Grant Directories

Funded entirely through the Freemasons and their families, the Masonic Charitable Foundation (MCF) is one of the largest grant-making charities in England and Wales. Through the Charity Grants Programme, the Foundation awards Small grants of between £1,000 and £5,000, and Large grants of between £10,000 and £60,000 for targeted interventions that support vulnerable and disadvantaged children during the early years of their lives. The MCF is interested in funding projects that support children's development and well-being by giving them a healthy start and ensuring families have the resources and support they need to thrive. Applicants are invited to submit an expression of interest, and if successful, will be invited to complete a full application. EOIs can be submitted at any time.

Youth Music is a UK charity that supports young people's involvement in music. The Youth Music Trailblazer fund offers grants of £2,000 to £30,000 to organisations in England to run projects for children and young people (25 or under) to make, learn and earn in music. The project should trial work for the first time, test a new way of working, or disrupt the status quo.

The British and Foreign School Society offers charitable aid to educational projects in the UK and around the world by funding schools, other charities and educational bodies. Through the Displacement Education Fund – UK Projects, the Society offers grants of up to £60,000 to registered charities, schools and educational establishments, and grants of up to £20,000 to other not-for-profit community organisations for projects that improve access to educational opportunity, or reduce barriers to achievement, for children and young people living in the UK who are refugees or asylum seekers, unaccompanied children, or children of undocumented migrants.

The Cumbria Community Foundation exists to benefit disadvantaged people and communities by making grants to support relevant charitable or voluntary organisations, which make a difference within their local area. Through the Wing Cdr. H. Thompson MBE & Rev. J. L. Green Grassroots Grants Fund the foundation provides grants of up to £1,000 to charitable volunteer-led grassroots groups in the Barrow-in Furness area that support young peoples’ personal development, education and involvement in the community and environmental initiatives.

The Cumbria Community Foundation exists to benefit disadvantaged people and communities by making grants to support relevant charitable or voluntary organisations, which make a difference within their local area. Through the Westmorland Family Community Fund the foundation provides grants in excess of £500 to groups which support the development of young people and the communities of Appleby-in-Westmorland, Brough, Kirby Stephen, Penrith, Shap and Tebay. Priorities for funding are around vibrant communities, wellbeing, and young people.

The Cumbria Community Foundation exists to benefit disadvantaged people and communities by making grants to support relevant charitable or voluntary organisations, which make a difference within their local area. Through the Rowan Community First Fund the foundation provides grants for charitable groups supporting social action at a local level in Cumbria, with a focus on the young, the elderly, and training for the unemployed. Priority will be given to projects which: support the education of children and young people; provide training to help people get back into employment; support social action at a local level; are run by groups in the Eden area.

The Cumbria Community Foundation exists to benefit disadvantaged people and communities by making grants to support relevant charitable or voluntary organisations, which make a difference within their local area. Through the Printers Inc Social Mobility Fund the foundation provides funding to charitable groups supporting young people who reside in Cumbria, with preference for disadvantaged young people aged between 14 – 25, to improve their life skills, education, employability and enterprise. Education includes academic, occupational or social education, the acquisition of life or employment skills, physical, sporting, music or other artistic skills.

OneFamily is a customer-owned business, which reinvests profits for the benefit of it's customers. Through the Young Person's Education Grant scheme the foundation provides funding of up to £250 to help those aged 15-19 with the cost of their education or training. A Grant can be used for: Apprenticeship costs - such as travel and equipment; Further education costs - including travel, laptops and books/study materials; Other study or work related costs - such as travel, specialist clothing/uniform and skills training.

The Foundation supports UK registered charities working specifically within the Liverpool City Region in the areas of Welfare, Youth, Community, Arts, Education and Health.

The Cumbria Community Foundation exists to benefit disadvantaged people and communities by making grants to support relevant charitable or voluntary organisations, which make a difference within their local area. Through the Thomas Milburn Fund for West Cumbria, the Foundation provides grants of up to £10,000 for community groups to relieve unemployment among those aged 17-28 in Copeland, helping them into education, training and work, including assistance to find employment by the provision of advice, training and skills courses and support.

The Cumbria Community Foundation exists to benefit disadvantaged people and communities by making grants to support relevant charitable or voluntary organisations, which make a difference within their local area. Through the Solway Fund, the Foundation provides grants of over £500 to enable children and young adults in the Maryport and Workington areas to develop skills that equip them for adult life.

