The closing date for applications is Friday 25th April 2025.
Funding
Scroll through our comprehensive list of funders below to find the help you need
Funding Opportunities
Funding Alerts and News for the VCSE Sector
Reach accepting applications to their funding pots
The trustees meet 3 times each year to review applications, so submit your form by one of the following deadlines – 28th February, 30th June or 31st October
REACH financially supports local groups, organisations and individuals aiming to make a lasting difference to people’s health and wellbeing by experiencing and enjoying the benefits of physical activity. We want to help people of all ages improve their physical, mental and social health, feel connected to their community and develop skills that will benefit them throughout life.
Up to £5000 is available to support projects based in Tyne & Wear, Northumberland, Durham, Middlesbrough, Redcar & Cleveland providing opportunities for others to MOVE MORE. Grants are split into two different funding options depending on the type of project you want support with: 1.
Get Movingand 2. Keep Moving.
Sea-Changers Coastal Fountain Fund 2025
We’re pleased to announce the launch of the 2025 Coastal Fountain Fund – now in its fifth year! The purpose of the fund is to reduce the impact of single-use plastic water bottles on coastal habitats by funding communities to purchase water drinking fountains and install them for public use in busy or environmentally important areas. Grants of up to £2,500 are available, per applicant, towards the cost of a fountain. We welcome applications from all types of not-for-profit organisations who have identified a need and are well-placed to get the stakeholder involvement needed to make the project a success. We particularly welcome applications from Wales, Scotland, East Anglia and Northeast and Northwest England as these areas have been under-represented in previous years.
The Austin and Hope Pilkington Trust – Round 2 2025
The deadline is Wednesday 30 April 2025
Revenue grants of £5,000 are available for UK charities with an annual turnover of over £1 million for projects that improve access and participation in the arts. The Austin and Hope Pilkington Trust operates a 3-year grant rotation system, with different areas of interest funded each year. Round 2, 2025 has just opened to applications for projects that improve access to the arts.
The Foundation will support the following priorities in 2025: Rounds 1 (up to £1,000) and 2 (up to £5,000) – The Arts: Improving Access. The focus will be on performing arts projects – theatre, dance or music – that improve audience access and participation. The Foundation will not consider applications from non-performing arts projects, or projects focussing on performers. The Foundation also won’t fund salaries for charity staff unless specifically employed for the project concerned.
Charities may only apply for one round per calendar year. The Trust has a tendency to prioritise the awarding of grants to UK charities that are known to the Trust. Charities that, at some stage, would like to apply for a grant could consider making themselves known to the Trust through a letter of introduction.
Funding for Activities to Improve the Lives of the Elderly
Applications can be submitted four times per year in January, April, July and October.
Small grants are available to fund projects to improve the lives of the elderly across the UK. Home Instead Charities awards grants of up to £1,500 to small, local registered charities and up to £500 to grassroots organisations for well-being events, activities or pastimes that prevent social isolation and loneliness amongst adults over 55. Eligible projects may include regular events such as a cinema club, knitting group, or lunch club; one-off activities like a day trip or Christmas lunch; or other initiatives such as yoga classes or guest speaker sessions. The Fund accepts applications four times a year. Applications can be submitted four times per year in January, April, July and October.
Leathersellers’ Foundation
The foundation operates two grant programmes for UK registered charities: Small Grants Programme (up to £5k) – one-off grants for small projects and Main Grants Programme (between £20 – £25k for up to four years) – targeted funding rounds, with grants available towards core costs to support charities working within the focus area of the active round.
The Main Grants Programme: Applications are invited from charities that work to prevent the occurrence of and/or support recovery from adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) by providing services to children and young people and/or adult survivors in recovery. The 2025 application round is open to expressions of interest from 26 March 2025 (10am) to 30 April 2025 (5pm). The foundation expects to make 15–20 multi-year grants.
Small Grants Programme: There will be eight application rounds, with submissions accepted on a first-come, first-served basis and the total number capped at 40 per round. The fund is a rolling funding programme. The next application window will open 31 March 2025 (10am).
