of grants and move corporate giving beyond simply writing a cheque.
Rae Brooke, CEO of the Community Foundation for Lancashire, said the Foundation is looking for forward‑thinking businesses that want to see their local area thrive. High-profile figures such as Edwin Booth CBE DL — listed by CFL as Executive Chairman of E.H. Booth & Co Ltd (Booths) and a founding investor and LIiC ambassador — are involved, signalling to other local firms the potential to support the places where their staff and customers live. The network, which launched in late 2021, has grown steadily; its 5th Annual LIiC Dinner in 2025 hosted 85 guests, including many local business leaders.
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