The Cumbria Community Foundation exists to benefit disadvantaged people and communities by making grants to support relevant charitable or voluntary organisations, which make a difference within their local area. Through the Swales Trust Fund, the Foundation provides grants of up to £1,000 to support individuals who live and have a home address in Cumbria for education in the farming, forestry, game-keeping or horticultural industries.

The Cumbria Community Foundation exists to benefit disadvantaged people and communities by making grants to support relevant charitable or voluntary organisations, which make a difference within their local area. Through the Lawrence Fund, the Foundation provides grants of between £500 and £2,000 to support people in the study of horticulture or music, and, in particular, those studying music therapy, and young musicians in North Cumbria.

The Community Foundation for Lancashire exists to benefit disadvantaged communities by making grants to support relevant charitable or voluntary organisations, which make a difference to their local communities. Through the WO Street Transformation Fund the foundation provides grants of up to £5,000 to projects working to advance education and tackle poverty particularly for children and young people who are unable to meet their educational or living costs or projects for older people, blind people or disabled people, particularly those who cannot afford medical or convalescent care.

The Community Foundation for Lancashire exists to benefit disadvantaged communities by making grants to support relevant charitable or voluntary organisations, which make a difference to their local communities. Through the Dulverton Trust Fund the foundation provides grants of up to £5,000 to projects that address at least one of the Dulverton Trust’s priorities of youth opportunities, general welfare, conservation and preservation. The Fund will support a wide range of charitable activities and particularly aims to support projects that: Support local solutions to meet local needs; Promote community cohesion; Develop sustainable and supportive communities; Provide social and educational development opportunities for disadvantaged children and young people; Support the general conservation and protection of wildlife habitats; Preservation (particularly heritage skills).

The Cumbria Community Foundation exists to benefit disadvantaged people and communities by making grants to support relevant charitable or voluntary organisations, which make a difference within their local area.  Through the Cumbria Young People’s Fund (Individuals), the Foundation provides Individual Awards of up to £2,000 to disadvantaged young people in Cumbria by supporting academic study or the development of practical skills.  

The Community Foundation for Merseyside exists to benefit disadvantaged communities by making grants to support relevant charitable or voluntary organisations, which make a difference to their local communities. Through the Joseph Harley Bequest Fund the foundation provides grants of up to £500 to support young people to undertake projects or activities, where assistance from public bodies is not usually available. Applications for funding assistance will be considered for advancement of education and training of individuals, under the age of 25 who are residents of Formby.

The Community Foundation for Merseyside exists to benefit disadvantaged communities by making grants to support relevant charitable or voluntary organisations, which make a difference to their local communities. Through the Sefton Education & Learning Fund the foundation provides grants of up to £500 to advance the education of young people aged 25 or under, living in Sefton, and to benefit those groups or charities who provide an educational service or facility in the area.

The Community Foundation for Merseyside exists to benefit disadvantaged communities by making grants to support relevant charitable or voluntary organisations, which make a difference to their local communities. Through the WO Street Transformation Fund the foundation provides grants of up to £2,000 to projects which aim to advance education and tackle poverty particularly for children and young people who are unable to meet their educational or living costs or projects for older people, blind people or disabled people, particularly those who cannot afford medical or convalescent care.

The Cumbria Community Foundation exists to benefit disadvantaged people and communities by making grants to support relevant charitable or voluntary organisations, which make a difference within their local area.  Through the Beverley Charitable Trust Fund, the Foundation provides grants of up to £2,000 for individuals, and up to £10,000 for groups to raise educational attainment and career aspirations of young people in West Cumbria by enabling access to study or vocational training.

The Schroder Charity Trust is an independent grant-making Family Trust that has been supporting the charitable and voluntary sector for over 70 years.   The Trust makes grants in the areas of Arts, Culture and heritage; Environment and Conservation; Strengthening Communities; Education, Training and Employment; Health and Wellbeing.

The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust runs the Churchill Fellowships, a programme of overseas research grants. These support UK citizens from all parts of society to travel the world in search of innovative solutions for today’s most pressing problems.  The Trust will fund individuals to spend up to two months overseas, meeting experts, visiting projects and learning new ideas.

SHINE is an education charity that changes the lives of disadvantaged young people (4-18 years) from economically deprived areas.  Through the Ready for School programme, the Trust makes grants of between £20,000 and £100,000  to support children in the North of England make the best possible start to education in the Early Years.

The Newby Trust funds local, regional or national charities registered and operating in the UK within the broad categories of education, health and social welfare.  Through the Education programme the Trust provides grants of up to £10,000 to enable people to benefit from educational opportunities and to support excellence.