Applications are made using the online application form on the Leathersellers’ Company website. The Small Grants Committee meets regularly to ensure charities receive a decision within a month of submitting their application.
Skipton Building Society Charitable Foundation to Reopen for Applications in March
The first funding round will open for applications on 3 March and close on 1 May 2025
The Foundation has announced it is reopening its grants programme in March 2025 with two new focus areas through which it aims to drive social impact. The focus going forward will be to help people experiencing hardship and/or underserved groups within the UK to: Access a place to call home and Improve financial wellbeing.
For both focus areas, priority will be given to charities supporting people in the top 50% of the UK Index of Multiple Deprivation. The Foundation is also making other changes: Only UK registered charities established for at least three years, with three or more trustees and whose work has direct benefit to people within the UK can apply; the maximum grant will rise from £6,000 to £10,000 this year; the Foundation will consider funding core costs, project costs, and small capital contributions that support its focus areas;
The online application form will be available once applications open.
Army Benevolent Fund Opens for Applications
The application window for the June Grants Committee is now open until 2 May.
The Army Benevolent Fund has a well-established and substantial grants programme of support to charities and organisations that provide lifetime support to soldiers, veterans and their immediate families. We can fund up to 100 charities in a given year which deliver support on behalf of the Army and ourselves.
Small Grants for Summer Projects to Support British Families in need
The current deadline for applications is 5 May for decisions in mid June 2025
Through its Community Grants programme, the family run bakery business Warburtons provides a limited number of grants of up to £400 four times a year. Applications are currently being accepted for projects starting this summer. Not-for-profit organisations with charitable purposes that are based and working in England, Scotland or Wales can apply as long as their projects are addressing one of Warburtons’ priority areas: Health: supporting families to care for each other and lead healthier lives – Improving physical health; Improving wellbeing. Place – supporting families to flourish in communities that are safer, greener and more inclusive: Making spaces safe and inclusive; Connecting communities with the environment. Skills – supporting families to gain useful skills for life and work: Developing useful life skills; Developing useful skills for employment.
Grants can be used to cover specific costs that will benefit the cause (eg, purchasing equipment to support an employability project). Applications are considered quarterly.
Funding to Help Disadvantaged Groups to Improve their Communication Skills (UK)
The current deadline for first stage applications is 5 May 2025.
Grants of up to £5,000 are available for UK registered charities for specific projects that improve communication skills for disadvantaged adults and supports NEET people into employment.
The funder views communication skills as critical capabilities for people who want to improve their employment prospects, self-confidence, resilience, and life chances. The funding is for registered UK registered charities with an annual turnover of between £25,000 and £500,000 that are working to develop communication skills for people from disadvantaged groups who want to improve their employment prospects. Beneficiaries must gain at least one accredited vocational qualification during delivery.
New funding round for community energy resilience in North East England
This current grant round will be open to applications until 11 May 2025
Northern Powergrid Foundation has opened its next round of community energy resilience funding, making grants of up to £20,000 available to communities in the Northern Powergrid region. This is the foundation’s fifth grant round. It is aimed at community organisations who want to improve their community’s energy resilience, offering a warm and safe space during extreme weather events and power cuts. The Foundation offers grants of up to £20,000 for energy resilience projects twice a year.
Trading for Good Community Business Programme Opens for Applications
The deadline for applications is 14 May 2025 (12noon). Online information sessions will be held on 8 April (12:00 to 13:00) and 7 May (16:00 to 17:00).
The School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) provides this free business development learning programme with a match trading grant of up to £4,000 to support locally rooted community businesses in England to become stronger and more sustainable. This free learning programme will be a mix of online and four in-person sessions. The programme will run from 20 October 2025 to 31 July 2026.
