If you run a small UK charity, the hard part of grants is not writing them. It is not burning weeks on funders you will never hear back from. Many trustees and fundraising managers we speak to are not professional grant writers. They are volunteers, PTA chairs, or part-time fundraising leads trying to piece together three or four income streams at once. One of the most common frustrations in the UK small-charity sector is spending hours preparing an application, only to realise at the last moment that the funder only accepts charities with a Charity Commission number, and your community group does not have one.
So this guide is built around one question: which grants can a small UK charity actually win? Below you will find 20+ worth a look in 2026, grouped from smallest-and-most-winnable to largest-and-most-competitive, each linked to the funder's own programme page so you can confirm the live cycle yourself. Where a 2026 deadline has not been posted yet, we say "rolling" or "check funder site" rather than inventing one.
The pattern small charities miss: you do not lose grants because you are too small. You lose them on discovery, hours of Googling, getting paywalled, preparing applications you do not actually qualify for. Get discovery down to minutes, then put your time into a clear, story-led proposal for a £5,000 to £20,000 grant you can win. Not the Esmée Fairbairn lottery.
A note on eligibility and charity structure. Most UK grant-making trusts require registration with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (gov.uk/government/organisations/charity-commission), OSCR for Scotland (oscr.org.uk), or CCNI for Northern Ireland (charitycommissionni.org.uk). If you are an unincorporated community group, a Community Interest Company (CIC), or a PTA without charity registration, some grants are still open to you (the National Lottery Community Fund Awards for All is famously accessible), but others are not. If you are not yet registered, many of the community and corporate grants in this list are your best starting point. Consider whether formal charity registration is right for your work, or whether a partnership with a registered charity as a fiscal host could open more doors.
In this article:
20+ grants for UK charities in 2026
Grants below are grouped by sector and ordered within each group from smallest, most-winnable first to largest, most-competitive last. Every entry links to the funder's official programme page. Confirm the current cycle and amounts there before you apply.
National Lottery and lottery-distributor grants
1. National Lottery Community Fund: Awards for All. Funder: National Lottery Community Fund. The single most-winnable pot for small UK charities and community groups. Awards of £300 to £20,000 for community projects that bring people together, improve wellbeing, or develop skills and creativity. The application is designed for smaller organisations, including some unincorporated groups, and the process is straightforward compared with most funders.
- Deadline: rolling applications accepted year-round.
- Tip: Be specific about the community impact. Generic applications ("to help local people") are consistently unsuccessful; named outcomes for named people win.
2. Arts Council England: National Lottery Project Grants. Funder: Arts Council England. Grants of £1,000 to £100,000 for arts, museums, and libraries projects. The smaller awards (under £30,000) are the most accessible for small arts charities and community groups with at least one year of activity. See the Arts Council England National Lottery Project Grants page.
- Deadline: rolling; decisions in approximately six to twelve weeks.
- Tip: Tight project budgets and clear community reach win here. Show how many people will benefit and how you will know you have succeeded.
3. Heritage Fund: Grants for Heritage. Funder: The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Multiple streams from £3,000 upwards for projects that save, look after, or share the UK's heritage. The smaller streams (£3,000 to £250,000) are accessible to registered charities and some constituted community groups. See heritagefund.org.uk.
- Eligibility: Charities, constituted voluntary and community organisations, local authorities, and public bodies. Private owners eligible for some built-heritage streams.
- Deadline: varies by stream and nation. Check the Heritage Fund site for the current window.
- Tip: Heritage Fund values community involvement in developing the project, not just delivering it. Show co-design.
4. Sport England: Movement Fund. Funder: Sport England (National Lottery funded). Grants to help community organisations get more people active. Historically funded at £300 to £10,000. See Sport England funding.
- Eligibility: Registered charities, constituted community groups, and sports clubs. Check current fund availability on the Sport England site.
- Deadline: check funder site, Sport England runs several funds simultaneously and windows shift.
- Tip: Sport England now explicitly funds non-traditional sport and activity, not just clubs. Social prescribing, walking groups, and mental-health-through-movement projects all qualify.
For a small charity: the National Lottery family is where to start. Awards for All in particular is designed for organisations exactly like yours, accepts rolling applications, and is the single most frequently cited first grant win across the UK small-charity sector.
