Grant Directories

The Devon Community Foundation aims to improve the quality of life of disadvantaged people in the community by investing and distributing funds to community-based voluntary groups on behalf of a wide range of donors. Through the Community Grants fund the foundation provides grants of up to £2,000 to enable small, local, grassroots organisations across Devon to support, encourage and develop thriving communities. The following funding themes will be considered: Assisting Families in need; Bringing people together; Developing life skills; Enabling disabled people; Encouraging safety and resilience; Helping people find and keep a home; Keeping people safe and well; Offering training and work opportunities; Promoting access to arts, culture and nature.

Sussex Community Foundation (SCF) is one of 48 community foundations across the UK. Through the Little Cheyne Court Wind Farm Fund the foundation provides grants of up to £7,500 to local community organisations and voluntary groups, including social enterprises, based within a ten-kilometre radius of the site that are undertaking environmental, educational, community and charitable activities.

The Ocado Foundation is the charitable arm of Ocado Group, working for the benefit of communities across the UK. Through the Ocado Foundation for Good programme, the Foundation provides grants of up to £1,000 to charities, community organisations, community interest companies, academic institutions, and local authorities for community projects which focus their efforts on three core areas: skills for the future, natural resources and responsible sourcing. 

The Trusthouse Charitable Foundation is a grant making foundation that give grants to small and medium sized local organisations in the UK with a demonstrable track record of success working to address local issues in communities of extreme urban deprivation and deprived rural districts. Through the small grants programme the foundation provides funding of between £2,000 and £10,000 to charitable organisations with an income of less than £250,000 for projects that focus on Community Support. Examples of the kind of projects that can be funded include: CommunityServices; CommunityCentres; Alternative Education; Training, mentoring, employment and volunteering opportunities; Youth; Counselling; Family Support Services; Substance Misuse.

The Herefordshire Community Foundation 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 Odey Fund the foundation provides support to charitable organisations active in the fields of education and youth development for the age range of 16 to 25 years. Priority is given to organisations with an established track record and a sound sustainability model. Grants are also given to help charitable organisations enhance opportunities and alleviate hardship across the ages.

The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Community Foundation 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 Portsmouth City Community Fund the foundation provides funding of up to £5,000 to support a wide range of beneficiaries including young people, older people, health & disability, medical research and general community projects for Portsmouth City residents.

Voluntary or community organisations in the Severn Trent Water region are eligible to apply to the £10 million Severn Trent Community Fund for funding to increase community wellbeing.  This includes support for projects that help people to lead a healthier life and gain new skills; help to create better places to live in and use; and Projects that will help look after the natural environment, give people greater access to that environment or help look after water.

The Integrated Communities English language programme aims to enhance the English language skills of people living in communities where there is a high proportion of people speaking little or no English. A total of £6 million is available between 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2020. The aim is to help integrate non-English speakers by building their confidence to engage outside their immediate community and mix with people from different backgrounds alongside improving proficiency in English. The funding is available to partnerships and consortia of training providers operating ...

The Voctech Impact Fund aims to raise the skills level of the UK workforce through digital solutions for vocational learning. The fund will offer grants of £150,000 plus, for projects up to 18 months long. The emphasis of the project must be on new learning tools which use genuinely innovative methods to raise the skills levels for a significant number of learners.

As part of BT's Community Fibre Partnerships programme eligible communities in the final 5% of the UK not covered by fibre broadband rollout plans can apply for a match-funded grant of up to £30,000 toward the cost of their new fibre infrastructure where that new infrastructure could also serve their local school. Community Partnerships must first register to find out if they are eligible to apply.

Dorset Community Foundation is one of the delivery partners of Comic Relief's Local Communities programme. Through the programme, grants of between £1,000 and £5,000 are available to support projects that will empower local people and enable them to create lasting change in their communities. Projects should be run by people directly affected by the issues they are dealing with and priority will be given to small, locally based groups or organisations in areas of disadvantage that have a clear understanding of the needs of their community. Organisations can apply for funding to improve people's life skills, education, employability and enterprise; maximise people's ability to strengthen community cohesion and build social capacity; and advance people's physical and mental health, wellbeing and safety.

The Thomas Wall Trust offers grants up to £5,000 towards specific projects or core activities that support literacy, numeracy, digital and additional skills for learning that are likely to assist employment prospects. The Trust recognises that the future of the labour market will become increasingly competitive, with employers placing greater emphasis on transferable skills.

The Jill Franklin Trust is a grant making organisation which supports five areas: Self-Help groups - advice, training, and employment, to support people with a mental illness or learning difficulties , and their carers (parents etc.); Organisations helping and supporting refugees and asylum-seekers coming to or in the UK; The restoration (not "improvement") of churches of architectural importance and occasionally to other buildings of architectural importance, the church should be open to visitors every day; Local schemes to help prisoners to resettle, or to inhibit delinquency; Bereavement counselling. The Trust has about £80,000 a year to spend, however grants are typically between £500 and £1000. Applications may be submitted at any time.

The Sir John Fisher Foundation is a charitable trust; it supports charitable causes particularly in the six categories of Maritime, Medical and Disability, Education, Music, Arts and Community projects in and around Barrow-in-Furness. In the local area community projects involving sick, disabled, children, education, family support, maritime, arts and music will receive priority. Funding is available for both capital and revenue, there is no general limit to the grant for any one project but most grants given are for less than £20,000; urgent grants for up to £4,000 may be considered between trustees meetings which are held twice a year in May and November.

The British & Foreign Schools Society (BFSS) offers charitable aid to educational projects in the UK and around the world. Grants will be made for education or training and priority will be given to projects which widen educational access and opportunity and reduce the barriers to achievement, in keeping with the Society’s vision to maximise educational opportunity for all. Applications are expected to address needs for which resources from the state-sponsored education system are not available or adequate. Priority will be given to projects in areas of deprivation or educational disadvantage. This may include areas that have suffered some form of natural disaster. BFSS also has a priority programme to support looked after children and young carers in the UK.

UnLtd is the leading provider of support to social entrepreneurs in the UK and supports individuals who have their social ventures firmly rooted in delivering positive social change. It operates a unique model by investing directly in individuals and offering a complete package of resources; from awards of funding to ongoing advice, networking and practical support. UnLtd resource community entrepreneurs to start-up; support those with more established social ventures to scale up; and are committed to developing an eco-system of support to make it easier for those who need help to find it. UnLtd offers a number of programmes with varying levels of funding and support. Please refer to the funder's website for details.

The Quartet Community Foundation is an independent charity that supports small, community-based charities and voluntary groups in the West of England (Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset & South Gloucestershire) whose work benefits local people. The Foundation gives grants to a broad range of causes and welcome applications from both new and established groups. The Foundation runs its own grants programme called the Express Programme which awards grants of up to £5,000. The Foundation also manages a range of other grants programmes with their own priorities, criteria and closing dates.

Community Foundations support community and voluntary sector activity through grants to local groups and organisations. There are 48 Community Foundations of different sizes within the UK. Although all Community Foundations operate according to common criteria, they vary in terms of size and nature of grants available. Some Community Foundations will fund both organisations and individuals whilst other foundations will only fund organisations. Each community foundation covers a specific geographic area and will not normally be able to support work outside its area.