Funding Opportunities in December

Calisen Impact Charitable Trust

About Us: We fund charitable initiatives that champion sustainable energy solutions and foster inclusive, safe, and diverse educational and work environments.
Criteria: This Manchester based charity offers grants to UK registered charities based and working in England, Scotland or Wales. The funding will support the costs of projects that align with the Trust’s core objectives which are:
Youth Empowerment,
Children’s Play and Safe Spaces – supporting schools, youth clubs and programmes that actively reduce social exclusion, improve physical and mental wellbeing, and equip young people with life and employment skills through hands-on engagement.
Hospice and Palliative Care – support for projects that complement and enhance the essential work of hospices, focusing on initiatives that improve comfort and dignity for patients and families. (Core clinical operations or NHS-run hospices are not eligible).
Community-Based Social Benefit Projects – support for initiatives that strengthen local communities through direct support, such as food banks, befriending schemes, accessible transport services, or improvements to shared facilities that promote inclusion and wellbeing.
Community-Led Environmental Action – support for hands-on projects that enhance local environments and foster community wellbeing, including but not limited to tree planting, habitat restoration, community gardens, and the creation or improvement of outdoor spaces designed for public use.
Net-Zero and Energy Efficiency Projects – invests in infrastructure for charities whose core mission aligns with one of the other funding priorities that drives immediate carbon reduction – including but not limited to solar panel installations, heat pump systems, and retrofit schemes – with demonstrable environmental and cost-saving benefits.
Grant Size: up to £10,000
Deadline for applications: 31st December 2025

Radcliffe Trust

About Us: The Radcliffe Trust supports music, heritage and crafts.
Criteria: Grants for not-for-profit groups, and exempt organisations across the UK to support projects in the areas of music or heritage and crafts.
Grant Size: up to £7,500
Deadline for applications: 31st January 2026

Heathrow Community Take Off Fund

About Us: The Heathrow Community Take Off Fund (HCTOF) supports part of our ‘Giving Back Programme’ which sets out our goal to make the areas around Heathrow better places to live.​
Criteria: HCTOF funding will be allocated to support projects delivering:​

  • ​Health & Wellbeing​
  • Community Collaboration & Inclusivity​
  • Environmental Improvement​
  • Children/ youth, learning & development​
  • Legacy projects that support communities for years to come​

If you have a community project that would benefit from Heathrow funding, based on the above criteria, please contact communityrelations@heathrow.com
Grant Size: Not stated
Deadline for applications: Rolling programme

Schroder Charity Trust

Following a strategic review of the Schroder Charity Trust’s grant-making programme, we are only considering applications for work under the following two objectives:

Objective (1): Enabling children and young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds to thrive and achieve their potential in education and employment.

Objective (2): Strengthening communities through services and opportunities which enhance the wellbeing and life outcomes of vulnerable and disadvantaged people.

The Schroder Charity Trust typically makes grants of up to £5,000. We fund both core costs and project (restricted) costs. Grants are for a one-year period and not over multiple years.

Deadline: The eligibility questionnaire and application form for the next application window will go live at 9am on the 1st October 2025 and the window will remain open from 1st October – 30th November 2025. We anticipate making decisions on grants within four months of the application window closing. Application window dates for 2026 will be published on the Schroder Charity Trust website by the 31st December 2025.

The Kelly Family Foundation

The Kelly Family Charitable Trust is a grant-giving body founded in 2004 by members of the Kelly family.

We’re interested in funding charities whose activities involve all or most family members, where possible, in initiatives that seek to tackle problems facing one or more of its members. We’ve funded charities working in fields including early intervention, mediation, prison services and services for families affected by sexual abuse, physical abuse and domestic violence, among others.

We generally offer grants worth up to £5,000 – though trustees will consider requests for higher amounts. We’re happy to fund charities’ core costs and we encourage applications from relatively new charities to help them become established.

The trustees take a close interest in the progress of the charities they support, and projects shortlisted for grants will be contacted by the trust’s grants administrator Stuart Armstrong, or a trustee. The Trust only make grants to organisations whose activities take place within the UK.

The trust has decided to prioritise its funding in favour of charities whose activities involve all or most family members where possible, in initiatives that support and encourage the family to work as a cohesive unit in tackling problems that face one or more of its members. The objective is to reinforce the benefit and support that family members as a unit can give to each other.

The three areas of activity that the charity wishes to support are:

Interventions that support families and help them in ways that prevent the fracture of the family unit, eg practical family support, relationship counselling, mediation
Families where sexual abuse, physical abuse, domestic violence, alcohol abuse and drug abuse threaten the integrity of the family unit
Prisoners and in particular their families, during and after the period of imprisonment
The trust prefers to support charities whose income is below £500,000. However, larger charities with pioneering pilot projects will be considered.

The trust will consider both capital and revenue grants. The trust is happy to support requests for core funding as well as project-based grants, and actively encourages applications from relatively new organisations to help them become established.

Community and Shared Transport Grants Available From the Motability Foundation

The Motability Foundation are currently accepting applications for their Community and Shared Transport grants. These are intended to help community transport providers make an immediate impact in their local area by developing, expanding and improving transport options for disabled people.

Available over a period of one to three years, grants can be used to address local needs and challenges by organisations that have been active for at least three years.

There are two different grants available depending on the level of funding required:

Small Grants

1- Suitable for small community transport operators.

2- Requests can be up from the value of £50,000 to £149,999 to help cover the costs of staff, vehicles & their associated costs, as well as training.

Apply for a Small Grant

Large Grants

1- Suitable for medium-large community transport operators

2- Requests can be up from the value of £150,000 to £1 million to help cover the costs of staff, vehicles & their associated costs, as well as training.

