The ‘Boost’ social investment, awarded by Postcode Innovation Trust, will be distributed to four organisations reshaping community-led public services across the city region.
The organisations celebrating the funding are part of Social Climbers, a joint initiative between Capacity, a Liverpool-based community interest company and Postcode Innovation Trust. Each one is tackling different pressure points in community public services. They are:
YMCA Together will use the funding to develop and expand their innovative model of care and services for people experiencing homelessness across the Liverpool City Region.
Gateway Collective is a social enterprise that grows ‘food, people and community’ in Bootle who will use the investment to develop new projects. Projects include a new nature‑based play area within North Park Community Garden, providing volunteering and skills development opportunities for local people, including adults with disabilities.
SPACE Runcorn offers something our health service can struggle to provide – early, community-based mental health support that doesn’t put people on a waiting list. The investment will help SPACE provide help for people with acute distress and at earlier stages of mental ill-health.
Sahir has spent decades supporting Liverpool City Region’s LGBTQ+ community and people living with and affected by HIV. The investment will help Sahir expand their education and consultancy – allowing greater reach and influence.
Chris Catterall, Chief Executive at Capacity, said:
“Communities in the Liverpool City Region don’t need fixing. They need backing. That’s what Social Climbers and the Boost programme do. Working with the Postcode Innovation Trust means we can put real investment into organisations already doing brilliant work in places they know best. They’re making a difference in ways the public sector can’t do on its own – building trust in our communities, working with people and families that need early support and delivering real change. We’re grateful to every player of the People’s Postcode Lottery who makes this possible.”
Laura Chow, Head of Charities at People’s Postcode Lottery, said:
“The £200,000 raised by Postcode Lottery players will help these four fantastic organisations provide innovative, dynamic and meaningful support to the people who need it most. Their deep understanding of the region makes them best placed to respond and adapt to the needs of the community while filling in the gaps of public sector services. This funding will allow them to continue building on their invaluable work and extend their reach even further.”
Christine Bithell, Community Engagement and Development Manager at Options for Supported Living, said:
“Receiving the Boost Fund in 2025 was a fantastic opportunity for us. As a busy social care organisation based in the Liverpool City Region, the Boost Fund has given us the confidence, time, and additional capacity to explore our ideas more deeply than we’ve ever been able to before. Without it, we would have struggled to get these ideas off the ground and to dedicate the focus needed to develop them fully.”
The Liverpool City Region is home to groundbreaking social enterprises making a real impact on the lives of local people. Against a backdrop of increased demand for services, worsening health inequalities and declining mental health, Social Climbers is supporting local organisations making breakthroughs with community-led solutions to delivering public services.
To find out more about Social Climbers programme, contact Ailsa Horne, Head of Enterprise at Capacity.
