Grant Directories

The £150 million Community Ownership Fund, which is part of the government’s strategy to build back better from the Covid-19 pandemic, provides grants for communities throughout the UK to take ownership of local facilities, community assets and amenities at risk of closure such as pubs, theatres, post offices, sports grounds, parks and corner shops, etc. Voluntary and community organisations can bid for match funding of up to £250,000 to support the purchase and/or renovation costs of these assets. Expressions of interest can be submitted at any time. Successful applicants will be invited to submit a full application during a specified bidding window which will be announced in due course. The fund will run until 2024/25.

The McCarthy Stone Foundation awards one-off grants to grassroots and volunteer-led charities and community organisations, CICs and social enterprises that support the wellbeing of older people, the educational needs of young people and the urban regeneration of communities across the UK. Through the Small Grants Programme, the Foundation provides grants of up to £5,000 for projects that will make a difference to those who need it most in local communities, particularly those recovering from the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Joicey Trust makes grants for either revenue (including ‘core funding') or capital expenditure across a wide spectrum of projects to a range of local community groups and organisations. Grants generally range from £250 to £5,000. The Trustees also have limited funds available to assist individuals who are resident within the Trust's defined area of benefit with small grants for international development projects where the individual is sponsored by a charity

Longleigh Foundation Strategic Grants support the production of evidence-led research that can inform national policy, influence agendas, and improve best practice across the Foundation's areas of interest. The Foundation commissions or initiates projects in response to a need for information/intelligence in a particular area, or to influence a policy agenda and holds at least one Strategic Funding Round per year. Funded projects will have original and sector-wide implications.

The Department for Communities & Local Government has allocated an additional £32 million of new funding to the estate regeneration fund. As part of a new blueprint for regenerating deprived housing estates, Councils, housing associations and developers can now bid for a share of a total of £172 million of government investment to transform local neighbourhoods and deliver high-quality housing. The additional £32 million is available as grant funding and includes £2 million to help build commercial skills capacity in local authorities to deliver estate regeneration. This funding is available exclusively to local authorities and will be awarded to applicants with clearly demonstrable commercial skills gaps or lack of staff with previous regeneration experience.

Rosa's Woman to Woman Fund offers grants of up to £25,000 to local grassroots women's organisations across the UK. Grants are available for groups with an income of under £100,000 per year to support a wide range of charitable work that benefits women. Project themes can include, for example, building confidence and leadership skills, tackling harassment and violence, training in financial literacy and increasing engagement in decision-making. Rosa especially wants to support groups that work with disadvantaged communities or in disadvantaged areas. Grants can pay for core work, as well as mobilising volunteers, leadership development, communications and advocacy. As well as grants, Rosa will provide additional support that women's groups identify, including mentoring, training and networking opportunities.

Organisations that have a Community Directplus account with the Co-operative Bank can apply for funding from the Customer Donation Fund. Grants can be used to support special projects and fundraising activities. The fund grows in relation to the deposits made; for every £100 increase in collective deposits across Community Directplus accounts the Co-Operative Bank adds 20p to the fund and promises to distribute a minimum of £5,000 twice a year.

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.

Community Action Northumberland (CAN) is administering The Wingates Wind Farm Community Fund provides grants of approximately £30,000 per annum for the local community throughout the life of the wind farm.  Grants are awarded to a range of projects including improvements to village halls, play parks and sports fields, new facilities and extra curricular activities for schools and play groups, support for local fairs and cultural and sporting activities.

The Wilmcote Charitrust gives grants to Registered Charities and voluntary organisations working for the relief of poverty, sickness, old age and distress, the advancement of religion and education and such other charitable objects as considered appropriate by the trustees. Grants are made to a range of organisations including those whose work benefits ex-service personnel, medical charities, young person's charities, colleges and schools, religious charities and those that help the aged.

Two Ridings Community Foundation (TRCF) is one of 48 community foundations across the UK. The Foundation's aim is to provide funding that will directly address the needs of York, Hull, North and East Yorkshire's most vulnerable people and communities. TRCF encourages applications for activities that: Support particularly disadvantaged and marginalised communities; tackle challenging issues; encourage inclusive community activity and participation; respond to their communities' needs; engage people who face discrimination or disadvantage; produce a wide range of benefits and provide good value for money. A wide range of project costs may be funded including capital purchases and revenue costs.

County Durham Community Foundation (CDCF) is one of 48 community foundations across the UK. The Foundation's aim is dedicated to helping communities across County Durham to grow by creating opportunities and tackling issues of disadvantage and exclusion. Support generally falls under the broad heading of social welfare with grants specifically targeted in ways that will enable people and communities to fulfil their potential. The community projects supported will be working at a grassroots level to improve the vitality of their neighbourhoods. Projects might include training and skills development for the unemployed, environmental improvements, activities for children and young people or reducing the isolation of rural communities. Grants to individuals and families who are in need of some help are also available.

The Community Foundation for Tyne & Wear and Northumberland is one of 48 community foundations across the UK. The Foundation's aim is to provide grants and other support to groups and individuals by matching applications to donors' interests. The Foundation supports a wide range of people and causes across three broad themes: supporting people to overcome disadvantage, creating stronger communities and making the area a good place to live. The Foundation is particularly keen to help grassroots community groups and small-to-medium-sized voluntary organisations. Grants to large UK-wide charities are not normally made but may be considered where there are strong relationships in the Tyne & Wear and Northumberland area and the proposal has potential to achieve a substantial impact.

The Steel Charitable Trust is a grant-making trust supporting general charitable purposes. The trustees make grants where they believe that their contribution will make a real difference, grants are made to registered charities in the UK within the areas of; arts and culture; environment; health; education; disadvantaged. Grants are made at regular intervals during the year and the total level of grants is approximately £1,000,000, 30% of these grants will be made to organisations in the Luton and Bedfordshire area. Grants are generally made as single payments between £10,000 and £25,000.

Reaching Communities provide grants to help improve local communities and the lives of people most in need, including hard to reach communities. There is a small revenue and a capital scheme and a larger buildings only fund. All projects must address one or more of the following outcomes. People have better chances in life, with better access to training and development to improve their life skills;  Stronger communities, with more active citizens, working together to tackle their problems;  Improved rural and urban environments, which communities are better able to access and enjoy; and Healthier and more active people and communities.

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.