Our Communities
Our office network is based in a set of thriving, diverse and fantastic communities, each with their own character, their own challenges and their own people.
We are not outside observers of our communities, we are part of them and so we strive to play an active role in achieving better outcomes for everyone involved in them.
We are dedicated to making a positive impact in our communities through charitable donations, volunteering, trusteeships and other active involvement.
Our efforts focus on two key areas that guide our support for charitable organisations:
- Health and Wellbeing
- Young People
Within these areas, our support comes in various shapes and sizes, such as creating opportunities for all, addressing food poverty, driving change through sport and combating social isolation.
So how does this work?
Our charitable contributions are underpinned by a generous annual budget provided by the firm. Specific donations are approved by the Social Value Committee, which is made up of representatives from across the regions in which we operate.
We support a wide range of initiatives. Some are longer term, such as our sponsorship of three Greggs’ Breakfast Clubs in schools across the North. Others are one-offs, like various kit and strips for grassroots sports teams.
Each office has a Charity of the Year to directly focus many of our major fundraising efforts to increase engagement. Our appointed charities run over two years to maximise the impact we can have. We will of course be adding initiatives for our new Birmingham office and continuing the great work already being carried out in our Teesside office.
We also continue our long-standing tradition of contributing to our dedicated funds held by the regional Community Foundations supporting our regions. Community Foundations were chosen because they excel at supporting smaller charities and community groups throughout our communities.
Our Social Committees also raise further funds for initiatives, through events such as Legal Walks and Cake Bakes.
We remain committed to supporting access to justice for those who might otherwise be unable to secure legal representation. As an active participant in a number of pro bono networks, individuals within the firm regularly dedicate their legal expertise to causes that need it most.
Pro bono work is a meaningful part of our wider social contribution. We partner with a range of charitable and community-focused organisations such as the Lighthouse Project and the Foundation of Light applying our legal skills to help advance their missions and create lasting impact.
Beyond legal work, we actively encourage our people to give back in ways that matter to them. Each team member is offered a dedicated volunteer day annually—paid time off to support a charity of their choice.
Many also serve as trustees, directors, school governors, or advocates for not-for-profit organisations. We fully support the time commitment these roles involve, offering flexibility around both working and non-working hours.
Our impact – charitable donations
Donating to charities is a direct and effective way for us to invest in our communities in the areas which need it most, prioritising those good causes which focus on health & wellbeing and young people.
Having set ourselves a target of £45,000 in cash donations for the year 24/25, we actually delivered a total of £66,500 to charitable causes, via firm-wide donations, proceeds of our endowment at the Community Foundation North East, and a variety of fund-raising activities carried out by colleagues in all three of our offices.
This includes funds raised for our office Charities of the Year over the past two-year cycle which have been:
Leeds – Martin House Children’s Hospice
Manchester – The Cindy Appleyard Foundation
Newcastle – The People’s Kitchen
Ward Hadaway in action
Chrissie Kettlewell, Director, Built Environment, talks about Ward Hadaway Leeds’ Charity of the Year, Martin House Children’s Hospice, which provides family-led hospice care free of charge for children and young people with life-shortening conditions.
“Martin House was nominated by one of the Partners in the Leeds office to be our Charity of the Year as a member of their family had been helped by the hospice and had received such amazing care.
Other charities were nominated, it went to a vote and Martin House was selected. They came in to the office for a lunch and learn session where one of our Partners spoke about their experiences with the charity and that was really powerful because it was something so personal and involved someone at Ward Hadaway. It really energised people which is one of the reasons why we have done so well over the past two years.
We have raised over £11,000 across that time just in the Leeds office.
We have had a lot of fun raising the funds. We had a summer barbecue which included the opportunity for people to throw wet sponges at Partners in the stocks for £5 a time (which was mostly contributed by Partners throwing sponges at each other!), we held a Golf Day where clients sponsored a hole each on the course, we had Christmas raffles and a cake decorating competition, food sales and bake sales at Easter, a Pancake Day fundraiser, a Hallowe’en quiz – you name it, we did it!
As well as raising funds for the hospice, we also gave our time with the Corporate team in the Leeds office volunteering to help out in the garden and grounds at Martin House.
The relationship with the team at Martin House has really grown. We kept in touch, held regular meetings, exchanged ideas about fundraising, they’ve sent people to events which we’ve held to talk about the charity. They’ve been amazing!
Having a Charity of the Year which we have all had a chance to nominate and to vote for has really helped focus our efforts and bring the Leeds office together. It also means that we can have a much bigger impact and make a real difference by raising a larger amount for a single charity rather than small amounts to a number of organisations. We can also develop a much deeper relationship with the charity which we find has a really positive effect on our fundraising efforts. I think having Martin House as our Charity of the Year has given everyone at the Leeds office a real boost and has helped to bring us closer together with our colleagues.