Local corporate and community-level grants
5. Tesco Community Grants (Bags of Help). Funder: Tesco, administered by Groundwork UK. Grants of up to £4,000 for local community and environmental projects, voted for by Tesco customers at in-store ballot boxes. See the Tesco Community Grants page for current details.
- Eligibility: Registered charities, community groups, schools, and social enterprises. Project must benefit the local community.
- Deadline: rolling quarterly cycles. Check the funder site for the current window.
- Tip: Customer votes determine winners. Mobilise your supporters to vote. The strongest applications are for visible, local, community-facing projects.
6. Co-op Local Community Fund. Funder: Co-op. A percentage of what Co-op members spend goes into a fund distributed to local community causes nominated by members. Historically £100 to a few thousand pounds per round. See the Co-op Local Community Fund page for current details.
- Eligibility: Registered charities, community groups, and social enterprises in Co-op trading areas.
- Deadline: rolling nomination windows. Check the Co-op causes page.
- Tip: Nominate early in a window. Awareness among Co-op members in your area drives allocation.
7. Aviva Community Fund. Funder: Aviva. Grants for community projects that make a real local difference. See the Aviva Community Fund page for current eligibility and deadlines.
- Eligibility: UK-based community groups and charities. Check current criteria, the fund has run in annual cycles.
- Deadline: check funder site; the fund has historically opened once a year.
- Tip: Public voting plays a role. Engage your supporter base to improve your chances.
8. Screwfix Foundation. Funder: Screwfix Foundation. Grants of up to £5,000 for projects that fix, repair, and maintain properties used by charities supporting disadvantaged people. See screwfixfoundation.com.
- Eligibility: Registered charities that own or are responsible for maintaining buildings or facilities used to support people in need.
- Deadline: rolling, multiple cycles per year. Check the foundation site.
- Tip: The match is very specific: building repairs and maintenance for charities supporting disadvantaged people. If your project fits, competition is lower than general-purpose community grants.
9. B&Q Foundation. Funder: B&Q / Kingfisher. Grants and in-kind product support for community projects focused on improving homes and community spaces. See diy.com/b-and-q-foundation for current programmes.
- Eligibility: Registered charities and community groups working on community spaces or supporting people in housing need.
- Deadline: check funder site.
- Tip: Like Screwfix Foundation, strongest when your project has a tangible build or improvement element.
For a small charity: this whole group is where to start if you are not yet National Lottery-funded. Local, store-level, and corporate community grants see far fewer applicants than headline foundation grants, and a small win here builds the track record you need for bigger asks later.
UK community foundations
10. Your local community foundation. There are 46 accredited community foundations across the UK in the UK Community Foundations network. Every region has one, and they re-grant to local charities and community groups in their geography, often with smaller, more accessible applications than national funders. Find your local community foundation using the UK Community Foundations locator.
- Eligibility: local charities and constituted community groups.
- Deadline: varies by foundation and fund.
- Tip: If you do nothing else from this list, register with your local community foundation. They are the single best source of small, repeatable grants for a small charity and frequently have funds specifically for unregistered community groups.
Technology grants
11. Google Ad Grants. Funder: Google. Up to £8,200 per month (equivalent to US£10,000) in free Google Search advertising for eligible charities. Also includes access to Google Workspace for Nonprofits and the YouTube Nonprofit Programme. Before you apply, read our Google Ad Grants guide. In the UK, eligibility is validated through TechSoup UK (techsoup.org.uk) before you apply at the Google Ad Grants page.
- Eligibility: UK-registered charities in good standing. Government organisations, hospitals, healthcare organisations, and schools are excluded. You must validate your charity status through TechSoup UK first.
- Deadline: rolling, accepted year-round.
- Tip: The monthly ad credit is in advertising value, not cash. Most charities use only a fraction without active keyword and campaign management. Set realistic goals for what you want the ads to achieve before you apply.
12. Microsoft for Nonprofits / Charity Digital Exchange. Funder: Microsoft, administered in the UK partly via Charity Digital Exchange. Software donations and discounts rather than cash, but these free or heavily discounted licences (Microsoft 365, Azure, Power BI) free up real budget.
- Eligibility: UK-registered charities. Apply via Charity Digital Exchange.
- Tip: Technology in-kind support can free up more cash than a small cash grant. A full Microsoft 365 licence at near-zero cost is worth hundreds of pounds a year.
For a small charity: Google Ad Grants is high value if you have someone who can manage a search campaign every week. If you do not, the credit goes unused. Apply only when you have the capacity to run the campaigns.
