East Lancashire Community Foundation

The East Lancashire Community Foundation was set up in 2026 by the five rugby clubs of East Lancashire: Blackburn, Burnley, Clitheroe, Colne & Nelson and Rossendale. The idea is simple: we grow the game across the whole area together, rather than each club on its own.

The Foundation is a charity in its own right, independent of any one club, with its own trustees, bank account and governance, and a commitment to deliver equally across all five areas. Delivery began in September 2026.

Its starting point is that the barriers keeping people out of sport are rarely about ability. They are about cost, transport, confidence, disability, age, and whether anyone ever made it clear you'd be welcome. Each programme is built to tackle one of those.

Clitheroe's seat on the board is held by Andrew Thornber, our past chairman and president.

“Rugby gave a lot of us in this region our closest friendships and our best years and I've never accepted that it should depend on where you live or what your family can afford. That's the gap this Foundation exists to close. Five clubs have joined together to back something that serves the whole of East Lancashire and every community here will see the benefit equally.”