A generous £20,000 donation from The Cambridge Building Society will help combat the growing homelessness crisis in Cambridge. The funding has been awarded to the Cambridge Homelessness Charter, a collaborative movement bringing together businesses, public bodies and voluntary organisations to support people experiencing homelessness across the city. The Charter is hosted and facilitated by It Takes A City.
The donation comes at a time of rising demand for housing support. The number of people seeking advice around housing and homelessness in Cambridge has increased by 28% over the past five years.
Between April 2024 and March 2025, 2,492 people sought advice from Cambridge City Council. During the same period, 1,139 homelessness applications required support from the council.
Peter Burrows, Chief Executive of The Cambridge Building Society, said the contribution reflects the organisation’s long-standing social purpose.
“Supporting the Cambridge Homelessness Charter reflects our commitment to making a long-lasting difference in our community and reflects our social purpose of helping people have a home,” he said.
“We are committed to playing an active role in addressing the challenges people face within our community and by working with our charity partners we can create long lasting and practical change together.”
The Cambridge Homelessness Charter represents more than 150 stakeholders across 90 organisations. It aims to harness the combined influence of the city’s thriving industries — including business, technology and education — to create meaningful, measurable change.
Cambridge is widely recognised as one of the most unequal cities in the UK, with significant disparities in income and access to housing.
The Charter works to pool expertise and resources from across sectors to reduce housing inequalities and prevent rough sleeping.
Keith Brockbank from Cambridge Homelessness Charter welcomed the donation, which is unrestricted and will support the group’s ongoing work.
“We are hugely grateful for this extremely generous donation, which is for unrestricted use in our work to end homelessness for good,” he said.
“In 2025, we supported an additional 10 people in their journeys out of homelessness, and we hope to expand our initiatives in 2026. Cambridge Building Society’s donation will enable us to develop and implement innovative solutions alongside our partners across Cambridge’s industries.”
The Charter organises its efforts around six key pillars: data, information, housing, support, health and employment — ensuring coordinated solutions that address both the causes and consequences of homelessness.
Brockbank added: “Together, we can end rough sleeping in Cambridge. The Cambridge Homelessness Charter brings people, organisations and ideas together so that Cambridge is a city everyone gets to call home and ensures that no one falls through the gaps.”
Businesses and organisations interested in joining the Cambridge Homelessness Charter can register their interest online at cambridgehomelessnesscharter.org.uk. Here is the link if you are interested in joining the Cambridge Homelessness Charter https://cambridgehomelessnesscharter.org.uk/