Major UK grant-making trusts and foundations
13. Garfield Weston Foundation. Funder: Garfield Weston Foundation. A family foundation running a regular grants programme that is genuinely open to small UK charities, not just large institutions. Funds across arts, community, education, environment, health, religion, welfare, and youth. See garfieldweston.org.
- Eligibility: UK-registered charities with at least one year of filed accounts. Most awards are in the £5,000 to £50,000 range; the foundation explicitly considers smaller organisations.
- Deadline: the regular programme has two deadlines per year. Check the funder site for current dates.
- Tip: Garfield Weston is one of the most accessible major UK foundations for small charities with a strong track record. A well-evidenced application in one of their stated priorities has a realistic chance.
14. Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales. Funder: Lloyds Bank Foundation. Specifically designed for small-to-medium charities (income £25,000 to £1.5m) working with disadvantaged people. Provides both grants and development support. See lloydsbankfoundation.org.uk.
- Eligibility: Registered charities in England and Wales with income between £25,000 and £1.5m.
- Deadline: check funder site; the foundation runs competitive funding rounds.
- Tip: Lloyds Bank Foundation is unusual in actively targeting the £25k to £1.5m income band. If your charity is in that range, this is a better fit than most large national funders.
15. Tudor Trust. Funder: Tudor Trust. Funds UK-registered charities delivering work with people at the margins of society. Genuinely open to smaller organisations. Core and project costs both considered. See tudortrust.org.uk.
- Eligibility: UK-registered charities. Most awards to organisations with income under £1m.
- Deadline: the trust runs open rounds; check the funder site for current windows.
- Tip: Tudor Trust values long-term relationships with grantees. A clear, honest account of your organisation's current challenges lands better than a polished funding pitch.
16. Paul Hamlyn Foundation. Funder: Paul Hamlyn Foundation. Funds UK organisations working in arts and learning, and with young people. See phf.org.uk.
- Eligibility: UK-registered charities and other eligible organisations. Varies by programme.
- Deadline: check programme-specific pages on the funder site.
- Tip: Arts-and-young-people crossover projects are PHF's heartland. The more your work sits in that intersection, the stronger your application.
17. Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. Funder: Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. One of the largest independent UK foundations; funds arts and culture, children and young people, environment, food, and social change. See esmeefairbairn.org.uk.
- Eligibility: UK-registered charities and social enterprises. Many opportunities are competitive or by invitation.
- Deadline: check programme-specific pages.
- Tip: Esmée Fairbairn is rigorous on financial sustainability. Have at least two years of filed accounts ready. Strong evidence of impact is non-negotiable.
18. Wellcome Trust. Funder: Wellcome. Funds health, science, and culture. Active funding opportunities across biomedical research, mental health, climate and health, and public engagement with science. Browse current funding opportunities on the Wellcome site.
- Eligibility: varies by programme. Most research grants go to universities and research institutions, but some public-engagement and arts-and-health programmes are open to registered charities.
- Deadline: varies by programme. Check each opportunity.
- Tip: For small charities, the public-engagement and arts-and-health strands are the most accessible entry points. Wellcome's main research grants are not realistic for most small charities without an academic partner.
For a small charity: Esmée Fairbairn, Paul Hamlyn, Tudor Trust, and Lloyds Bank Foundation are where to focus in this tier. The Ford, Kresge, MacArthur, and Gates Foundation equivalents of the UK scene are mostly a relationship game. If you do not already have a programme officer connection, build one over months before you ever submit. Spend your application hours on community, corporate, and National Lottery grants first.
UK government grants
19. find-government-grants.service.gov.uk. Funder: UK government agencies. The official UK government grants finder at find-government-grants.service.gov.uk lists open central-government grant opportunities across departments for organisations in England. Devolved equivalents: Scottish Government funding and support, gov.wales funding, and the NI Department for Communities for Northern Ireland.
- Eligibility: varies by programme; many UK government grants are open to registered charities and voluntary organisations.
- Deadline: per opportunity on the finder.
- Tip: Government grants can take months to apply for and years to report on. Worth pursuing for larger awards if you have the operational capacity. Not usually worth it for awards under £50,000 given the time investment.
20. UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) via local authorities. Funder: UK government, administered locally. The UKSPF distributes funding through local authorities for community investment, people and skills, and local business. Small charities often access this through council-run grant schemes rather than directly. Contact your local authority's grants or economic development team for current opportunities.