Apply for a Large Grant

Applications must be received by 23 December 2025.

Funding for Charities Working with Older People Programme

This initiative aims to support UK-registered charities and local authorities that provide care and services for older individuals, particularly those with neurodegenerative conditions or experiencing social isolation.

The grant focuses on capital projects that enhance the quality, accessibility, and sustainability of services.

Eligible organisations must be UK registered charities or local authorities. If applicable, they should have at least a ‘Good’ rating from a regulator such as the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Projects should also aim to increase the financial sustainability of the organisation.

Applicants can request grants ranging from £25,000 to £75,000.
Applications deadline : Applications follow a two-stage process. The deadline for Stage 1 applications is 5 January 2026. Organisations invited to proceed will have until 1 March 2026 to submit a full application.

Arts Council National Lottery

Arts Council National Lottery Project Grants is our funding programme for arts, museums and libraries projects.

The programme supports a broad range of high quality creative and cultural projects that benefit people living in England.

Projects can range from creating and delivering creative and cultural activity to projects which have a longer term positive impact, such as organisational development, research and development, and sector support activity.

We aim to broadly reflect the diversity of England through the grants we make.
Applications are open for the £30,000 and under strand of our National Lottery Project Grants programme. We’re currently using alternative online systems to support you in making your application. All questions remain the same in our new process, and the guidance below can support your preparation.

Deadline: Submit your full application, ensuring that you use the link at the bottom of this webpage. We’ll get back to you with a decision within 12 weeks of your submission date for applications submitted from 3 November, or within 10 weeks for applications submitted before 3 November. For applications we receive between 20 December 2025 and 4 January 2026, when our offices are closed, the turnaround time will be 14 weeks.  

The Calisen Charitable Trust

We’re committed to supporting projects that deliver maximum impact with minimal waste. We believe that small, well-targeted grants can unlock significant change, especially when driven by organisations that know their communities best.

That’s why we look for:

  • A well-defined problem and a practical solution
  • Direct action with clear, measurable outcomes
  • A commitment to social or environmental benefit through physical delivery; not through education or awareness alone
  • Efficient use of funds with transparent reporting of the impact achieved
  • Tangible and direct interventions with clear and immediate benefit

We want every pound we invest to stretch as far as possible – creating real impact for people, places, and the planet.

Our funding priorities are geographically targeted across Great Britain, with a particular focus on where Calisen operates and where our employees live. This approach ensures our support is rooted in the communities we know best. The fifth category, Net-Zero & Energy Efficiency Projects, is open to eligible charities across Great Britain, provided their core mission aligns with one of the other four funding areas.
The Trustees will accept applications for funding based on their alignment with the Charity’s core objectives which are detailed as follows:

Youth Empowerment, Children’s Play & Safe Spaces

  • Supporting schools, youth clubs and programmes that actively reduce social exclusion, improve physical and mental wellbeing, and equip young people with life and employment skills through hands-on engagement.
    Hospice & Palliative Care
  • We fund projects that complement and enhance the essential work of hospices, focusing on initiatives that improve comfort and dignity for patients and families. We do not fund core clinical operations or NHS-run hospices.
    Community-Based Social Benefit Projects
  • Enabling initiatives that strengthen local communities through direct support, such as food banks, befriending schemes, accessible transport services, or improvements to shared facilities that promote inclusion and wellbeing.
    Community-Led Environmental Action
  • Funding hands-on projects that enhance local environments and foster community wellbeing, including but not limited to tree planting, habitat restoration, community gardens, and the creation or improvement of outdoor spaces designed for public use.
    Net-Zero & Energy Efficiency Projects
  • Investing in infrastructure for charities whose core mission aligns with one of our other funding priorities that drives immediate carbon reduction – including but not limited to solar panel installations, heat pump systems, and retrofit schemes – with demonstrable environmental and cost-saving benefits.

Maximum Grant Available: £10,000 per project.

The Ironmongers Charity

The Ironmongers’ Company wishes to support projects that provide opportunities for disadvantaged children and young people to fulfil their potential.
​​
We are looking for projects that deliver clearly defined educational benefits to a specific group of children or young people. Projects could, for example, support special educational needs, or foster social, emotional or life skills. Preference will be given to projects piloting new approaches where the outcomes will be disseminated to a wider audience.

Grants range from £3,000 up to around £10,000. Preference will be given to requests where the grant would cover a significant element of the project costs (at least 50%) and to applications from smaller charities.

Grants must be spent within twelve months from the date of the award.

Recipients are expected to submit a written evaluation report within three months of the completion of the project.

Grants are only given to registered charities. We do not give grants to community interest companies.​

All of the criteria must be met. Projects must:

Have a commencement date after 31 October 2025 (Spring 2025 round) or 30 April 2026 (Autumn 2025 round)

Be for children and young people under the age of 25 who are disadvantaged

Consist of educational activities that develop learning, motivation and skills

Have clear aims and objectives to be met within a planned timescale

Be carried out within the UK.

