The National Express Foundation is central to National Express Group's support for the wider community in which we operate in the UK.
The public order disturbances in July 2011 highlighted the issues facing young people living in inner-city areas in the UK. The disturbances involved a disproportionate number of people in the 15-24 year age group. Unemployment, boredom and lack of motivation among this group were all cited as factors.
The Foundation aims to tackle these issues in two ways:
- Support for students with challenging personal and financial circumstances to enable them to continue with their further and higher education
- The provision of grants to charitable and community groups for projects which support young people to enjoy positive and developmental activities and promote cross-community cohesion and understanding
Our support is currently directed at organisations in the former West Midlands county boundary (served by our bus business) and the Medway, Gravesend and Longfield areas of Kent served by our Kings Ferry and Clarke's commuter coach services (postcodes ME1-12, ME14, DA3, DA11, DA12 and DA13).
To read more about the projects and bursary programmes we are supporting this year - and those that we have supported since we began in 2012 - please click on the links to the left of this page. You can also download a copy of our 2017 update report here.
We have now announced the outcome of our second funding programme for 2018. You can find out about the community groups who were successful here.
We have also made awards to two educational establishments in the second round - Birmingham City University and Coventry University. You can read about them here.
The next funding programme will launch in the first quarter of 2019. Details of the programme will be published on this website.
Student bursaries: All our support for students is provided via our academic partners. We do not offer bursaries directly to students. If you are looking for financial support you need to apply directly to the relevant university or college.
The Foundation, launched in 2012, holds charitable status - Registered Charity Number 1148231. Although the Foundation is supported by National Express Group, it welcomes donations to support its work. If you are interested in donating to the Foundation please contact us at foundation@nationalexpress.com
