How to Find UK Charity Grants in 2024: A Guide

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Howdy y’all,

We are delighted to announce a new integration of CiviCRM with Open Social, a community engagement platform.

CiviCRM is the number one open source CRM for not-for profits, used by more than 11,000 organisations worldwide, and Open Social is a leading community engagement platform, used by over 1000 organisations in a range of different industries from Charities to member organisations and companies also.

It’s exciting news for organisations using CiviCRM, who will now be able to combine the power of CiviCRM with the collaboration and community building that the Open Social platform provides.
If you’ve not heard of community platforms before, a community platform is a tool that allows your organisation to create your own branded and tailored social network. Users of the platform (normally your members or supporters) can interact, join groups to share knowledge and exchange ideas, publish and promote events and collaborate within a safe online curated space. With a community platform you can expand your digital offer and strengthen your relationship with your supporters.

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Open Social is open source (much like CiviCRM) and as such has no user licences fees. This means it can be deployed affordably to scale to even the largest of communities. It’s also flexible with a huge range of different add-on modules that can be integrated to enhance the platform.

Our new two-way integration between Open Social and CiviCRM syncs data between the two platforms allowing information about the groups and committees that members have joined to be seamlessly synced to CiviCRM. You can even create Open Social groups and manage their membership directly from within CiviCRM, which would be useful for managing private groups in the case of committees or working groups.

By combining the data of a community platform with that in your CiviCRM your organisation can obtain deep insights into your members' interests and behaviours. You can see which groups are popular and engage with your members on topical issues, automating communications and tailoring their experience.

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A great example is a recent implementation for the UN’s PRI (Principles of Responsible Investment). Their user community includes over 2,900 organisations with over 40,000 individuals spread across 6 continents. Their Community Platform now supports discussions between 24,000 users with over 750 online collaboration spaces. The data is seamlessly synced to their CRM allowing for deep insight guiding their policy engagements.

As Open Social partners, we would be delighted to help you start your journey with Open Social and help you build your online community. We can help you through both the implementation and the CiviCRM integration (or other CRM integration such as Salesforce or Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM).

Please contact us through our website https://www.compuco.io/ or by email at hello@compucorp.co.uk.

Further information about Open Social can be found at their website: https://www.getopensocial.com/

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We’ve previously written about where to find charity grants if you’re looking how to get funding for investing in important infrastructure or new projects.

Given the evolving nature of the UK charity sector, we’re back with an updated version of our guide to help you find some of the best charity funding sources and opportunities for your charity in 2024. So without further ado, let’s get started on our list!

1. Government Charity Funding Grants

Offered to a wide variety of sectors, government funding can be a good place to start looking for your new charity funding source all year round.

There’s a specially dedicated portal to help you find a grant to apply for that works for you. Each grant will have its own criteria and deadlines, so keep an eye out for when new grants appear that might be most relevant to your current needs! If the right one isn’t there for 2024, something might open up come early 2025!

Grant size: Varies significantly depending on the program. Grants can range from £1000 to over £1 million.

Eligibility: Varies depending on the grant.

2. National Lottery Community Fund

No list of how to get funding for a UK charity would be complete without the National Lottery Community Fund. Giving out a staggering £600M every year, this fund offers support to a variety of community and charity projects across the UK, with grants available for projects that improve the quality of life for people in need. The fund aims to support community development, social care, and wellbeing.

Grant size: Varies significantly depending on the program. Grants can range anywhere from £1000 all the way up to over £1 million.

Eligibility: UK charities and community groups.

3. Lloyds Bank Foundation

The Lloyds Bank Foundation is a source of funding for charities that focuses on small and medium-sized charities tackling complex social issues such as homelessness, mental health, and domestic abuse. The grants supports organisational resilience and long-term sustainability. Applications are only open during certain periods, so make sure to check when you can apply! £6.1M was awarded in grants in 2023.

Grant size: Up to £75,000 for a three year unrestricted grant.

Eligibility: Charities with an annual income of between £25,000 to £500,000.

4. Paul Hamlyn Foundation

Paul Hamlyn Foundation offers a variety of charity grants to help them address societal issues. The fund is aimed at projects that enhance accessibility, community well-being, and other areas of public good. They take about 4 months on average to reach a decision, with some grants being given on a rolling basis and some having specific application windows.

Grant size: Up to £300,000 depending on category.

Eligibility: Charities, general based outside of London, across the UK.