The National Churches Trust’s Medium Grants Programme (UK)

About Us: Protecting church heritage.
Criteria: To listed and unlisted Christian places of worship, of any denomination, across the UK towards project development and investigative work up to RIBA planning stage 1, to support churches preparing for a major project, and in developing their project to the point at which they can approach a major grant funder.
Grant Size: Up to £10,000
Deadline for applications: 16th December 2025

Friends of the Elderly

About Us: Friends of the Elderly provides grants to older people living on low incomes.
Criteria: To support vulnerable older people living on low incomes in England and Wales. The funding which is being made available through the charity Friends of the Elderly assists individuals and couples who are of or over the state pension age, have savings of less than £5,000, and do not meet the criteria for other funders. The funding aims to assist with various needs such as purchasing a new fridge, paying unexpected bills, obtaining food and clothing, or covering gas and electricity costs. To apply for these grants, individuals must submit their applications through a third-party Referral Agent. Acceptable Referral Agents include charities, local authorities, housing associations, community organisations, Information, Advice and Guidance providers, as well as social services representatives.
Grant Size: up to £600
Deadline for applications: Rolling programme

Calisen Impact Charity Trust

About Us: We’re committed to supporting projects that deliver maximum impact with minimal waste.
Criteria: The Trustees will accept applications for funding based on their alignment with the Charity’s core objectives which are detailed as follows:
Youth Empowerment, Children’s Play & Safe Spaces

  • Supporting schools, youth clubs and programmes that actively reduce social exclusion, improve physical and mental wellbeing, and equip young people with life and employment skills through hands-on engagement.
    Hospice & Palliative Care
  • We fund projects that complement and enhance the essential work of hospices, focusing on initiatives that improve comfort and dignity for patients and families. We do not fund core clinical operations or NHS-run hospices.
    Community-Based Social Benefit Projects
  • Enabling initiatives that strengthen local communities through direct support, such as food banks, befriending schemes, accessible transport services, or improvements to shared facilities that promote inclusion and wellbeing.
    Community-Led Environmental Action
  • Funding hands-on projects that enhance local environments and foster community wellbeing, including but not limited to tree planting, habitat restoration, community gardens, and the creation or improvement of outdoor spaces designed for public use.
    Net-Zero & Energy Efficiency Projects
  • Investing in infrastructure for charities whose core mission aligns with one of our other funding priorities that drives immediate carbon reduction – including but not limited to solar panel installations, heat pump systems, and retrofit schemes – with demonstrable environmental and cost-saving benefits.
    Grant Size: £10,000 per project
    Deadline for applications: Rolling programme

With thanks to Wokingham & Bracknell InVOLve, West Berkshire Volunteer Centre and Slough CVS for the information contained in this article.


Funding Opportunities in November

WCIT Grants

About Us: Our purpose is to use the power of tech for impact through digital inclusion, education, charitable, and public engagement initiatives across the entire UK.
Criteria: Available for educational establishments and constituted not-for-profit organisations across the UK to support IT projects and activities.
Grant Size: up to £15,000
Deadline for applications: 6th February 2026

The Gardens Trust

About Us: The Gardens Trust offers a grant scheme for volunteer projects supporting historic designed landscapes.
Criteria: For volunteer-led projects that support historic designed landscapes across the UK. Provided through the Gardens Trust Community Grants programme, the funding helps volunteer groups promote the conservation, understanding, and enjoyment of these landscapes, which can include historic parks, gardens, and cemeteries. Intended as seed funding, the grants aim to help kick-start or develop initiatives such as restoration planning, establishing Friends groups, conducting research, or delivering volunteer training schemes.
Grant Size: up to £8,000
Deadline for applications: 14th November 2025

Places of Worship Protective Security Scheme

About Us: Apply for security to protect places of worship and associated community centres.
Criteria: The Home Office is offering funded security measures (like CCTV, alarms, and secure doors) to places of worship and faith community centres in England and Wales that are at risk of hate crime. The scheme covers installation and one year of maintenance.
You can apply to the scheme if you are a:

church
gurdwara
temple
faith community centre (linked to a place of worship and host regular, active worship)
other place of worship
You will also need to be a registered charity (or exempt from registering as a charity).
Grant Size: Not stated
Deadline for applications: 8th December 2025

The Paddle Trust

About Us: We support the Clear Access Clear Waters campaign to improve sustainable places to paddle on UK waterways and coastline.
Criteria: Applications will be accepted from a range of organisations, including paddle clubs, community groups, charities, parish councils, and local authorities. We offer grants for projects across the UK that:

Increase or enhance existing public access points to water for all forms of paddlesport.
Create launching and landing sites, to and alongside water, for all sectors of the community and all abilities, that are designed to be durable and use sustainable materials when applicable.
Protect and enhance natural blue spaces such as rivers or coastline.
Grant Size: up to £10,000
Deadline for applications: 17th December 2025

Arnold Clark Community Fund

Our Communities Support is available to organisations who provide services which are widely accessible to those within our local communities and address the needs of the people living within them, supporting our local communities to a better future. Arnold Clark Foundation will decide on the amount given to successful applicants, up to £2,500.

Most organisations are eligible to apply, and we particularly welcome applications from smaller voluntary and community organisations who are working within our local communities. Please ensure you read and understand the below eligibility criteria before submitting an application.

We welcome applications from:

UK-registered charities.
Local community groups.
Social enterprises.
Community interest companies.
Groups of organisations that are community or voluntary-led.
Charitable incorporated organisations.
The following times show which categories will be open when:
Category 1 – December – Accommodation aid, food and utility banks, poverty relief and equal opportunities

Category 2 – November – Youth groups and clubs

National Lottery Awards for All England – Environment

Grants are available for voluntary and community organisations, schools and local authorities in England to carry out community-led projects that improve the environment and help people connect with and enjoy nature where they live.
Applications deadline: 17 December 2025.

Naturesave Foundation

Theme: Biodiversity
In 2022, the UK committed to protect at least 30% of land and sea for biodiversity by 2030 (30×30). Expanding and improving protected areas helps nature recover and creates healthier places for people—clean air and water, resilient soils, beautiful green spaces, and greater climate resilience.

