Austerity, cost of living pressures and a chronic lack of investment have damaged the physical and social fabric of some UK towns and neighbourhoods far more than others. In places where large numbers of people feel disheartened about living standards and prospects, and disenchanted by democratic politics as a result, a whole range of grievances can take hold. This year’s Guardian charity appeal is all about countering the alarming rise of far-right, anti-migrant and other extremist politics – and the misconceptions that fuel them. We and our partners are convinced that the fraying threads of communities can be woven back together with effort and imagination, supported by your generous donations.

If polarisation is fuelled by digital capitalism’s commodification of attention – as illustrated by the role of social media in inflaming anti-migrant protests – cohesion and cooperation increase when people build bridges in real life. The charities and projects in this year’s appeal in this year’s appeal make and strengthen connections. Drawing on a range of techniques and activities, they seek to enhance confidence and reduce antagonism.

The charity Locality advocates on behalf of 2,000 local organisations, ensuring that grassroots, bottom-up initiatives are not crowded out by bigger ones. The pioneering community housing provider Back on the Map is a case in point. It has regenerated a declining and fractured part of Sunderland not for the benefit of property developers but for the people who live there. The neighbourhood is “making leaps and bounds”, one resident told our reporter.

Citizens UK will use funds raised to train organisers who play a key role in harnessing community power to come up with projects such as the one above. The Hope Unlimited Charitable Trust gives grants to groups and schemes that counter division and hostility to migrants, and replace grievance with hope.

Our other two partners are innovators in the north of England. The Linking Network has shown that tackling the kinds of divisions that see too many children living in separate community silos can be life-enhancing as well as worthwhile. Who is Your Neighbour? promotes conversations with a focus on resolving conflicts.

The charity sector has itself been under huge pressure since the financial crisis and the Conservative austerity programme that followed. As the local arms of the state were whittled away, the voluntary sector was expected to pick up what councils could no longer support. The limited redistribution of health and other budgets from richer to poorer areas that Labour has embarked on with schemes such as Pride in Place and changes to council funding should alleviate some of the worst injustices and hardships. But further reform of local government finance will be needed, not least because of the impossible burden placed on councils by central government failures on social care and special educational needs.

Charities such as the ones we are asking our readers to support can help to knit back together the strands of a stressed society in a spirit of hopefulness. While they are not a substitute for democratically accountable politicians and services, they play a unique role of their own. With more than £500,000 raised, we thank you for your generosity so far. Donate to the Guardian charity appeal 2025 here: https://guardian.ctdonate.org

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