- Eligibility: varies by local authority and programme area.
- Tip: Local authority contacts matter here. The community-development officer at your council is the right person to speak to before you spend time on an application.
21. Postcode Local Trust / People's Postcode Lottery. Funder: Postcode Local Trust, funded by players of People's Postcode Lottery. Grants of £500 to £20,000 for local community groups and charities working in areas where the lottery is played. See postcodelottery.co.uk/good-causes/apply.
- Eligibility: UK-based charities and constituted community groups in eligible postcode areas.
- Deadline: rolling. Check the funder site.
- Tip: Your project must benefit people in the postcodes where lottery players live. Check the postcode eligibility map before you apply.
For a small charity: government grants are real money but a real time investment. The application can take weeks and the reporting commitment runs for years. Worth it for a £100,000+ award if you have the operational capacity. The UKSPF via local authorities is often the most accessible route.
Grant comparison table
|
| National Lottery Awards for All | National Lottery Community Fund | £300 to £20,000 | Rolling | You are a small or constituted community group needing a first grant win |
| Arts Council National Lottery Project Grants | Arts Council England | £1,000 to £100,000 | Rolling | Your project has a clear arts, museum, or library focus |
| Heritage Fund: Grants for Heritage | National Lottery Heritage Fund | £3,000 to £250,000 | Varies by stream | Your project saves or shares UK heritage with community involvement |
| Sport England Movement Fund | Sport England | £300 to £10,000 | Check funder site | You are getting people active in a community setting |
| Tesco Community Grants (Bags of Help) | Tesco / Groundwork UK | Up to £4,000 | Rolling quarterly | You have a visible local project and can mobilise customer votes |
| Co-op Local Community Fund | Co-op | Varies | Rolling | You are in a Co-op trading area with community member support |
| Aviva Community Fund | Aviva | Varies | Annual cycle | Your project has strong local community benefit and public support |
| Screwfix Foundation | Screwfix Foundation | Up to £5,000 | Rolling | You need to repair or maintain a building used by disadvantaged people |
| B&Q Foundation | B&Q / Kingfisher | Varies | Check funder site | Your project improves a community space or helps people in housing need |
| Local community foundation | UK Community Foundations (46 members) | Varies | Varies | You want a local funder familiar with your area |
| Google Ad Grants | Google | Up to £8,200/month in ad credit | Rolling | You have capacity to manage a Google Search campaign weekly |
| Microsoft / Charity Digital Exchange | Microsoft / Charity Digital | Software at near-zero cost | Rolling | You need technology licences and want to free up cash budget |
| Garfield Weston Foundation | Garfield Weston Foundation | £5,000 to £50,000+ | Two cycles per year | You have at least one year of filed accounts and a strong track record |
| Lloyds Bank Foundation for E&W | Lloyds Bank Foundation | Varies | Competitive rounds | Your charity income is between £25,000 and £1.5m |
| Tudor Trust | Tudor Trust | Varies | Open rounds | You work with people at the margins and want an honest, relationship-led funder |
| Paul Hamlyn Foundation | Paul Hamlyn Foundation | Varies | Varies by programme | Your work crosses arts and young people |
| Esmée Fairbairn Foundation | Esmée Fairbairn Foundation | Varies | Competitive / by invitation | You have two or more years of filed accounts and strong impact evidence |
| Wellcome Trust | Wellcome | Varies | Varies by programme | You work in health, science, or arts-and-health public engagement |
| UK government grants finder | Various government departments | Varies | Per opportunity | You have the staff capacity for a long application and multi-year reporting |
| UK Shared Prosperity Fund (via local authority) | UK government / local authority | Varies | Varies | You are embedded in your local authority area and have a contact there |
| Postcode Local Trust | People's Postcode Lottery | £500 to £20,000 | Rolling | Your project benefits people in eligible postcode areas |
|
| Walmart Spark Good Local | Walmart Foundation | £250–£5,000 | Quarterly | Community nonprofits near a Walmart store |
| State Farm Good Neighbor | State Farm Foundation | Varies; mostly under £25K | Check funder site | Safety, community development, education |
| Target Circle Community Giving | Target | Smaller dollar amounts | Rolling | Local grassroots nonprofits |
| Bank of America Economic Mobility | Bank of America Foundation | Varies | Check current RFP | Housing, workforce, LMI communities |