Biodiversity underpins the processes that support all life on Earth. Without a wide range of animals, plants and microorganisms, we cannot have the healthy ecosystems we rely on for the air we breathe and the food we eat.

We’re inviting applications from charities, community groups, and organisations boosting biodiversity via:

Pollinator plans
Habitat restoration
Hedgerow management
Wildlife gardens
Pesticide alternatives
Conservation volunteering
Education
Influencing local councils
Citizen science
Community wildlife surveys
Got a fresh idea we haven’t listed? If you have a completely new approach to encouraging nature connection, we’re all ears. We offer grants up to £5,000.

Deadline: 12 noon on 27th November 2025

Englefield Charitable Trust

You do not need to apply on a special form but it would help us very much if you can answer the following questions as succinctly as possible in your application email. We receive hundreds of applications a year. We look at each one on its merit but we cannot wade through long and complicated applications, glossy brochures or sets of accounts.

A summary is respectfully requested. You will also appreciate that it is not possible for us to acknowledge receipt of every application or to notify unsuccessful applicants. We favour applications for projects either based in, or active in, Berkshire, together with certain areas of Hackney and Inverness-shire which are also connected with the Englefield Estate.

Grants are given entirely at the discretion of the Trustees. The criteria are broad and include education, sport, community, social welfare and medical support, churches and faith groups, agriculture and conservation, heritage and the arts and the armed forces.

Capital grants are preferred but revenue grants will be considered. Grants are generally between £500 and £5,000 and commitments are generally on a one-off basis rather than spread over a number of years.

Garfield Weston Foundation

The Foundation support a wide range of charities that make a positive difference, working in different sectors in the UK. These include welfare, youth, community, environment, education, health, arts, heritage and faith. They fund small local organisations and large national institutions. Grants range from £1,000 to several million pounds, depending on each charity’s size and scope of work. The grants can be for your organisation’s running costs, for a specific activity or for capital projects. The Foundation are flexible and fund what charities need the most. Normally, capital grants are no more than 10% of a total project cost. However, for local community projects (e.g. village halls, community centres, places of worship, etc.), grants are unlikely to be over £30,000 regardless of the project size. If your organisation wants to apply for £100,000 or over, they expect your annual income or project to be over £1 million. What we fund – Garfield Weston Foundation

Matthew Good Foundation

Grants for Good Fund Grants are available for local community groups, charities, voluntary groups and social enterprises in the UK for projects that have a positive impact on communities, people, or the environment. https://www.matthewgoodfoundation.org/grantsforgood

Information courtesy of Slough CVS, Volunteer Centre West Berkshire and Wokingham & Bracknell InVOLve.


Funding Opportunities in October

Skipton Building Society Charitable Foundation

Grants are available to UK registered charities for charitable work in the UK that helps people experiencing hardship and/or underserved groups to access a place to call home and to improve their financial wellbeing.

Application deadline: 31 October (17:00)

Cash4Clubs Opens for UK Applications

Unrestricted grants are available for community and voluntary sports groups across the UK and Ireland, delivering activities for a social purpose to under-represented communities.
Application deadline: Applications are accepted from 8 September 2025 to 8 December 2025.

Take the Lead Community Grants

Grants are available for community groups across the UK to deliver a standalone project, event, or series of activities exploring how data can support health and wellbeing in their communities.
Application deadline: The deadline for applications is 13 October 2025 (17:00) with notification of decisions by end of November 2025.

Scops Arts Trust

A limited number of grants are available to charities across the UK for new high quality projects that provide opportunities for people from all backgrounds to access, enjoy and participate in the arts.
Application deadline: The deadline for stage 1 applications is 9 December 2025.

Henry Smith Foundation – Christian Grants Programme

Grants are available to churches and charities for projects that support the wellbeing of Anglican clergy within the UK to ensure they remain healthy and effective in their ministry.

Ninevah Trust

About Us: The Nineveh Charitable Trust supports a broad range of UK-based projects and activities of benefit to the General Public, with an emphasis on promoting better understanding of the countryside.
Criteria: For UK Schools, PTAs and not for profit organisations that run projects promoting a better understanding of the environment.
Eligible projects include:

Environmental education schemes such as forest schools, farm visits, and nature trails;
Conservation and biodiversity initiatives;
School farms and tree planting programmes;
Activities that improve access to the countryside for young people/disadvantaged groups.
Grant Size: £3,000–£5,000
Deadline: Rolling programme

National Garden Scheme – Community Gardens Grants

Grants are available for community groups in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to create a garden or similar project with horticultural focus for the benefit of their local community.
Application deadline: 20 October 2025 (12 noon).


John Rayner Charitable Trust

Grants are available for smaller charities with a lower public profile undertaking general charitable activities in England.
Application deadline: 31 January 2026

Cumber Family Charitable Trust

Grants are available for grassroots organisations in Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Developing Counties working in the areas of housing and welfare, children, youth, education, medica, disability, environment and overseas.

Arts Council England – Supporting Grassroots Music Fund

Grants are available to support the transition of artists, bands and industry professionals in England to sustainable careers in music, as well as the development of new audiences.
Application deadline: This is a rolling programme

The Andy Thompson Foundation

We look to make grants to small charities involved in helping disadvantaged people, whether this be as a result of poverty, illness, being disabled or substance abuse. As we are a small charity, our focus will be on one off capital needs.

We like to visit the organisations that we help and as we are based in the South East of England we will tend to choose charities in the Home Counties although not exclusively.

There is no minimum grants size you can request. However due to the amount of funding available our maximum grant size is currently £2,500.

