Every year hundreds of individuals, community groups and businesses generously donate money to help us achieve our aims. It is our job to make sure that the money is spent carefully and for the purposes for which it was given.

Colchester & Ipswich Hospitals Charity holds designated charitable funds for many of the services in the hospital as well as appeal funds. We prioritise grants to patients, staff and our local community that meet our strategic objectives to:

keep people in control of their health

lead the integration of care

develop centres of excellence

support and develop staff

drive technology enabled care

reduce health inequalities

Charitable donations are managed by the Charitable Funds Committee. The committee is responsible for controlling the use of our charity’s resources and ensuring that best practice is followed to fulfil our legal responsibilities. Each clinical specialism or appeal has a fund advisor and we work in close partnership with hospital staff and voluntary sector organisations to understand where the money can be best spent.

Our charitable funds are independent of, and are managed separately to, the government funds of East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust.  

The Charity is registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales who has regulatory responsibility for ensuring the proper management of our charitable funds to ensure that the public can support charities with confidence. Our annual report and accounts are independently audited and filed with the Charity Commission annually.  In 2024/25 we raised £2.290m to support patients in hospital, NHS staff and community services. For every £1 raised or donated, 72p was available to be spent on grants. 

The Charity is also registered with the Fundraising Regulator, the independent regulator of charitable fundraising in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and has adopted the Fundraising Code of Practice and Fundraising Promise.