| Home Depot Foundation | Home Depot Foundation | Up to £5,000 (in-kind gift cards) | Rolling annual window | Veteran-serving and community improvement projects |
| Google Ad Grants | Google | Up to £10,000/month in ad credit | Rolling | Nonprofits with a website and search-traffic strategy |
| AWS IMAGINE Grant | Amazon Web Services | Cash + AWS credits (confirm current tiers) | Annual | Tech-forward nonprofit projects |
| Robert Wood Johnson Foundation | RWJF | Varies | By program | Health equity research and programs |
| W.K. Kellogg Foundation | WKKF | Varies; often invitation-only | By program | Children, families, racial equity |
| Ford Foundation | Ford Foundation | Varies; mostly invitation | By program | Established orgs working on inequality |
| Kresge Foundation | Kresge Foundation | Varies | By program | City-focused work, established orgs |
| MacArthur Foundation | MacArthur Foundation | Varies; mostly proactive | Limited open calls | Climate, justice, journalism |
| Gates Foundation | Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation | Varies; mostly proactive | Limited open calls | Global health, US education at scale |
| NEA Grants for Arts Projects | NEA (federal) | ~£10,000–£100,000 | Two cycles/year | Arts orgs with 3+ years of programming |
| State arts councils | State arts agencies | Varies | Varies by state | State-based arts nonprofits |
| Patagonia Environmental Grants | Patagonia | ~£5,000–£20,000 | Rolling | Grassroots environmental action groups |
| NEA Foundation Learning & Leadership | NEA Foundation | £2,000–£5,000 | Multiple cycles | Education-focused programs |
| Local community foundations | 1,500+ across the US | Varies | By foundation | Any local 501(c)(3) |
| United Way local chapters | United Way Worldwide | Varies | By chapter | Human-services nonprofits |
| Grants.gov listings | US federal agencies | Varies widely | Per opportunity | Nonprofits with SAM.gov registration |
| CDC / HRSA / HHS program grants | US HHS | ~£50,000–£500,000+ | Per RFA | Health-services nonprofits with reporting capacity |
Why grants matter (and where they fall short)
Grants fund work that earned income and small individual donations cannot. They cover one-off projects, capital purchases, technology overhauls, and programme expansion. For health and research charities, grants are often the dominant funding source.
Grant income from trusts, foundations, and government is one of the largest income categories for UK charities. According to NCVO's UK Civil Society Almanac, voluntary income (including grants) makes up a substantial share of income for small and medium charities, alongside earned income, contracts, and donations. The CAF UK Giving report tracks trends in UK charitable giving alongside grant income year by year.
But grants have real limits. A small UK charity should know them before betting the budget on grant income:
- Grant income is restricted. Most foundation and government grants come with rules about how you can spend the money. Operating costs are harder to fund than project costs.
- Grant income is lumpy. A £20,000 grant covers a project for a year, then it is gone. You cannot pay rent with a one-time award.
- Grant income is competitive. Major foundation grants often have single-digit award rates. The smaller, less-glamorous grants (community foundations, store-level corporate grants, National Lottery Awards for All) are where the maths actually works for a small organisation.
- Grant reporting takes time. Every pound you win comes with a reporting commitment that runs months or years.
Gift Aid: the 25% uplift that sits alongside your grant strategy. Gift Aid is not a grant, but it is a 25% funding uplift on individual donations that many small charities under-claim. For every £1 a UK taxpayer donates, your charity can reclaim 25p from HMRC at no extra cost to the donor, provided you are HMRC-recognised and hold a valid Gift Aid declaration. See HMRC's Gift Aid guidance. The Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme (GASDS) adds a further 25% top-up on small cash and contactless donations of £30 or less, up to £8,000 in eligible donations per tax year (yielding up to £2,000 in additional income). For technical detail, the Charity Tax Group is the independent reference. Any grant strategy should sit alongside a Gift Aid strategy.
The fix is not "stop applying for grants." The fix is to treat grants as one income stream among several. Set up recurring donations for predictable revenue between grant cycles, and build a base of unrestricted individual giving you can spend on whatever the mission needs.
For a small charity: chase grants for projects, capital, and growth. Fund the running costs with diversified individual giving. That keeps you from going under when a grant cycle ends or an application falls through.