Applications will be accepted from leaders of an early stage community business. This could be a charity, a Community Interest Company (CIC), a company, community benefit society or other group, which is led by and working for a local community in England. To be eligible, applicants must be based in England with an income of less than £100,000 per year, established within the last one to five years and plan on starting or growing the income it makes from trading. Applications are encouraged from organisations led by women, young people aged 18-35, racially minoritised communities, disabled people, LGBTQ+ people, people with lived experiences of the issues their businesses seek to address and leaders working in areas of multiple deprivation. The programme also wants to ensure geographic representation from across England.
Organisations accepted onto the programme will receive a match trading grant of up to £4,000. The first £800 will be awarded up front. The remaining four instalments of up to £800 will be given over the year matched against the participant’s increased trading.
Hinrichsen Foundation is offering multi-year grant partnerships for organisations and charities across the UK for projects and activities that focus on the performance, commissioning, or recording of contemporary music. In this round, funding is exclusively for multi-year partnerships that align with The Hinrichsen Foundation’s values and objectives for contemporary and experimental music; establish stable and valuable contributions to the UK’s new music ecology; provide or create shared resources that benefit the wider new music community; demonstrate and promote effective practices that balance quality and diversity in production and reception; Outline a clear potential impact on the contemporary music scene in the United Kingdom. Partnerships should aim to achieve at least regional, if not national, impact; express a clear programme of activity and project timeline, parameters, and outputs.
Proposals should involve thoughtful collaboration between composers, musicians, and those responsible for making the project public. Applications that take artistic risks, promote diversity, and consider sustainability are encouraged.
Funding to Support Rural Communities Across the UK
The next deadline for applications is 23 May 2025
NFU Mutual Charitable Trust is offering grants for organisations working in agriculture, rural development, and insurance across the UK to deliver projects and activities across one or more of the Trust’s main objectives:
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To advance the education of the public using research and the dissemination of information concerning agriculture.
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To advance the education of young people within rural areas.
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To relieve poverty within rural areas.
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To promote the benefit and social welfare of inhabitants of rural communities by associating together with the inhabitants and local authorities, voluntary and other organisations to advance education and leisure.
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To promote research into agricultural-associated activities.
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To advance the education of the public using research and the dissemination of information concerning insurance.
Priority will be given to larger initiatives that would have a significant impact on rural communities, as well as initiatives in the areas of education of young people in rural areas, relief of poverty within rural areas, and support for the next generation of farmers. Funding is at the discretion of the Trust. However, most grants fall within the range of £1,000 to £50,000. Trustees met twice a year to consider applications, typically in June and November.
Lloyds Bank Foundation’s Racial Equity Programme Opens for Applications
The closing date for applications is 29 May 2025
This programme is for small local charities and CICs which are led by and working with people who are experiencing economic inequity because of their race or ethnicity. Under this programme we will support charities to strengthen their capacity and capabilities and become more resilient through a range of tailored development support offers alongside a three-year unrestricted grant of £75,000.
Health and Wellbeing in Museums Fund
This fund will open for applications on 28 April 2025, with a submission deadline on 26 June 2025. Applicants will be notified of any decisions made in late September 2025
This fund aims to support the development and continuation of groundbreaking health and wellbeing programmes in UK museums during a time of financial crisis and increasing demand for services. Around ten grants of between £50,000 to £75,000 are available per funding round.
This fund will enable Museums to build on their existing leading health and wellbeing work. The application process is as follows: Potential applicants must complete a short online eligibility quiz; Eligible applicants will then be able to book a conversation with Museums Association to discuss their idea; Applicants who then meet all the essential criteria and excel in at least one of four criteria for success will be invited to complete a full application.
Guidance notes and an online eligibility quiz will be available when this fund opens.
New £5m Fund to Support Community Regeneration of Historic Buildings in Town Centres Across England
The programme will be delivered by the Architectural Heritage Fund and will run from 1 April 2025 until 31 March 2026. The online portal to register Expressions of Interest for the Heritage Revival Fund opened on 1 April 2025
Communities across England can now apply for a share of almost £20 million to help care for historic buildings and heritage sites in their local area, ensuring that everyone, everywhere feels proud of where they live. The new £4.85 million Heritage Revival Fund is currently accepting applications for projects that will help to rescue and repurpose neglected historic buildings, like theatres, department stores and former banks. It will do this by supporting community organisations, charities and social enterprises to take ownership of these sites, transforming them into vibrant spaces that meet local needs.