The Ironmongers’ Foundation wishes to support initiatives that encourage talented young people to study science subjects at school and go on to pursue engineering-related further education or vocational training.  Preference will be given to projects engaging young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Participants must be under the age of 25.  Activities must be within the UK, with a preference for urban areas outside London and particularly areas in the north and midlands with a manufacturing presence.

Hays Travel Foundation was created in 2015. The foundation works with organisations that support people, who for one reason or another need help to achieve their potential. The foundations focus is on the following objectives: Education; Poverty; Health; Art’s and Culture; Sport. Support is provided to registered charities working with young people under the age of 25 in an area where Hays Travel operates.

The Sutton Trust Summer School Programme is delivered in partnership with the US-UK Fulbright Commission and gives bright, state school students a taste of life at an American University. Applications are open to Students in Year 12 or equivalent who have an interest in US culture and higher education. The programme is centred on a one-week summer school in the US with introductory events and application support in the UK before and after. The programme provides participants with a wide range of activities to help them make the right decisions about American higher education and covers all programme costs, including residential events, accommodation and travel.

The National Lottery Community Fund's Youth Investment Fund will support voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) youth organisations to deliver, expand and create high quality local youth provision in targeted communities across England. Grants can fund current services and activities but priority may be given to organisations looking to expand existing services and develop new ones. Proportionate overheads are eligible, and up to £50,000 of the grant can be used to help with the refurbishment of existing youth facilities, the development of new ones, and the purchase of equipment.

The Royal Liverpool Seamen's Orphan Institution offers grants to help those families who have lost a seafaring parent. The Institution supports families by providing awards for the children throughout their education and can in some circumstances offer grants to mothers for the children's monthly maintenance, clothing, holidays etc.

Buttle UK provides packages of support worth up to £2,000 to young people who receive no support from their parents or guardians to help them to further their education or employment. To apply, the young person must have a clear education, training or employment goal that they are pursuing or want to pursue within 3 months of applying. Grants can provide direct financial support; help them to set up home and/or to improve their emotional, mental or physical well-being. Some of the essential items that may be funded are: Equipment to take up a training opportunity; interview clothes; a computer for study; travel costs to college; essential household items; recreational or social activities and counselling.

The Royal Institution and the Clothworkers' Foundation are offering UK schools grants of up to £800 to host a show, talk, workshop, challenge or other maths activity to supplement their students' classroom activities. Grants of up to £800 are being offered to eligible state-funded schools, academies and FE colleges to take part in an Enrichment and Enhancement maths activity from the STEM Directories. This is an exciting opportunity for students to take part in a mathematics activity and help integrate mathematics enrichment in school practice.

The Community Foundation for Lancashire (CFL) is one of 48 community foundations across the UK. The Foundation's aim is to provide funding for projects that will enrich the lives of people in and around Lancashire and through them create united, thriving and prosperous communities. Support generally falls under the broad heading of social welfare. Applications must demonstrate a strong case for support, have clear aims and objectives, and, wherever possible, the applicant organisation or project will be user led and make a real difference to people within the community. CFL is able to fund a wide range of capital and revenue project costs. Individual organisations, partnerships and young people aged 16 - 24 years can apply for support to a range of grant streams.

The Edge foundation is an independent education charity who believes that "learning by doing" should be valued equally with academic learning and that all learners should experience a mix of both. The Edge Foundation Innovation and Development Fund is a new £1million grant programme with the objective of supporting innovation and development within technical, practical and vocational learning. All applications for funding must address at least two of the following: support the creation of new institutions; support the development of profound employer engagement; address areas of skills shortages for the UK economy. Grant amounts vary by project but previous awards have been up to £100,000.

The Lawrence Atwell Charity offers grants to young people who would struggle to get training without some additional financial support to help them to gain skills and make their way into work. Applicants should be aged 16 - 26, be a British citizen, asylum seeker or refugee with parental income under £35,750 net per year. Grants towards vocational training can be made for accredited courses e.g. BTEC, NVQ, City & Guilds, for qualifications needed to work in a variety of settings or for Arts Foundation and Access courses. ‘First Step' courses for those with no formal qualifications can also be funded. Fees, travel and living expenses, equipment, essential childcare or other costs associated with study can be funded.

The Gilchrist Educational Trust is a grant giving organisation that runs the following grant programmes: Grants to Individuals - are available for students who have made proper provision to fund a degree or higher education course but find themselves facing unexpected financial difficulties; they are also available to students who are required as part of their course to spend a short time studying abroad. Grants to Organisations - are available to British organisations for projects that fill educational gaps or make particular aspects of education or learning more widely available. Grants to expeditions - supports a number of small or medium sized British expeditions to carry out research of a scientific nature in another country. Fieldwork Award of £15,000 - is a biennial award offered every even numbered year for the best overseas research proposal.