Types of grants for UK charities
Government grants
Government grants in the UK come from central government departments, devolved-nation governments (Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland), local authorities, and statutory bodies. They tend to be larger awards with stricter eligibility, longer applications, and multi-year reporting. The find-government-grants.service.gov.uk finder is the main central-government listing for England. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have their own portals (see Section 1 above).
For a small charity: government grants are the highest-pound, highest-effort option. Worth pursuing once you have at least one member of staff who can manage the application and post-award reporting. Do not start here.
Foundation and trust grants
Foundation grants come from private grant-making trusts (family or independent) and public foundations. Award sizes range from a few thousand pounds at small family trusts to multi-million-pound awards at the largest national funders. Around 12,000 UK grant-making trusts and foundations exist, most publishing their focus areas and grantmaking process on their own site.
The 46 community foundations in the UK Community Foundations (UKCF) network are the single most accessible starting point. Named UK examples include Garfield Weston Foundation, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales (specifically designed for small and medium charities), Paul Hamlyn Foundation, and Tudor Trust.
For a small charity: start with community foundations and small family trusts in your geography. The big national names are mostly a relationship game and rarely worth a cold application until you have a track record.
Corporate grants
Corporate grants come from companies and their charitable foundations. They often align with the company's corporate social responsibility priorities and frequently include non-cash support: products, services, employee volunteer time, or in-kind donations. Many are administered at the local store or branch level, which makes them more accessible to small community charities. UK examples include Tesco Community Grants, the Co-op Local Community Fund, and the Aviva Community Fund. For more, see our corporate sponsorship guide.
For a small charity: corporate grants are often the most winnable category. Build a relationship with the local store manager or community-champion contact, not just an online application form.
Lottery-distributor grants (a UK-specific category)
The National Lottery distributors are the largest single UK grant channel for small charities and community groups, and have no equivalent in most other countries. They distribute National Lottery Good Cause funding across the UK:
- National Lottery Community Fund (tnlcommunityfund.org.uk), community projects across all four UK nations; Awards for All is the accessible small-grants entry point.
- Arts Council England (artscouncil.org.uk), arts, museums, and libraries in England; devolved equivalents in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Awards for All in particular is designed for smaller organisations, including some unincorporated groups, and accepts rolling applications. This category deserves to be the first place most small UK charities look.
In-kind and fiscal sponsorship
In-kind grants give you goods or services instead of cash: software licences, office space, professional services, or building materials. They do not move money into your bank account, but they free up cash you would otherwise spend. Charity Digital Exchange and the Microsoft for Nonprofits programme are the best-known UK in-kind technology routes.
Fiscal sponsorship is not a grant. It is an arrangement where an established registered charity accepts grants on behalf of a project that is not yet incorporated. Useful for new community groups testing an idea before forming a separate charity.
How to find grants for your charity
Finding grants is its own skill, and for most small organisations it starts as a slog. The strongest small-charity approach replaces that with three steady channels, plus an alerts layer on top.
Step 1: Seek out local grants
Local community foundations, UK government devolved-nation portals, and corporate store-level programmes are the most accessible starting point. Search "[your city or county] community foundation grants" and you will surface options that many national grant databases never include. Local funders are often more open to first-time applicants and have smaller applicant pools.
Step 2: Use UK grant databases
Grant databases let you filter across thousands of funders by cause, location, and amount. The best free options for UK charities:
- Charity Excellence Fund Finder (charityexcellence.co.uk), free, UK-specific, run by a community of around 50,000 members. The fastest free UK-first stop for small charities.
- Funding Central (NCVO, fundingcentral.org.uk), free for smaller charities; covers grants, contracts, and loans for UK organisations.
- My Funding Central, an NCVO resource for finding local and national funding tailored to your organisation type.
Paid options include Grants Online and the Directory of Social Change's GRANTfinder / trustfunding.org.uk, which typically run from a few hundred to over a thousand pounds a year. If you are currently paying for a US-focused database (Candid, Instrumentl), it is worth switching to one of the UK-first options above. See our guide to the best grant databases for UK charities for a full breakdown.
There is also Zeffy's free grant database: Search grants free with Zeffy's grant database. Filter by cause and amount with no paywall and no account required to start.
Step 3: Search government portals
For England and UK-wide central government grants: find-government-grants.service.gov.uk. For Scotland: mygov.scot/funding-and-support. For Wales: gov.wales/funding. For Northern Ireland: communities-ni.gov.uk/topics/funding.