National Lottery Community Fund Announces New Priorities for Reaching Communities Fund
Application deadline ongoing
This funding will help strengthen communities and improve lives across England. Our priority is the places, people and communities that need it most. By ‘community’ we mean people living in the same area. Or people with similar interests or life experiences, even if they do not live in the same area.
Our priorities are to fund projects that support places, people or communities experiencing poverty, disadvantage or discrimination and support people and communities to shape the decisions that affect their lives.
Your project must achieve one of our missions, which are to support communities to come together, through inclusive places, spaces and activities (either physical or virtual). Especially for communities where people are least able to come together; help children and young people thrive, by developing positive social and emotional skills; be healthier, by addressing health inequalities. And helping prevent poor health; be environmentally sustainable. By engaging with climate issues and having a positive environmental impact. And improving access to quality natural spaces.
Funding starts at £20,001 but most applications we fund are for less than £500,000. After our updates to Reaching Communities on 1 April we expect continued high demand. This means you currently have a lower chance of getting funding than usual.
Funding to Support Disabled Children and Children with Life-Limiting Conditions Across the UK
Applications can be submitted at any time.
Grants of up to £10,000 are available for registered charitable organisations with an annual income of less than £350,000 across the United Kingdom to deliver projects that work to improve the lives of disabled children and young people up to the age of 25, children and young people with life-limiting conditions, and their families.
The True Colours Trust Small Grants Programme will support projects such as activities for disabled children, children with life-limiting conditions and their families; activities which support siblings of disabled children or siblings of children with life-limiting conditions; bereavement support for children and young people and families bereaved of a child; family and parent-led peer support for parents of disabled children; respite which supports the whole family.
Priority will be given to organisations that operate in areas of high deprivation. Eligible costs include renovation work, upgrading, and additional equipment for hydrotherapy pools and multi-sensory rooms, minibuses, and specialised play equipment or access to play for disabled children, children with life-limiting conditions and their families.
Gosling Foundation Accepting Applications for Royal Marines, Youth and Health Projects Across the UK
Applications can be submitted at any time
Gosling Foundation is offering grants starting from £5,000 for charities, charitable incorporated organisations (CIOs), and community interest companies (CICs) across the UK with an annual income of less than £30 million to support a variety of projects and activities that align with the Foundation’s objectives. The Foundation will support projects that align with the following aims: Royal Navy and Royal Marines – to improve their quality of life; Youth – provide opportunities and support for disadvantaged young people; Education – opportunities and support for people.
Grants can be used for project costs (for projects that directly impact beneficiaries); capital projects eg new buildings, extensions, refurbishment, and recreational spaces; IT projects, moving services online, setting up helplines, etc; Equipment and furniture; Salaries (for positions that directly impact beneficiaries); Events that directly impact beneficiaries.
The trustees tend to only part-fund projects. Applicants are encouraged to raise funds from a variety of sources. Single and multi-year grants are available.
Grants to Reduce Isolation and Loneliness Among Older People Across Great Britain
Applications can be submitted at any time
Barchester Healthcare Foundation is offering grants of up to £2,500 for small community groups and local charities across England, Scotland, and Wales for projects that help reduce isolation and loneliness, promote group activities, and generally improve mobility and quality of life for older people and adults with physical, learning, or mental disabilities.
Funding is intended to help small community groups and local charities with the following: Activities; Equipment and materials for use by members; Member transport; Day trips, outings, and group holidays in the UK.
Priority will be given to innovative projects that help older people and those with a disability to get active, meet people, and reduce isolation. Funding is for small and local groups, and groups with financial reserves of over £150,000 are unlikely to receive support.