Deadline: Rolling

Health Data Research UK – Take the Lead Community Grants

Community groups across the UK can apply for between £500 to £1500 to deliver a standalone project, event or series of activities exploring how data can support their health and wellbeing in their communities between January – March 2026. Importantly, the application must be led by and embedded in community organisations primarily working with at least one of the following under-served audiences:

People from low socio-economic backgrounds
People from minority ethnic backgrounds
Older children and young adults aged 11–25 (especially in areas of deprivation)
People over 65 (especially in areas of deprivation)
People living in rural areas (defined as settlements of fewer than 10,000 people in England and Wales, fewer than 5,000 in Northern Ireland, and fewer than 3,000 in Scotland)
People experiencing digital exclusion
We’ll be looking for community-led proposals that take a responsive, inclusive and creative approach. Examples could be a community step challenge, data-inspired arts and crafts, or a project to help gather trustworthy data to advocate for a community’s health and wellbeing needs. Community groups know their audiences best – we want to enable them to take the lead, providing support and guidance if needed.

Deadline: 5pm (BST) on 13 October 2025.

The Linnean Society – Our Local Nature Grant

The Our Local Nature Grant scheme is designed to provide young people with an opportunity to take the lead on projects that involve their local nature and natural spaces, to aid young people in realising their influence to affect positive change, to have their voices heard, and see their ideas come to life.

We therefore fund innovative projects that are designed and led by young people in the UK.

Adult applicants should develop their proposal alongside young people and the projects should seek to empower local young people to enact changes they want to see, such as increasing access to natural spaces and improving understanding of their local biodiversity.

The maximum award is £1,000 per proposal. We welcome and encourage applications for significantly lower amounts – in the last two years we have funded a wide spread of projects ranging from £150 to £1,000. The Society is happy to co-fund any project with other organisations.

This grant is purposefully broad and welcomes novel ideas. Some examples of possible proposals could be: running a school festival about nature; painting community murals showcasing biodiversity in the area; building a community garden; creating a nature walk; hiring a speaker to come and talk about local foraging.

Deadline: Midnight 25 October 2025

Architectural Heritage Fund

We are pleased to launch a new grants programme for England – the Heritage Revival Fund.

The Heritage Revival Fund has been created to help communities across England rescue and repurpose neglected historic buildings. This programme will focus on regenerating historic buildings in town centre locations.

It will do this by supporting community organisations to take ownership of, adapt and reuse the local heritage assets that matter to them, transforming them into thriving spaces that meet their needs.

This grants programme has been made possible with funding from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and Historic England, and forms part of the government’s wider £270 million investment in arts and culture.

Project Viability Grants: We are currently offering grants of up to £15,000 to support early-stage work on historic building projects. These grants should help you to establish whether a project is viable. Work will probably focus on understanding the condition of the building, how it might be used, and whether that intended use is appropriate for the building and likely to be sustainable.

Project Development Grants: We are currently offering grants of up to £100,000 to support development work on historic building projects. Please note that the average grant is likely to be £70,000 – £80,000. Project Development Grants can contribute towards the costs of developing and co-ordinating your project and taking it towards the start of work on site. To qualify, an organisation must have established that the end use of the project is likely to be viable and have decided to take the project forward.

Deadline: 13 October 2025 for a decision in December 2025

Triangle Trust

About Us: We give grants to community organisations supporting those in need.
Criteria: The grants are for smaller community organisations that are led by women and whose beneficiaries are 100% women and girls for work that is taking place with young women and girls aged between 11 and 30 who have been in the criminal justice system or who are at a high risk of entering it. There is particular interest in applications that work with:
Girls who are either outside of education or are at risk of being excluded from school
Projects that run activities for girls who are vulnerable to becoming involved with gangs (these projects might run in evenings, weekends or through school holidays)
Projects that provide peer mentoring providing role models to girls and young women who are in crisis and need support
Work that goes into schools and other community settings to raise awareness of the risks to girls of exploitation and links to criminal justice outcomes.
The Trust is keen to receive applications from organisations working with young women and girls who are care-experienced, neurodiverse, outside education or close to exclusion, have known involvement in gangs or county lines or are from Black or minoritised/racialised communities.
Grant Size: up to £10,000
Deadline: 20th October 2025

Schroder Charitable Trust

About Us: The Schroder Charity Trust is an independent grant-making family trust which supports charitable activities.
Criteria: The Schroder Charity Trust typically makes grants towards core and project (restricted) costs to charities registered in the UK. Applications for work only under the following two objectives will be considered:
Enabling children and young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds to thrive and achieve their potential in education and employment.
Strengthening communities through services and opportunities which enhance the wellbeing and life outcomes of vulnerable and disadvantaged people.
Grant Size: up to £5,000
Deadline: Opens 1st October, closes 30th November 2025

The National Lottery – Awards for All Environment

About Us: We fund community-led projects that improve the environment and help people connect with and enjoy nature where they live.
Criteria: Suitable for: Voluntary, statutory or community organisations. You can use the funding to:
start a new activity or continue an existing one
help your organisation adapt to new challenges
run one-off events that have a clear environmental benefit.
Grant Size: £300 to £20,000 for up to two years
Deadline for applications: 17th December 2025

Berkshire Community Foundation Surviving Winter

About Us: With the cost of living crisis continuing to put pressure on charities, we recognise that organisations need more support than ever to manage rising costs and keep vital services running through the colder months.
Criteria: Funding from this round can only be used to help with energy bills to ensure organisations can stay open and continue serving their communities this winter.
Priority will be given to organisations supporting the most vulnerable, including:

  • Babies and children
  • Young people
  • Older people
  • People with disabilities
  • Those with life-limiting illnesses
  • Grant Size: up to £2,500
    Deadline: 10 am on 30th October 2025


