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
Treasurer’s update – Sept 2026
I would like to clarify the information recently sent to Treasurers about who can be asked to audit the accounts of a WI. This person does not have to be a Federation IFE. What is asked is that it is helpful if the auditor has an awareness of Charity Commission Rules....
Membership Support team update – Sept 2026
Hello Ladies, hope you're all ok and managing to hang on to the year's coat-tails as it flies by. It's said that time goes by faster as we age, and I can't argue with that at all! Thank you very much for the support for our Programme Planning session with 28 members...
Chat from the Chair – Sept 2026
Hello ladies, here we are back after the break where the weather has been fabulous and there is a lot of exciting news, so much I am not sure where to start! Firstly we have been approached by three (yes really, THREE) members who have shown interest in joining the...
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
Programme Planning – Sept 2026 (event code: 2619)
Come along to get some ideas and tips on how to plan your programmes. Share ideas about what went ...
September 3 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