Step 4: Set up alerts
Funders post new opportunities and revised deadlines on their own schedule. Three habits keep you ahead:
- Subscribe to email updates from any database you use, including Charity Excellence Fund Finder and the National Lottery Community Fund.
- Set Google Alerts for "[your cause] grants UK" and "[your county or city] charity grants".
- Follow programme officers and foundation accounts on LinkedIn. Many announce new funding rounds there first.
For a small charity: the win here is reclaiming time. Stop paying for a database you rarely use. Put that money into the work and use a free UK-first database plus alerts.
How to choose the right grants to apply for
The right answer to "should I apply?" is rarely "yes to all of them." A small charity's biggest grant-strategy mistake is spreading thin: getting deep into preparing an application and then realising there is a detail in the eligibility criteria that rules you out. Use this four-question filter on every grant before you start:
- 1. Do you actually qualify? Read the eligibility criteria word by word. If the grant requires two years of filed accounts with the Charity Commission and you have one year, save the time.
- 2. Does your work fit the funder's stated priorities? Look at the funder's most recent grantees on their website or on the Charity Commission register. If your work does not look like theirs, you are guessing.
- 3. Is the return on investment worth it? Estimate hours to apply, multiply by your or your staff's effective hourly cost, and compare against (award size multiplied by your honest win probability). If a 40-hour application for a £5,000 grant has a 10% win rate, your expected value is £500. That is below most charities' time cost.
- 4. Can you deliver the project and reporting if you win? A grant you cannot execute on damages the funder relationship for years.
Check the funder's register entry and past grantees. Every UK charity funder is itself on the Charity Commission, OSCR, or CCNI register. You can read the last three to five years of their grants list and accounts directly at register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk, oscr.org.uk, or charitycommissionni.org.uk. Use this to check whether your work genuinely fits before you spend a week on the application.
Once you have a shortlist, build a grant calendar. List every grant with its application opens, deadline, decision date, and reporting commitments. Track funders and grant deadlines in Zeffy's free supporter management tools so application work, decision dates, and reporting commitments stay in one place alongside your individual donor data.
For a small charity: three carefully chosen applications a quarter will outperform fifteen rushed ones. Pick fewer; tell the story better.
Grant application tips that actually work
Write an executive summary that earns the read
Most programme officers read dozens of applications a week. Your executive summary has about 30 seconds to earn the rest of the read. A simple structure:
- One sentence on the problem and who it affects.
- One sentence on your solution and why your organisation can deliver it.
- One sentence on the specific outcome the grant will fund.
- One sentence on the ask: how much, for what, over what period.
If a reader stops here, they should already know whether you are a fit.
Build a need statement around data, not adjectives
"There is a critical need in our community" is a sentence that fails. "27% of households in our borough are food-insecure, double the regional average" is a sentence that works. Anchor every need claim in a cited number. Local data (your local authority's data portal, ONS, ons.gov.uk, or a local needs assessment) beats national data because it shows you know your community.
Build a budget funders trust
Funders look for three things in a budget: every line is justified, the total matches the ask, and the maths adds up. Show your work. If you are budgeting £12,000 for a part-time programme coordinator, show the hourly rate and the hours per week. Include a brief budget narrative explaining anything that is not obvious. Use £ throughout. If the grant is above £250,000, follow the Charities SORP for restricted and unrestricted framing. NCVO's guidance on full cost recovery (ncvo.org.uk) is the UK standard for attributing a fair share of overhead costs to project budgets.
Avoid the mistakes that kill applications
- Vague outcomes (use measurable, time-bound metrics).
- Asking for the wrong thing (operating costs from a project-only funder, for example).
- Missing documents (build a checklist and have a second person review before you submit).
- Generic copy (every application should reference the funder by name and tie back to their stated priorities).
- Last-minute submission (technical glitches on grant portals are real; submit 24 hours early).
Follow up whether you win or lose
If you win, thank the funder, deliver on time, and report cleanly. If you lose, send a short thank-you email and ask whether the programme officer has any feedback on your application. Many will share what was missing. That information is invaluable for your next application.
For a small charity: the highest-leverage tip on this list is the follow-up after a loss. Funders support organisations they have a relationship with, and a thoughtful follow-up turns a "no" into the start of one.