Home Instead Charities

About Us: Home Instead Charities’ mission is to end loneliness for ageing adults. The organisation exists to bring happiness and joy into the lives of Britain’s ageing population so that ageing adults are thriving, not just surviving.
Criteria: Funding to support local community events that enhance and enrich the lives of people over the age of 55 to combat loneliness and sometimes isolation, ensuring they stay fit, active, healthy and connected and contributing to their local communities. Small grass roots organisations and small local registered charities can apply. The funder will only fully fund a grant request where the applicant holds no more than three months operating costs in reserve.
Grant Size:
Grants of up to £500 for small grass roots organisations.
Grants of up to £1,500 for small local registered charities.
Deadline: 31st October 2025

Common Ground Award

About Us: The UK government’s £1.7 million Common Ground Award aims to recognise good practice across England, in promoting social cohesion, by directly investing in organisations making a positive impact.
Criteria: Voluntary, community and social enterprise sector organisations that are working to bring people together from different backgrounds will be able to apply for capital grants for community facilities and equipment.
Grant Size: up to £10,000
Deadline: Opens on 13th October 2025 and closes on 21st November 2025

Tesco Stronger Starts

About Us: £5m grant scheme launched by Tesco to support schools and children’s groups with funding for food and healthy activities.
Criteria: The grants will help schools and children’s groups provide nutritious food and healthy activities that support young people’s physical health and mental wellbeing, such as breakfast clubs or snacks, and equipment for healthy activities.
Grant Size: up to £1,500 available – organisations are chosen by Tesco’s customers via their blue token scheme.

Wokingham United Charities (Wokingham)

Christmas Cheer Grant Programme Now Open!

We’re delighted to announce that our Christmas Cheer! Grant Programme is back for its fourth year! This initiative provides a token contribution to local charities, community groups and organisations supporting individuals and families experiencing hardship over the festive season.

About the Christmas Cheer! Grant

For many, Christmas can be a difficult time without the means to enjoy gifts, a festive meal or a seasonal outing. The Christmas Cheer Grant helps spread joy and creates special moments for those who might otherwise miss out.

Grants can be used to fund festive activities such as:

Providing Christmas gifts
Hosting a festive meal or celebration
Organising seasonal outings and events
These small but meaningful contributions bring warmth, community, and the magic of Christmas to people who need it most.

Who Can Apply?

We welcome applications from local charities and organisations that support people living in poverty across the Wokingham Borough. If your work helps ensure more people can enjoy the spirit of Christmas, we encourage you to apply.

Deadline: Applications close at the end of the day on 12th October 2025.
The Grants Committee will be meeting on 21st October to review applications.
We aim to share the outcomes with applicants by 24th October.

Seed Corn Grants – The National Archives

Seed Corn Grants offer between £500 and £5,000 to support early-stage, exploratory projects that spark new ideas and approaches to community engagement with heritage.

These grants are designed for community groups, Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums (GLAM) or other heritage organisations looking to test concepts, build partnerships, or pilot activities.

There will be two funding rounds. The current round closes on 28 November. A second round will then open on 2 February and close on 17 April 2026.

Energy Resilience Fund – Power to Change

The Energy Resilience Fund is an initiative assisting community businesses in retrofitting their buildings with energy-saving measures. The programme is funded by Power to Change and delivered by Key Fund.

Investment amounts are available from £10,000 to £150,000. Up to 40% of the total is available as grant, where justifiable to support cost stabilisation or reduction. The minimum loan term for the remainder is 12 months, with a maximum of 7 years.

Energy Audit Grants are also available between £500 and £2,500 where these have not been completed.

Contains content from Volunteer Centre West Berkshire, Wokingham & Bracknell InVOLve, Slough CVS and Rural Services Network online.


Affordable Rural Housing Project

 by Maria Kelly, Rural Housing Enabler

We are delighted to be able to begin using a brand-new data tool to help us identify and understand affordable rural housing need in Berkshire parishes.  The Rural Affordable Housing Needs Model tool (RAHNM for short) was created for us by Arc4 Housing Consultancy . The tool draws on 2021 census data and live housing register data – completely anonymised –  to model supply and demand, and type of homes and information about those groups most likely to be in need in a given parish.  This data can be used alongside a Housing Need Survey and beforehand, to identify where we need to focus our work.

The RAHNM tool has been used to report to the Government on rural affordable housing need across England. It is being used successfully in Durham where Rural Housing Enablers there are able to create simple reports to show parish councils what the housing need is likely to be in their parish.   Rural Housing services in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire are currently working on RAHNMs for their respective areas.

We are still gathering housing data from five Local Authorities in Berkshire, but we can already use the census data to build a picture of need in Berkshire Parishes. We recently shared some of this data with Compton Parish Council, and it was clear that it supported what their recent housing need survey found as well as providing additional information.

Later this Autumn, once we have received the relevant housing data from our Local Authority Partners, we will hold a launch and information event for parish councils, local authority officers and councillors, and anyone else with a stake and an interest in affordable Rural Housing. Watch this space!

Want to know more? Contact Maria.Kelly@ccberks.org.uk


Funding Opportunities in September

National Lottery #iwill Fund 2025

About Us: This funding is for projects that help young people in England take part in place-based youth social action. By place-based youth social action, we mean young people playing an active role in addressing the issues of a specific place or area that matter most to local people.
Criteria: We’re particularly interested in projects that include young people from low-income communities.

