Leeds Charity Ball boosts AABIE fundraising total to £200k

Leading professional services firm AAB welcomed over 300 guests to the third AABIE Charity Ball, held for the first time in Leeds on Saturday 14 June 2025. Taking place at the iconic Aspire venue, the event was a great success, celebrating the growing impact of AABIE as it looks ahead to its 10-year anniversary in 2026.

The evening, hosted by James Hunt, Head of Leeds at AAB, raised an incredible £45,000 for the AABIE Charitable Initiative (known as ‘AABIE’). All proceeds go directly to AABIE, supporting a wide range of local community causes through funding and volunteering.

James Hunt commented:

“As AAB continues to grow in Leeds and across the wider region, expanding our footprint in the local community is a key priority. The AABIE Charity Ball is a meaningful way for us to live out our commitment to being active members of both our local and global communities. At AAB, we believe in playing our role and living up to our values – doing what we can to learn, teach, preserve and develop, challenge and nurture – and supporting AABIE allows us to put this into action, right here in Leeds and across the regions we operate in.

“We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who helped make the Ball such a success – from our generous donors and table hosts to every guest and supporter on the night. Your support enables AABIE to continue making a real difference – thank you.”

Formed in 2016, AABIE empowers AAB team members to support the causes they care about, delivering impact through grant funding and volunteering. To date, AABIE has supported over 320 charities, awarded more than £430,000 in grant funding, and contributed over 7,000 hours of volunteering across the UK and Ireland.

In Leeds, AABIE has recently supported several impactful local projects:

• Leeds Baby Bank received funding to purchase 42 buggies and prams for families in need;
• Leeds Women’s Aid secured support to develop a new Youth Centre;
• Focus4Hope received funding to help deliver homeless feeds across the city;
• The Children’s Heart Surgery Fund provided 10 INR home testing kits for young cardiac patients at the Leeds Congenital Heart Unit.

Sheena Anderson, Chair of AABIE, said:

“The funds raised from our three AABIE Balls have made a significant difference to how AABIE operates. Together, they have raised almost £200,000 – helping us to support even more people and causes across every region AAB serves. The generosity shown at this year’s Ball will once again be instrumental in helping us continue our vital work.”

Emma Lancaster, Chief Executive at AAB, added:

“At AAB we care deeply – for our people, our clients, and the communities we’re part of. Through AABIE, we aim to go above and beyond together, and what makes AABIE so special is that it’s powered by our people – their time, their passion, and their dedication. Events like the AABIE Ball remind us of the difference we can make when we come together for a shared purpose.”

Previous AABIE Balls were held in Aberdeen and Newry, and Leeds now joins this legacy of regional engagement – reflecting AAB’s values and commitment across its growing footprint.

In the last 12 months AABIE has donated over £135,000 to 86 charities across all Aberdeen, Belfast, Bolton, Bradford, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, London, Manchester and Stirling. Beneficiaries from the latest grant round (which closed on 31 March 2025) included Dean Cauvin Young People’s Trust, which received funding for equipment in a specialist residential house supporting young parents and their babies, and The Enterprise Centre Limited, which delivers the ‘Running with wild animals’ programme for disadvantaged young people aged 11–18. This round also provided top-up grants to support the personal fundraising of 17 AAB team members and delivered 315 hours of community volunteering.

The current AABIE grant round closes on 30 June 2025. More information on how to apply for funding or volunteer time is available at aab.uk/about/aabie.