Grant Directories

The Premier League Stadium Fund provides financial support to football clubs across various leagues to improve their facilities, with a focus on enhancing stadium infrastructure. The fund offers grants to clubs in the National League System (Step 1 to 6), Women’s Football Pyramid (Tier 1 to 4), and the English Football League. These grants aim to support clubs in improving their stadium facilities, ensuring they meet league requirements and enhance the matchday experience for fans. Since 2000, over 5,500 grants have been awarded, totaling more than £193 million, benefiting over 1,000 clubs.

The Premier League Defibrillator Fund aims to enhance safety at grassroots football facilities across the UK by installing Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) and storage cabinets at venues lacking these devices. This initiative, supported by the Premier League in collaboration with The Football Association (FA) and Sport England, and facilitated by the Football Foundation, plans to equip over 2,000 grassroots football sites with AEDs. The fund is expected to benefit an estimated 1.5 million users per season. It requires at least one individual from the benefiting organisation to complete The FA Education’s free online Sudden Cardiac Arrest course and register their AEDs with emergency services.

The Energy Support Programme assists football clubs and organisations in becoming more energy-efficient, addressing rising energy costs and promoting environmental sustainability.  The programme focuses on helping football facilities reduce energy consumption to save money and minimize environmental impact. It includes two funding streams: the Energy Fund for general energy efficiency improvements and the LED Floodlight Fund for upgrading to energy-efficient LED systems. Additional energy-saving tips are also provided to support organisations in reducing energy use.

The Football Foundation offers grants up to £25,000 to support the purchase of maintenance machinery and equipment for 3G pitches, ensuring they remain at peak usability for grassroots football. The grant is designed to equip eligible 3G pitches with the necessary maintenance machinery to maximise their use for affiliated league matches. The grant application requires your pitch to be on The FA 3G Pitch Register. Applicants must adhere to regular testing schedules and responsibly manage equipment following manufacturer guidelines.

The Portable Floodlights Grant by the Football Foundation offers grants of up to £25,000 for the purchase of portable floodlights to enhance training areas at grassroots football facilities. The grant aims to support grassroots football by funding the purchase of new or previously owned portable floodlights for training areas on artificial or natural turf. It is not intended for grass pitches used for match play, due to potential detrimental effects from overuse. The grant requires adherence to certain criteria and ensures floodlights are properly used and maintained.

The grant provides financial assistance for the purchase of secure storage containers for organisations where grassroots football is a core part of their offering. Eligible applicants can receive funding up to £25,000. 

The Goalposts Grant provides financial support for purchasing new or replacement goalposts for grassroots football. Grants of up to £25,000 are available to eligible non-profit organizations, including football clubs, local authorities, and educational establishments that serve the community. The grant covers specific types of goalposts and aims to enhance football facilities at the community level. The grant aims to support football clubs and related entities in acquiring goalposts. 

Love Rowing, British Rowing’s Charitable Foundation, provides grants to support rowing clubs, community organisations and charities that are working to make the sport of rowing more inclusive and to reach new and diverse communities across the UK. Grants of up to £3,000 are available to support organisations to get more people involved in rowing, create better awareness around the benefits of the sport, and make the sport more accessible. Preference is given to activities focused on children and the young, people with disabilities, ethnic minority groups, LGBTQ+ and socio-economically disadvantaged communities underrepresented in the sport of rowing. Rowing clubs must be affiliated with British Rowing.

Sport Wales is the national organisation responsible for developing and promoting sport and physical activity in Wales. The Be Active Wales Fund Progress Programme is intended to help progress sport and activity to the next step and support long-term sustainability. The Progress grant can also fund items that are essential for a return to play. This grant is intended to help clubs and organisations work towards three principles: Tackling inequality; Creating long-term solutions to be more sustainable; Taking innovative approaches.

The People's Postcode Trust is a grant-giving body funded by players of the Peoples Postcode Lottery. The small grants scheme distributes funds to small organisations, community groups and registered charities in Wales, through grants ranging from £500 - £20,000. The Trust funds projects that: Improve mental wellbeing; Enable community participation in the arts; Support marginalised groups and promote equality; Improve biodiversity & green spaces; Enable participation in physical activity; Respond to the climate emergency & promote sustainability; Increase community access to outdoor space.

Sport Wales is the national organisation responsible for developing and promoting sport and physical activity in Wales. The Be Active Wales Fund Prepare programme will provide financial support to help prepare clubs and community organisations or groups to restart, respond to, or grow participation, in direct response to Covid-19. Applications will be considered up to £50,000 (minimum £300) and should support expenditure on: Helping the club or organisation to re-open facilities so that people can take part. This could be putting in place measures to take part indoors or outdoors and follow social distancing rules; Resources that help the club or organisation meet Government and public health guidance on social distancing; Giving people the confidence to take part and encouraging members or participants to return to the club; Encouraging more people to take part; Capital works, such as improvements, adaptations, safety measures or innovations needed to buildings or facilities ...

Sport Wales is the national organisation responsible for developing and promoting sport and physical activity in Wales. The Be Active Wales Fund Protect programme has been developed to help community sport and physical activity organisations that are unable to meet their financial obligations. For example, for fixed costs that are no longer supported with revenue as a result of coronavirus. This might cover expenditure on: Rent; Utility costs; Insurances; Facility or equipment hire (where there is a fixed cost); Activities or costs that cannot be covered by Government funding sources.

Sport Wales is the national organisation responsible for developing and promoting sport and physical activity in Wales.  The Place for Sport funding scheme aims to provide grants to improve, protect or create new sporting facilities in Wales.

Localgiving has teamed up with the Postcode Community Trust to provide the Magic Little Grants programme. The fund provides small charities and community groups with grants of £500 for projects that meet either of the following themes: Overcoming barriers to participation in physical activities in creative ways; Increasing social cohesion through developing access to sports and other recreational activities. 