In your application, you must show how your project:

creates place-based youth social action opportunities for young people
will help young people get involved in social action. This should be throughout their life, even after the funding ends.
will reach young people who have not taken part in regular social action activities
will continue, even after the funding ends
involves the voices of young people. They should also be a part of your organisation.
We expect projects to support young people aged up to 20, or up to 25 for those with additional support needs.

Grant Size: We expect you to match the funding we give you. The minimum amount we can match fund is £200,000.
Deadline: 24th September 2025

The National Lottery – Million Hours Fund

About Us: This funding is for organisations to give extra support to young people in areas with higher rates of anti-social behaviour. We’ll fund extra hours of youth work to give these young people more places to go and positive things to do.
Criteria: We can only fund projects in certain parts of England. The work you want us to fund must take place in, or benefit young people living in, one of the eligible ward areas. You can check the eligible ward areas for the Million Hours Fund (2025 to 2027).

To apply, your project must:

benefit young people aged 10 to 18, or up to 25 if they have special educational needs or disabilities (SEND)
effectively engage with young people at risk of taking part in anti-social behaviour
deliver more hours of youth work than you provide now
involve young people in deciding how you work
deliver youth work that is open to as wide a range of young people as possible (known as ‘open access’)
be run by trusted adults such as qualified youth workers, youth support workers, or experienced volunteers
The extra youth work you deliver must help young people:

have improved emotional wellbeing
have improved life and practical skills
feel safer and have access to trusted relationships with adults
Grant Size: £30,000 to £100,000
Deadline: 12pm on 22nd October 2025

WCIT Charity

About Us: Our purpose is to use the power of tech for impact through digital inclusion, education, charitable, and public engagement initiatives across the entire UK.
Criteria: For educational establishments and constituted not-for-profit organisations across the UK to support IT projects and activities.

The WCIT Charity will support activities within the themes of education, inclusion, IT for charities, and understanding of IT, such as the development and delivery of new services, solutions, training, apps, analytics, AI, robotics, or accessibility features/hardware.

Projects that are more likely to be funded include:

Projects where WCIT is a material or sole funder
Projects where WCIT is the sole funder of the IT component of a larger project
Organisations that could benefit from pro bono support
Proposals should demonstrate an innovative use of IT, be scalable for wider replication, and be sustainable over time
Grant Size: up to £15,000
Deadline: 22nd October 2025

Congregational and General Charitable Trust Grants

About Us: The Trust’s objectives are:

To make grants for the overall care, upkeep and extension of churches
To make grants towards the capital costs of church community projects
To promote the Christian religion and, in particular, the United Reformed and Congregational denominations, and other churches of the Protestant tradition
Criteria: Grants are available to support capital works on church buildings or towards the capital costs of church community projects in the UK. Applications are accepted from all churches of the Protestant tradition in the UK, but particularly those of the United Reformed and Congregational denominations.
Grant Size: up to £25,0000
Deadline: 24th October 2025

Greggs Foundation

About Us: As a grant-giving organisation, we understand the difficulties many charitable organisations face in accessing grant funding to meet fixed costs. Greggs Foundation Community Grants are a core funding grant to help organisations manage the financial requirements to keep their services running.
Criteria: To receive a Greggs Foundation Community Grant you must be a not-for-profit organisation and based in one of our geographical focus areas. Our focus areas will change from round to round and we will publish where these areas are on our website and highlight via social media in each round. We give priority to organisations in geographical areas located near to a Greggs Outlet or in an area of need. In addition to being based in one of our geographical focus areas we are looking for organisations that are delivering activities outlined in our Theory of Change.

Organisations successful in receiving funding are focused in the following areas:

Addressing direct needs in the local community
Providing food and support for individuals
Reducing social isolation and widening networks
Building knowledge, confidence and opportunities
Grant Size: £20,000 per year
Deadline: Rolling programme

Zurich Municipal Diversity and Inclusion awards

About Us: The Zurich Municipal Diversity and Inclusion awards are provided by Zurich Charity Insurance which insures not-for-profit organisations of all sizes within the UK.
The awards aim to celebrate the initiatives that small organisations put in place to promote inclusivity and celebrate diversity within their communities.

These awards are designed to honour the achievements made by organisations as they strive to make their communities a welcome, safe and happy place for everyone.

Criteria: The competition is only to charities and not-for-profit organisations based in the UK who fall within the definition below of a Small Charitable/Not-for-Profit Organisation:
“An organisation which is either registered as a charity at the Charities Commission or a non-profit, is a non-governmental legal entity that operates for a collective, public, or social benefit, rather than to generate profit for private owners with an annual income of up to £100,000.”

Grant Size: Prizes from £3k-£10k
Deadline: 30th September 2025

Arnold Clark’s Communities Support Fund

About Us: We want to give back to the communities that we serve.
Criteria: UK registered charities and community groups who provide services that are widely accessible to their local community and are located within a 50-mile radius of an Arnold Clark branch can apply now for a Community Support grant. Preference is given to smaller voluntary and community organisations.
The funding must be used for charitable or community purposes that address at least one of the following categories:

Pet welfare (to help cover costs for pet bills, animal shelters, therapy animals – reviewed on case by case basis.
Arts and culture (music, books, art and theatre groups looking for money for transport, resources, venue hire, and special licences at arts and culture.
Community enhancement (enhancing community, defib installation and replacements, play parks, community gardens, community galas and events).
Disability (sensory group resources, equipment and adaptations, this could be from groups or hospitals, trips for disability groups).
Educational training / advancement (extra resources for a PTA, school/education fayre/gala, uniform poverty. Extra curriculum resources).
Sustainability enhancements / projects (community clean-ups, recycling programmes, urban gardening, eco-friendly initiatives).
Mental health support (local support groups, networks end events that focus on mental wellbeing support).
Relief support organisations (emergency service aid, cancer or illness support groups).
Equality and diversity (programmes that promote equal access and opportunity, address discrimination and inequality and foster community cohesion).
Youth clubs and groups, such as Brownies, Scouts, Guides, Sea Cadets, Cubs, amateur sports teams, dance groups and gymnastics can apply for up to £750 for community trips, club costs materials, venue hire, transport.
Grant Size: up to £1,000
Deadline: Rolling programme

