Grant Directories

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 Bedfordshire and Luton 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 Whitbread Plc. Chairman’s Fund the foundation provides grants of up to £5,000 to small local charities and community groups based in the South Bedfordshire area with projects fitting the three themes of the fund: Skills and Inclusion;The reduction of rural social isolation; Community Cohesion.

The Bedfordshire and Luton 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 London Luton Airport Operations Community Trust Fund the foundation provides grants of up to £10,000 to community groups/charities in Central Bedfordshire, North Herts District, Stevenage, Dacorum, St. Albans District and Eastern parts of Aylesbury District with projects that address the following key priorities: Health & Wellbeing - Mental Health Services and therapies (preventative); Healthy lifestyle – Physical Health / Mental Health and Developing meaningful skills - Young people, under the age of 30; Life and work skills for employment.

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.

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 Milton Keynes Community Foundation makes grants to local voluntary and community groups. They seek to invest in projects that will offer a positive impact on the lives of people living in Milton Keynes and have a special interest in projects that are led and driven by local people, as well as projects that utilise partnerships between different organisations. A range of grants are available: Micro grants - funding of up to £200; Small Grants - funding of up to £1,500; Community Grants - funding of up to £5,000; Extraordinary Grants - amounts vary and are at the funder's discretion.

The Buckinghamshire Foundation is an independent registered charity dedicated to promoting charitable activity in the County; since the foundation started in 2000 they have provided grants and loans totalling £5 million to 1600 community groups. The Buckinghamshire Foundation specialises in making awards to organisations which are formally constituted, not for profit and operating for the benefit of Buckinghamshire residents. Support is available for new and existing projects, core running costs and capital expenditure such as equipment and building modifications.

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.