Material Focus’s Electricals Recycling Fund Opens for 2025 Applications
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis
Material Focus, an independent not-for-profit organisation whose mission is to stop electricals from being hoarded and thrown away, is once again offering grants to communities across the UK to reuse and recycle small household electricals. A total of £750,000 is available to support two types of projects:
- Growing existing services – grants of up to £100,000 for projects that grow existing collection methods for small electricals.
- Innovating new methods – grants of up to £50,000 to come up with new approaches to repair, reuse and/or recycle electricals, for example, collection points at large offices/campuses, drop-offs at post offices, major supermarkets, large shopping centres, retail parks, collection of waste electricals using the return journey/spare capacity during collection/delivery of parcels, or projects that support tackling the growing concerns around digital inclusion.
A range of registered organisations can apply, including charities, local authorities, waste partnerships, private waste contractors, other private companies, and compliance schemes. Material Focus will provide successful applicants with project management support.
Womble Bond Dickinson Foundation Community Grants
Applications accepted at any time
The Womble Bond Dickinson Foundation is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation established by Womble Bond Dickinson (UK) LLP in April 2017. Their charitable objectives are broad and open to changing. The Foundation is focusing on the following themes for their 2024/25 cycle: Climate action and environmental protection, LGBTQ+ inclusion, supporting inclusion of individuals from ethnic minority backgrounds, Increasing women’s opportunities in life and work, Disability and neurodiversity inclusion, and Mental health and wellbeing support.
They accept applications from registered charities across the UK, although will generally prioritise projects operating within their local communities. The maximum one-off grant size is £5,000.
Parkinson’s UK Physical Activity Grants Open for 2025 Applications
Applications are open and will be accepted until all of the funding has been allocated.
Our Physical Activity Grants programme is open for the 5th successive year. Following a record year in 2024, we hope to offer even more funding opportunities for activity providers across the UK, and to help more people living with Parkinson’s to get active.
Projects must run for a minimum of three months and a maximum of 12 months and must start within three months of receiving the grant. The funder is planning to provide specific grants to support physical activity projects for people with Parkinson’s from marginalised communities and underrepresented groups. Further details are expected later this year.
Parkinson’s UK will be hosting the following free ‘Meet the Funder’ webinars:
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19 March 25 (10:00 – 11:00)
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8 April 25 (14:00 – 15:00)
Registration is required and can be done via the funder’s website.
Funding to Tackle Hunger Amongst Young People
Schools and other not-for-profit organisations can apply for grants of up to £1,500 for projects and activities that help children across the UK have a stronger start in life. Priority is given to initiatives that provide food and support to young people. These grants assist schools and organisations in offering nutritious food, healthy activities that promote physical and mental wellbeing—such as breakfast clubs or snacks—and equipment for healthy pursuits. Every three months, three local good causes or projects are selected for the blue token customer vote in Tesco stores throughout the UK, with grants awarded based on the number of votes each project receives. The funding is being made available through the Tesco Stronger Starts Programme, which is managed by Groundwork across the UK and is working with greenspace scotland to support applicants in Scotland.
Trusthouse Charitable Foundation small grants
This is a rolling programme and there are no deadlines
The Trusthouse Charitable Foundation has small grants of between £2,000 and £10,000 to be used for core costs, salaries, running costs, and project costs. You can apply for a maximum of 50% of the total cost of the project. They do not fund capital projects. They will prioritise projects that address the challenges of local communities, with a preference for front-line organisations working directly with people in need. They are unlikely to support campaigning, organisational development, capacity building, or new work that is a marked shift away from your usual business unless they consider this work to be logical. You can apply if: Your organisation’s postcode falls within the following on the Indices of Multiple Deprivation; Your project has a focus on community support; Your annual income does not exceed £250,000; You can start spending our grant within 1-2 months of receipt and You are embedded in your local community. Please note that they do not fund Community Interest Companies (CICs).