The Commercial Education Trust (CET) is an independent grant making charity which has to date made grants totalling more than £2.5 million in support of charitable projects promoting commercial education. The CET has a vision of a society in which people have the knowhow, skills and opportunity to succeed in work, thereby creating a thriving UK economy. Its aims are to work with charities and organisations to: embed in education at every level the means by which people can apply their learning to work; Equip people with the skills and commercial awareness to grow, develop and lead in business; Encourage individuals to be enterprising and innovative in their approach to business; Make a positive contribution to the development of effective commercial education and training.

The Trust has broad charitable objectives but it appears that some preference may be given to projects working with young people and children through education, and projects undertaking or supporting animal welfare. Although the Trust operates nationally preference is given to funding projects in Liverpool.

The Foundation aims to fund projects in social welfare, especially those focused on children and young adults. Grants can be made to individuals only in exceptional circumstances. Grants are made under the following headings. General Charitable Purposes ; the Relief of Poverty ; the Advancement of Education; and the Advancement of Religion.

The Prince's Countryside Fund gives grants to projects that have a positive impact upon rural areas. It is supported by a unique collaboration of businesses working together to secure a sustainable future for British agriculture and the wider rural economy. Funding of up to £50,000 is available for projects that improve service provision in rural areas; support rural enterprise; support farming businesses; and provide training opportunities for young people. The Fund provides grants of  to projects that are tackling key rural issues: Thriving Rural Communities: Rural Livelihoods: Farmers of the Future.

The object of the Alice McCosh Trust is to advance education by providing or assisting with grants for work or study related to natural history and/or the environment. It is anticipated that the Trustees will award a grant in the region of £600 to £1000. The grant could, for example, cover the cost of a school field trip or project, an expedition as part of a research project or the development of new teaching materials for schools or institutes of higher education.

The MacRobert Trust makes grants to registered charities in the areas of Services and Sea; Education and Training; Children and Youth; Science, Engineering and Technology; Agriculture and Horticulture; and Tarland and the Local Area. Grants can range between £1,000 and £50,000 and occasionally the Trustees make a recurring grant of up to three years. In addition a small grants programme facilitates awards of up to £10,000.

The David and Elaine Potter Foundation is a charitable family foundation established in 1999 to encourage a stronger, fairer civil society. It has granted more than £21 million to registered charities in the UK and abroad. The Foundation's funding is divided into two main categories: Education and Civil society. The trustees are interested in lasting social change, and in forming long-term partnerships with the organisations the Foundation supports. Grants in the past have ranged from several hundred pounds to grants of up to £2 million.

The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) exists to fund the development and evaluation of cost-effective and replicable projects that seek to improve the educational attainment of pupils who are eligible for free school meals.  The foundation then aim to scale up those which are shown to work best at narrowing the attainment gap between children from low-income backgrounds and their better-off peers. Please note that the EEF can only fund projects for the benefit of pupils and schools in England, including early years settings. EEF are, however, open to innovative ideas from overseas that are applicable to schools in England.

The Ray Y. Gildea Jr Award, offered by the Royal Geographical Society, supports innovative teaching and learning in higher and secondary education. It provides grants of up to £1,000 for projects that focus on geography, including research, development, or pilot projects that enhance education in this field.

The Skipton Building Society Charitable Foundation makes grants to registered charities that benefit children, through education and/or welfare, or the elderly. The type of activities that the Foundation is likely to fund include: Sensory toys and equipment for children with special needs; items to care for isolated and/or vulnerable elderly people; support of specially adapted equipment to be used by people with physical / mental / communication disabilities; apparatus for children with special needs; items or tangible social activities for Community Centres providing a benefit to many in the local community; and provision of tangible and social interaction activities for the vulnerable and/or isolated.

The RW Mann Trust is a grant making organisation that supports organisations in the North Tyneside, South East Northumberland and in the East Newcastle areas who are locally run and led, help people with the greatest need, involve disadvantaged and minority groups, improve the quality of life in their community and are in the public interest. Grants made have varied between regular annual contributions, small one-off donations and grants for capital projects. . Most of the beneficiaries in recent years have been youth groups (both uniformed and non-uniformed), children, people with disabilities, older people, schools, colleges, councils for voluntary service and other advice agencies. The Trust has made grants of between £500 and £5,000 but the average size of grant awarded is £1000.