Moto Foundation Community Grants

About Us: The Moto Foundation makes a positive difference to the communities around our network of Motorway Service Areas
Criteria: You are a charity, school, not-for-profit or CIC within a 15-mile radius of a Moto site and
you have the endorsement of a Moto colleague.
Grant Size: up to £1,000
Deadline: Rolling programme

The Allen Lane Foundation

About Us: Our aims are to fund work within each of our funding programmes which:
will make a lasting difference to people’s lives rather than simply alleviating the symptoms or current problems;
is aimed at reducing isolation, stigma and discrimination, and;
encourages or enables groups that experience marginalisation and/or discrimination to share in the life of the whole community.
Criteria: We will fund work in the following areas:
Asylum seekers & refugees
Gypsy, Roma & Traveller communities
Offenders & ex-offenders
Older people
People affected by violence or abuse
People with mental health issues
Young People
We aim to help organisations to become sustainable, supporting running and core costs to enable them to have flexibility, security and longevity. We can contribute to project costs or salaries.
Six of our funding programmes are focused on funding for adults only.

The Young People’s Programme can support people aged approx 12-21 from across a broader range of backgrounds.

Grant Size: up to £15,000
Deadline: Rolling programme

The Kelly Family Charitable Trust

About Us: We’re interested in funding charities whose activities involve all or most family members, where possible, in initiatives that seek to tackle problems facing one or more of its members. We’ve funded charities working in fields including early intervention, mediation, prison services and services for families affected by sexual abuse, physical abuse and domestic violence, among others.
Criteria:
The trust has decided to prioritise its funding in favour of charities whose activities involve all or most family members where possible, in initiatives that support and encourage the family to work as a cohesive unit in tackling problems that face one or more of its members. The objective is to reinforce the benefit and support that family members as a unit can give to each other.

The three areas of activity that the charity wishes to support are:

Interventions that support families and help them in ways that prevent the fracture of the family unit, eg practical family support, relationship counselling, mediation
Families where sexual abuse, physical abuse, domestic violence, alcohol abuse and drug abuse threaten the integrity of the family unit
Prisoners and in particular their families, during and after the period of imprisonment
The trust prefers to support charities whose income is below £500,000.

Grant Size: up to £5,000
Deadline: Rolling programme

The Macaulay Moat Foundation

About Us: The Macaulay Moat Foundation is an independent grant-maker supporting charities and social entrepreneurs (including Community Interest Companies) who focus on Autism and Church Outreach.
Criteria: Grants are available for charities, community interest companies (CICs), charitable incorporated organisations (CIOs), and other not-for-profit organisations across England and Wales to deliver projects and activities around the themes of either Autism support or Church outreach.
Grant Size: Grants of up to £5,000 per year for up to three years are available
Deadline: Rolling programme

Electrical Safety Fund

Grants are available for charities, community safety organisations, and other not-for-profit organisations across the United Kingdom to support projects and activities that will contribute to a reduction in electrical risks in UK homes.
Application deadline: 12 October 2025

Rewilding Challenge Fund

Large grant for one large-scale rewilding project based in England, Wales or Scotland that is at least 1,000ha/10km size with particular interest in community-led/co-designed approaches to rewilding that brings lasting social, economic and ecological benefits for local communities.

Application deadline: 10 October 2025

Austin and Hope Pilkington Trust

Grants are available to registered UK charities that work with communities in the UK for projects that address specific categories set out by the Trust each year.

Application deadline: 30 September 2025

The Thames Valley PCC Community Fund

About Us: The Community Fund supports voluntary and community groups that help to prevent crime and keep communities safe.
Criteria: To qualify, your organisation must be based within the Thames Valley Police (TVP) area. The majority of applications for the Community Fund are received from Community and Voluntary Organisations, Not for Profit companies limited by guarantee, or Social Enterprises but the fund is not limited to these. We will not accept applications from commercial organisations, for profit organisations, community owned commercial organisations such as village shops or Public Houses.
Grant Size: up to £10,000
Deadline: 12pm (noon) on 22nd September 2025

The Miller Homes Community Fund

About Us: The Miller Homes Community Fund gives you the chance to apply for a grant towards improving your community.
Criteria: Grants from the fund can be used in a variety of ways to meet the needs and aspirations of people in the area where you live. The fund will focus on causes that are
linked to education
promote wellbeing
promote the environment
encourage participation in sport
Grant Size: up to £2,000
Deadline: 5th October 2025

Linnean Society

About Us: The Linnean Society is offering grants for community organisations linked with young people to deliver projects and activities that engage young people with local nature and natural spaces and improve their understanding of local biodiversity.
Criteria: Community groups and other organisations working directly with children and young people aged 16 and under can apply for funding for a variety of activities, such as:
Running a school festival about nature.
Painting community murals showcasing biodiversity in the area.
Building or restoring a community garden.
Creating a nature walk.
Hiring a speaker to come and talk about local foraging.
Grant Size: up to £1,000
Deadline: midnight on 25th October 2025

Thank you to Slough CVS, West Berkshire Volunteer Centre and Wokingham & Bracknell InVOLve for the funding information shared above.