5. Garfield Weston Foundation

Garfield Weston supports charities across the arts, education, health, and community sectors. They provide around £100 million in funding each year. They offer funding for core costs, capital projects, and ongoing programmes, helping organisations grow sustainably and deliver essential services. Smaller grants (under £100k) are a simple one-off application which is then reviewed and you will be informed of the outcome.

Grant size: £1000 to several million, depending on size/scope.

Eligibility: Charitable work, generally happening outside of London, across the UK.

6. Matthew Good Foundation

For smaller charities and non-profits, the Matthew Good Foundation offers grants to those making a significant impact on their communities. The focus is on practical, small-scale projects that deliver measurable social good, particularly in local communities. They offer £60,000 annually, between 20 organisations, with your project being considered in the next funding round, with 4 taking place annually.

Grant size: Between £2000 and £5000

Eligibility: Have an average income of less than £50,000 in the last 12 months and be a local community group, charity, or voluntary group working with communities, people or the environment.

7. The Clothworkers’ Foundation

The Clothworkers' Foundation is a fantastic charity funding source for organisations that support social welfare, education, and healthcare. Their aim is to improve infrastructure and capacity, ensuring charities can effectively serve those in need. They offer two tiers of grants, with their smaller ones aiming to have a decision made within 12 weeks and larger ones coming back within 6 months.

Grant size: Up to £15,000 for smaller grants, larger grants can be up to around £100,000

Eligibility: UK based charities, particularly those working with disadvantaged communities.

8. The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation

The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation is one of the largest independent charity grant making foundations in the UK. It supports organisations working to improve the natural world, secure a fairer future, and strengthen the bonds in communities. The foundation typically funds core costs, project funding, and capital expenditure. Most of their grants tend to be for three to five years and they gave over £48.3M in grants in 2023.

Grant size: Varies - most grants can be from £30,000 to £500,000 with some even larger grants available for larger scale projects.

Eligibility: UK based charities and nonprofits working in areas of arts, children and young people, environment, and social change.

9. The Henry Smith Charity

The Henry Smith Charity offers a wide range of funding grants aimed at reducing social and economic disadvantage. The charity offers several programmes, including large grants for long-term projects, smaller community grants, and specific initiatives for young people and older adults. They gave out £46.4M in grants in 2023.

Grant size: From £20,000 to £2 million, depending on the programme and the size of the charity.

Eligibility: UK charities working with disadvantaged individuals and communities.

Bonus charity funding: Ask your local CVS!

If you haven’t already got in touch with your local Council for Voluntary Service (CVS) then check out if there’s one in your area. There are far too many to list here, but they’ll often have the inside track on the best charity funding sources and grants specific to your local area in 2024 and be able to offer you tailored advice on making successful applications.

Tips for applying to charity funding grants

Once you’ve found the charity grant you want to apply for we recommend following these 6 steps to help your application have the best possible chance of being accepted:

Do your research - make sure what you’re asking for meets the grant’s criteria to increase your chances.

Follow instructions - read all parts of the application carefully before submitting. Missing something out could delay your application or even cause it to be rejected.

Demonstrate impact - make sure to show what your charity has already achieved, and think of what data or evidence you have to show this.

Build relationships - where possible think about how you can engage directly with funders. Attend networking events to build your charity’s profile.

Expect to wait - as noted in many of the above grants, it can take weeks or even many months to get your grant. Make sure to factor in this time and apply for a grant well in advance of when you would need the funds.

Track your application progress - if you’re applying for several grants, think about how you can track where you are with each one, any deadlines and any meetings you might have relating to it. This is where a CRM like CiviPlus can be make your life a whole lot easier. With its application tracking dashboard, file storage and ability to estimate income, you can make sure you have full oversight of every step of your grant application.

These 6 simple tips should put you on the road to success. Funding sources can transform a charity and open whole new opportunities. Think about other ways you can do more to maximise your chances.

Summary

We’ve covered just ten of the best opportunities for charities to find funding sources today in 2024, but the world of UK funding is constantly evolving! And we haven’t even touched on corporate sponsorships, crowdfunding, or courting major and legacy donors. When you’re thinking about your next big project, properly scope out what funds you’ll need and try to best match which funder’s mission best aligns with your own.

In the meantime, if you’re looking for a charity grant, you’ll definitely want a way to keep track of all your applications and activities. And that’s an area where CiviPlus can help! Book a chat here if you’d like to find out more.