The Ironmongers' Company aims to help people who are disadvantaged to improve their ability to make the most of life. Projects funded must focus on children and young people up to the age of 25, consist of educational opportunities that develop learning, motivation and skills and have clear objectives to be met within a planned timetable. The Company is particularly interested in enabling primary age children to develop a strong foundation for the future.  Grants are in the region of a few hundred pounds to £10,000. The appeals committee meets twice a year at the end of March and October. The deadlines for receipt of applications are 15 December and 31 July respectively.

The Joseph Rank Benevolent Trusts main objectives are to advance the Christian faith and to further any other objects or purposes which are exclusively charitable according to the laws of England and Wales in force from time to time. The Trustees have identified two main areas of interest, as follows: The adaptation of Methodist Church properties with a view to providing improved facilities for use both by the church itself and in its work in the community in which it is based. Projects that demonstrate a Christian approach to the practical, educational and spiritual needs of people. The funding amount is discretionary and applications received before the middle of February, May, August and November will be considered in April, July and October respectively.

The JJ Charitable Trust Grants main areas of interest are: Literacy - to help improve the effectiveness of literacy teaching in primary and secondary education for children with learning difficulties, including dyslexia, and for ex-offenders or those at risk of offending. Social and cultural change towards more sustainable lifestyles - creative approaches that visualise a sustainable future in positive ways and the role of the media in communicating about sustainability; environment projects overseas, especially community-based agriculture initiatives, which aim to help people help themselves in an environmentally sustainable way. The funding amount is discretionary, and applications can be submitted at any time.

The Hedley Foundation wishes to assist and encourage development and change. The main objective is Young people: their education, recreation, support, training, health and welfare. The subsidiary objectives are disabled people and the terminally ill: provision of specialist equipment and support for carers. Most successful grants will be of capital or one-off nature, but the Trustees sometimes agree to help fund the introduction of new and innovative projects with a series of up to 3 annual grants. Few grants exceed £5,000 (the average being £3,000) and most of them go to charities where they can make an impact. Applications can be submitted at any time.

The main objectives of Fidelity UK Foundation is to strengthen not-for-profit organisations primarily in regions surrounding Fidelity International's major corporate locations. Grants from the Foundation are designed to encourage the highest standards of management and long-term self-reliance in non-profit organisations. Taking an investment approach to grant making, they fund organisations where they feel they can add lasting, measurable value. They seek to support major initiatives that charitable organisations undertake to reach new levels of achievement. Grants are primarily allocated to the following sectors: Arts and culture, Community development, Education and Health. The Foundation currently directs the majority of its grants to locations in which Fidelity International has an office such as: Kent, Surrey, London as well as its office locations overseas. Applications can be submitted at any time.

Grants are available to support projects that increase the understanding and appreciation, particularly among young people, of the environmental, social, and economic potential of trees, woodlands and forests and of the link between the tree and everyday wood products. Eligible project costs include hire of people, for example, supply teachers, advice, training hire or purchase of materials, machinery or services and paying for printing and publicity for projects. There is also a special grant for development work. Only Forest Education Initiative Cluster Groups are eligible to apply.

The Princes trust is a charity that was established to help 16-30 year olds who are unemployed or struggling at school to transform their lives. The Development Awards programme are cash grants of £10 - £500 to help young people (16-30) get into education, training or employment. Examples of what can be funded include; tools or equipment for a job or qualification e.g. hairdressing kit, carpentry tools, chef's whites; course fees; interview clothes; license fees e.g. CSCS card (construction) or SIA license (security); childcare costs to help single parents access short term education; and transport to a new job until first pay cheque.

The Ragdoll Foundation's Main Grant scheme has been designed to support the cultural sector's work with children and young people. Resources and funding are directed through three strands with Main Grants supporting organisations working with children and young people using the arts and creative media. Preference is given to innovative projects that share the same values of imagination and creativity as the Ragdoll Foundation i.e. that demonstrate a deep commitment to listening to children and allowing the perceptions and feelings of children themselves to be better understood. The Foundation is mainly interested in applications that involve children during their early years, but appropriate projects for older children (up to 18 years) will also be considered.

The Goldsmiths' Company is one of the Twelve Great Livery Companies of the City of London. Funding is available for charitable works in the areas of  General Welfare, Medical / Disabled and Culture.  Where charities are members, branches or affiliates of an association, appeals are normally accepted from the governing body or head office only.  In the case of church restoration, block grants are made to the National Churches Trust and therefore appeals from individual churches will not normally be considered. Similarly a block grant is made to Children’s Hospices UK, and therefore appeals from individual hospices will not normally be considered.