Pair grant funding with fee-free donations on Zeffy
Grants are one income stream. Donations, events, recurring giving, peer-to-peer campaigns, and memberships are the others. Chasing grants alone is a brittle strategy because grant income is restricted, lumpy, and slow.
Zeffy is the only 100% free fundraising platform for charities. No platform fee, no transaction fee, no card-processing fee. Ever. That means every pound you raise outside of a grant goes to the mission, not to a card-processing cut. For a small charity running between grant cycles, that is the difference between covering costs and not. More than 100,000 nonprofits have raised over £2 billion on Zeffy, all without paying a penny in fees.
Used together: free grant discovery to find the right grants, plus a free donation platform to build the unrestricted base that keeps the lights on. That is the full small-charity funding stack, and it costs nothing.
Frequently asked questions
What is the easiest grant to get for a small UK charity?
National Lottery Community Fund Awards for All (£300 to £20,000) is widely regarded as the most accessible grant for small UK charities and constituted community groups. It accepts rolling applications, does not require extensive track records, and is designed specifically for smaller organisations. Local community foundations and store-level corporate community grants (Tesco, Co-op, Aviva) are also accessible starting points with smaller applicant pools than national funders.
Do I need a grant writer to apply for grants?
Not always, but professional support helps. For smaller grants (Awards for All, community foundation grants), a clear application written by a trustee or fundraising manager with free templates from Charity Excellence or NCVO is often sufficient. For larger, more competitive applications, a freelance grant writer can add significant value. The Chartered Institute of Fundraising (CIoF) is the professional body for UK fundraisers and can help you find qualified practitioners. Day rates vary and will depend on experience and the complexity of the application, so ask for quotes from two or three practitioners before committing.
How long does it take to hear back from a grant application?
It varies considerably. National Lottery Awards for All decisions typically come within six to twelve weeks. Community foundation decisions can take four to twelve weeks. Major foundation grants (Garfield Weston, Esmée Fairbairn) often take three to six months. Government grants vary most widely, with some taking over a year from application to decision. Always check the funder's stated timeline on their programme page before you plan your cash flow around a potential award.
Can new charities apply for grants?
Yes, but many funders require at least one full year of filed accounts with the Charity Commission, OSCR, or CCNI. Under the Charities Act 2011, an independent examination is required for charities in England and Wales with income above £25,000; an audit is required above £1m income (or above £250,000 income with total assets above £3.26m). New charities without a year of accounts can apply for National Lottery Awards for All and many corporate community grants. If you are not yet a registered charity, consider whether a fiscal-host arrangement (partnering with a registered charity to receive the grant on your behalf) could open more funding doors while you establish your track record.
Can a CIC or community group apply for grants?
Community Interest Companies (CICs) and unincorporated community groups can apply for some grants, notably the National Lottery Community Fund Awards for All and many corporate community funds. However, most grant-making trusts require registered-charity status with the Charity Commission for England and Wales, OSCR for Scotland, or CCNI for Northern Ireland. If your organisation is a CIC or an unincorporated group, start with the National Lottery family and corporate community grants, and consider whether charity registration is the right step for your work. Alternatively, partnering with a registered charity as a fiscal host can open access to a wider range of funders while you build your structure.
How do I report on grant spending?
Reporting requirements vary by funder. Most UK grant-making trusts and foundations require a written report at the end of the grant period (and sometimes mid-project), with a financial statement showing how the grant was spent against the approved budget. For grants from government bodies, requirements are more detailed and often involve quarterly financial returns. Separately, registered charities in the UK must file an annual return and Trustees' Annual Report and Accounts (TAR) with their regulator (Charity Commission, OSCR, or CCNI). HMRC also has charity-specific reporting requirements for tax and Gift Aid claims; see HMRC's charity guidance and the Charity Tax Group for technical reference. For the accounting standards that underpin your grant financial reporting, follow the Charities SORP. If you are unsure, consult an accountant familiar with charity SORP.
What is the difference between a grant and a contract?
grant is a gift of money to support your charitable work, usually with conditions about how it is spent and what outcomes you will achieve. A contract is payment for delivering a service on behalf of a funder (often a local authority or NHS body). The key practical difference is VAT: grants are outside the scope of VAT, while contracts may be subject to VAT depending on the nature of the services. Charity Tax Group (charitytaxgroup.org.uk) has guidance on this distinction. The reporting and accountability obligations are different too: contracts usually involve more prescriptive performance monitoring.
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