Enovert Community Trust (formerly Cory Environmental Trust in Britain) is an Environmental body which supports community and environmental projects. The Trust awards grants under the terms of the Landfill Communities Fund (LCF), providing funding to a broad range of projects that have a positive impact on local communities. The Trust is committed to supporting community and environmental projects across the UK. These include improving community halls, the creation of new play areas and skate parks, and restoring green spaces. Fundraising by applicants is looked upon favourably by the Trustees. Applicants will need to secure a 10% third party contribution which will be payable to Enovert Limited prior to the project commencing.

Viridor has committed to make £50,000 a year available for the Viridor & Prosiect Gwyrdd Community to support projects across Caerphilly, Cardiff, Monmouthshire, Newport and Vale of Glamorgan. This scheme will be funded for the next 25 years. Charities, and properly constituted not-for-profit groups, can apply for funding of up to £3,000 to deliver projects that positively impact their local community. Funding decisions are based on a set of criteria around sustainability, local need, community involvement, value for money and education and will be made at meetings held quarterly in the first week of March, June, September and November. The closing date for each quarter will be one month before the meeting.

Millward Charitable Trust makes grants to organisations involved with community buildings, facilities and open spaces, social welfare projects, for the performing arts, medical research and animal welfare.

The Central Social and Recreational Trust (CSRT) is a grant-giving organisation who aim to improve the conditions of life for those under the age of twenty one and of all other persons who by reasons of poverty, social and economic circumstances are unable to obtain facilities for recreational or other leisure time occupations . Funding of up to £1,000 is available to clubs/organisations which are affiliated to their governing body (such as the Amateur Boxing Association of England, National Association of Clubs for Young People etc.). Funding can be used for equipment to be used by all members, and maintenance of the property as long as it is owned by the club or has a significant lease. The majority of people who benefit from the grant must be under 21 years old.

The Veolia Environmental Trust is a Distributive Environmental Body that awards grants as part of the Landfill Communities Fund. Constituted, not-for-profit groups within the vicinity of a qualifying Veolia site, can apply for grants for projects that support the natural, social and built environment. The type of activities that can be supported include Community buildings and rooms: such as community centres, village halls, community spaces within religious buildings, Scout/Guide buildings; Outdoor Spaces: e.g. public parks, nature reserves, community gardens, footpaths, or cycle-paths; Play and recreation: e.g. play areas, skate-parks, sports facilities.The maximum grant is £75,000 for projects with a total cost of under £250,000.

Educational establishments; Grassroots football clubs and professional and semi-professional Football Clubs and their associated community organisations can apply for grants of up to £10,000 through the Premier League and The FA Facilities Fund Small Grants Scheme. The Football Foundation is the largest sports charity in the UK and through the scheme funding is available for the provision of capital items, or to refurbish/improve existing facilities. The scheme aims to support the growth of football clubs and activity, prevent a decline in football participation and to make improvements to facilities to address any health and safety issues. Funding is available for replacement of unsafe goalposts; portable floodlights; storage containers; changing pavilion/clubhouse refurbishment; grounds maintenance equipment; pitch improvement works (natural and artificial surfaces); fencing. Routine maintenance cannot be funded.

The Medlock Charitable Trust makes grants to organisations is the areas of Education &Training ; Medical & Health/Sickness ; Disability & Special Needs ; Accommodation & Housing; Arts & culture; Sport & recreation; Environment, Conservation & Heritage; and Economic, Community Development &Employment. Both primary and secondary schools in the eligible areas are able to apply.

The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) is a registered charity that advocates the conservation, use, maintenance, restoration and development of all inland waterways for public benefit. In support of its restoration objectives the IWA makes grants from its Restoration Grants Fund to organisations promoting the restoration of navigable or formerly navigable inland waterways in England and Wales. Applications from bodies promoting new navigable waterway routes will also be considered. Grants of up to £5,000 are usually available, although larger grants may be made by the IWA in exceptional cases. Smaller grants of up to £3,000 are usually the norm and grants of up to £2,000 are assessed under a simplified procedure. The IWA will not normally fund 100% of the project costs.

The Bruce Wake Trust is a grant giving organisation that was established to encourage and assist the provision of leisure activities for the disabled. The Trustees will consider grant applications related to the provision of leisure activities for the disabled but favour particularly applications whereby the potential beneficiaries meet one or all of the following criteria. The potential beneficiaries are physically disabled wheelchair users; Improved access for wheelchair users is proposed; and a sporting or leisure activity involving disabled wheelchair users is proposed. The trustees meet quarterly to discuss applications.

Schools, charities and community organisations can apply for grants for projects that improve the quality and prospect of life for children and young people who are disadvantaged physically, mentally or socially including those Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET). The grants available include capital projects such as medical treatment and recovery centres, sports and activity areas, sensory rooms and gardens, playgrounds and hydrotherapy pools as well as revenue grants to support outreach programmes for children in their communities.

The Canoe Foundation is a grant making trust which aims to ‘positively change lives through canoeing'. The foundations purpose over the next few years is to support all to enjoy and benefit from the experience of paddling on our water in a sustainable manner. They aim to do this by: Facilitating suitable launching and landing points to water and providing more opportunities for a modern diverse community to enjoy canoeing with improved facilities; Promoting and supporting the conservation of inland waterways, rivers, oceans and the environment whilst allowing water users to have an enjoyable and readily accessible experience.To acheive this the foundation is looking to support projects with grants of between £500 and £10,000 which create new or improved launching points in urban or rural locations or as part of a water trail, such as steps or pontoons; Incorporate better accessibility or facilities at waterside locations which might improve the parking or changing aspects of a s...