Welcome to the Northumberland Federation
– a thriving and vibrant Federation
Whether you are a member, thinking of joining us or just visiting the region, I would like to welcome you to Northumberland.
Northumberland is one of the least known and most unspoilt regions in England. It contains the Cheviot Hills reaching to the Scottish Borders, some 50 miles of coastline of ‘outstanding natural beauty’ and, of course, Hadrian’s Wall, Holy Island and the Farnes.
Donate
As a charity, we do our best, fundraising via member fees, events, and other activities, but we are able to do so much more for our members and the wider community through your generosity, thank you!
The Northumberland Federation of Women’s Institutes (WI) was formed in 1918 to revitalise rural communities and encourage women to become more involved in producing food during the First World War.
Since then the organisation’s aims have broadened and the WI is now the largest voluntary women’s organisation in the UK.
The Northumberland Federation of WIs celebrated its centenary in 2018.
The WI plays a unique role in providing women with educational opportunities and the chance to build new skills, to take part in a wide variety of activities and to campaign on issues that matter to them and their communities.
The WI is based on the ideals of fellowship, truth, tolerance and justice. The organisation is non-sectarian and non-party political. WIs are charitable and everything they do must be consistent with that special legal status.
Members and counting
We now have 95 WIs around the Federation with membership numbers ranging from 9 to 90.
Latest News
Channel Four – New TV Series
This is an email received at Federation - if any your ladies are interested, please contact Jojo direct - and obviously let us know if you are selected and how you get on... My name is Jojo and I'm an Assistant Producer at IWC Media. I hope it’s okay that I’m...
Breaking News! — June 2026
Breaking news - A possible two day trip to take in Chatsworth House and its Christmas Market as well as retail therapy at Meadowhall Shopping Centre in November. We hope to have full details and application forms out with the next (July) Newsletter but for now just...
Treasurer’s update – June 2026
We are delighted that so many of you have embraced on-line banking and that you are finding it quick, easy and cheaper if you have a bank account which is now charging. However, in some cases if you omit certain steps it does create more work for Jodie, which was not...
Membership Support update – June 2026
Just a small missive this month as it's a busy time with our own WI events and lots of visits to our lovely WIs for Annual Meetings - it's so nice to see everyone and thank you for the warm welcomes. We know how much effort is made to get everything right, and...
Chat from the Chair – June 2026
Here we are already half way through the year with delegates primed and ready to vote at The Annual Meeting. I do hope that for any of you acting as delegates for the first time, you enjoy the experience. I can certainly remember the first one I attended which was at...
New WI for Long Framlington
If you live in or near Longframlington and would love to see a WI here, come along and spread the word....
Upcoming Events
Our Next Event
We run events at Cresswell House, our Federation office in Seaton Burn as well as around the Federation.
From walking netball, to sugar-craft, join us for a talk on Claude Monet, or support the campaign to reduce plastic in our seas.
Each of our sub-committees run a variety of events which you can view by clicking one of the links below.
Alternatively you can view our events calendar here
NFWI National Annual Meeting
Another online meeting this year – more details of costs and watch parties etc. to follow
June 4 @ 10:00 am - 4:30 pm