Seeing the amount we have raised for such a fantastic cause is a real good news story and shows that all our efforts have been worthwhile.
We’re now looking forward to adopting a new Charity of the Year for the next two years, raising funds for a good cause and building relationships with another amazing organisation.”
Chrissie Kettlewell
Lead on Social Value, Leeds Office
“We’re so grateful to the Ward Hadaway Leeds team for their incredible commitment over the past two years.
“The energy, creativity, and generosity they’ve shown has had a real and lasting impact on the children, young people, and families we support.
“Beyond the vital funds raised, their enthusiasm and hands-on involvement have made them true partners in the care and support we provide every day. Thank you.”
Hannah Finan
Martin House Children’s Hospice
Ross Wilson, Senior Philanthropy Advisor at Community Foundation North East, on how Ward Hadaway is helping to make a difference in communities across the North.
“The Community Foundation grows giving and philanthropy, enabling people and businesses to support vital causes across North East England.
We combine our knowledge and reach with donors’ generosity to back local charities and community organisations making a lasting difference.
Community Foundation grants are made possible through generous individual, family, and business donors as well as through funding programmes run in partnership with national and local government, the NHS, and other charitable grant-makers.
Ward Hadaway has been working with us for nearly 25 years and has a clear commitment to involving people from across the business in the grant-giving decision-making process.
The firm has also been keen to ensure that it supports all the communities in which it operates, so we have worked closely with them to ensure that charities in Leeds and Manchester, and the North East, benefit from the Fund which they have with us at the Community Foundation.
This representation is clearly very important to the firm and shows strong commitment to supporting the diverse communities in which it operates.
Since the Ward Hadaway Fund at the Community Foundation was established in October 2001, it has made 136 grants and built up an endowment fund of over £200,000. This has helped to make a real difference to organisations and individuals across the North.
Across Community Foundation North East as a whole, we made grants totalling £8.9million in the year ending 31 March 2025. This takes the overall amount awarded by the Community Foundation since being established in 1988 to nearly £170 million.
The £8.9m was distributed over 1,224 grants made to 599 organisations and 38 individuals.
The Community Foundation doesn’t only provide grants. Its Sector Support programme has provided support to approximately 400 organisations through pro bono advice and training.
The support provided by firms like Ward Hadaway plays a vital part in everything which we do for our communities and we look forward to continuing to work with them for many years to come.”
Ross Wilson
Senior Philanthropy Advisor
Community Foundation North East
We are delighted to say that the charities which our Fund contributed to this year were:
- Leeds Baby Bank
- Contact (Morpeth Mental Health Group) Ltd
- Trafford Rape Crisis
- Birkheads Wild CIO
- Aspire Amateur Boxing Club
- Northumberland Domestic Abuse Services
- Love, Amelia
- Perry’s Pantry Foodbank
- Staying Put
- Early Essentials UK
Our annual review describes the activities which we undertook as Ward Hadaway during the financial year 24/25. However in July 2025 we merged with The Endeavour Partnership, a successful Teesside-based law firm which has been operating in the region for over 25 years. A fundamental reason the merger concluded so successfully was the shared values, culture and approach of the two firms. The Endeavour Partnership has consistently and conscientiously given back to its communities, activities which during the last financial year have included:
- Patron of The Teesside Charity
- Silver Supporter of Middlesbrough FC Foundation
- Sponsored grass roots football club Nunthorpe Blues Under 11s
- Took part in CEO Sleepouts, an increasingly active charity where Nik Tunley, our Head of Corporate, is a Trustee
- Helped to distribute hampers on behalf of CAUSE Foundation, in connection with their Christmas Hamper Campaign
And as part of their own nominated Charity of Year, members of the office raised money for Clean Slate Solutions, raising around £5,000 through a tuck shop, fundraising walks, raffles, wreath making, gingerbread house decorating, egg decorating comp, book clubs, Great North Run entries, Halloween themed lunch and more.
All of which is why we are looking forward to working as one to harness the combined efforts of all our offices, including Teesside, to maximise the impact of our social value work across our regions and beyond.
Our ongoing objectives and commitments – Social Value
Maintain our focus on health and wellbeing and young people
To ensure our support reaches across all the regions of our offices.
To take into account of our additional locations, to increase our annual pledge to £60,000 by way of cash donations to charitable causes during the financial year 2025/26.
To offer each person one day per year paid volunteering time and to proactively encourage and promote volunteering and pro bono opportunities across our office network.