Network Rail Community Tree Planting Fund – Applications now open for 24/25 planting season
No deadline
The Tree Council and Network Rail are once again working in partnership to deliver a programme of community tree planting between 2024 and 2030. This fund aims to support community tree-planting projects that are well-planned, sustainable, and will directly benefit people and communities. £2,500 – £15,000 available. Charities, Schools, CICs, Parish/Town and Community Councils, Community Groups and Tree Warden Networks
Grants of up to £2,000 for Projects Tackling Loneliness Amongst Older People and Adults with a Disability (England, Scotland and Wales)
There are no deadlines, and applications can be submitted at any time.
Grants of up to £2,500 are available to charitable organisations for projects that tackle loneliness amongst older people and adults with a disability. The funding made available through Barchester’s Charitable Foundation offers these grants to support projects that connect or re-connect people with others in their local community. This could include activity projects, equipment and materials, member transport, and day trips. The foundation also offers grants of up to £1,000 to help individuals with mobility issues. Grants can purchase wheelchairs, scooters, bikes, or car adaptations.
Grants for Practical Forestry and Arboriculture Training (England)
There is no deadline for applications, however, funding for courses is limited and interested parties are encouraged to apply early.
Through this programme, grants are available to support individuals who are looking to undertake forestry and arboriculture training courses to learn new skills and develop their career. Forestry short courses cover topics including coppicing and chainsaw maintenance, and broader learning on managing woodland, such as: Planning and planting a new woodland; Deer stalking; Marketing and selling timber; Fencing and hedge laying. Arboriculture short courses cover topics including Aerial tree pruning, Branch removal and crown reduction and Assisted felling and tree surveying. Grants can cover 100% of the training costs for short, practical forestry and arboriculture courses. Funding will be paid directly to the training provider. Applications are welcome from people who are looking to develop new or existing skills in forestry or arboriculture in England.
Boost Charitable Trust
There is no deadline, you are welcome to apply at any time. Please note, that decisions may take up to three months
The Boost Charitable Trust aims to fund and support inspiring programmes that help improve the lives of people who are disabled and disadvantaged through the power of sport. Small grants of up to £750 are available to charities or non-profit making organisations with a focus on sport. You will need to submit a short application on two sides of A4 that gives your organisation details, information on your project and the amount of funding require alongside a budget. Applications should be sent to Sarah Johnson at sarah.johnson@boostct.org.
New Funding Programme to Encourage People to Get Active (England)
Applications can be made at any time.
Sport England has launched a new fund to encourage more people to get active. The Movement Fund, worth £160 million over the next four years, will offer crowdfunding pledges, grants and resources to provide physical activity opportunities for the people and communities who need it the most. Eligible projects could receive up to £15,000 to cover a wide range of costs and items that will help deliver positive change, particularly for those facing barriers to activity, such as people on lower incomes, disabled people, older people, and people from culturally diverse communities. Applications can be made at any time by sports clubs, charities, schools, local authorities and other not-for-profit organisations looking to deliver projects that promote physical activity, including active travel, walking, cycling, dance, fitness and sporting activities.
British Gas Energy Trust
Applications can be made at any time.
Debt relief grants are available to both British Gas customers and customers of other energy suppliers. If you are struggling with domestic gas and electricity debts owed to British Gas or other suppliers, you can apply for a grant to clear that debt. The Trust funds advice-giving organisations across the UK which help people avoid the burden of energy debt, make informed choices and improve their money management skills
Funding Available to Involve More People in Tackling Climate Change
You’ll be able to apply until Spring 2025. They will announce the final deadline nearer the time
One of the UK’s largest grant making programmes dedicated to tackling climate change, is set to close in early 2025. With over £20 million in funding available, the National Lottery’s Climate Action Fund – Our Shared Future programme supports community-led initiatives that integrate climate action into the everyday lives of local communities. Eligible projects may include using other community engagement activities such as the arts and sports to tackle climate change, policy influence, and innovative approaches to involving underrepresented groups in tackling climate change. Grants range from £500,000 to £1.5 million, with a few larger projects considered. Up to 25 projects will be funded, and applications must come from partnerships, including a mix of organisations, such as charities, not-for-profits, and public sector bodies.