Where UK Charities Can Find Funding Grants

Funding is critical for UK charities to carry out their work and achieve their goals. However, finding funding can be a challenge, especially in today's economic climate. Fortunately, there are many sources of funding grants available to UK charities, if you know where to look.

In this article, we will introduce you to 2 main areas you can look to find funding opportunities within the UK - government and charitable trusts. We’ll be giving you  a few examples of the organisations you can look to engage with in these sectors.

We will also end by providing you with some practical tips and advice on how to approach the funding application process.

1. Government Funding

One place to start looking for funding is with the UK government, which provides a range of funding opportunities for charities, including grants and contracts. Some of the key government departments that offer funding to charities include:

• Department for Education (DfE)
• Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)
• Ministry of Justice (MoJ)
• Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)
• Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)

Specifically within the remit of DCMS, the Arts Council is a non-departmental public body which can be exceptionally worthwhile investigating further if your charity has a cultural output.

It’s also worth considering local government bodies such as councils and local enterprise partnerships which might offer funding to carry out various activities.‍

2. Charitable Trusts and Foundations

One of the largest funding sources for UK charities is charitable trusts. There are thousands of trusts and foundations in the UK, ranging from small community-based trusts to large national foundations. Some of them are also incredibly specialised in their remit, which can be perfect if your goals align with their focus.

Some of the key nationwide charitable trusts and foundations that offer funding to include:

The National Lottery Community Fund

Giving out grants worth over £600m a year in total, if you’ve not investigated the fund, then they should be a top priority. With numerous funding programmes, they generally divide them into grants under and over £10k. 

The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation

They offer grants up to £8k on their Funding Plus programme, though larger grants are also available. In 2021, the foundation distributed £51.6m in grants.

The Henry Smith Charity

Depending on what category you qualify for, you can apply for grants between £500 - £70k. Having a long heritage with its founding being back in 1628, they distributed £64.9m in grants in 2022.

The Garfield Weston Foundation

Another large funder, they give around £90m in grants each year. Their grants can range between £1k to £1m. Whether you’re looking for funds for a specific project or simply unrestricted funding to help you achieve your goals more broadly, they’re a worthwhile organisation to investigate.

‍The Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales

Slightly smaller than the others in the list, but £16.3m in grants in 2021 is still a notable amount given out. Its open programmes sometimes focus on more specific projects, but can still offer a significant cash injection if you are eligible.

Other Sources

Beyond this list, if you want to find even more charitable trusts and foundations that are more relevant to your charity, you can use online databases such as the Directory of Social Change or the Charity Commission's Register of Charities.

Some General Tips and Best Practices for Applying for Funding Grants

Before we end, we’ve got 5 general tips and best practices we’d like to share which you should keep in mind while applying for funding grants:

1. Do Your Research - before applying for any funding grant, do your research to ensure that the funding opportunity is a good fit for your charity's goals and priorities.

2. Follow Instructions - read the application guidelines carefully and follow them closely. Missing a key requirement or deadline could result in your application being rejected.

3. Demonstrate Impact - when applying for funding grants, it's important to demonstrate the impact of your charity's work. Use data and evidence to show how your charity is making a difference.

4. Build Relationships - building relationships with funders can help increase your chances of securing funding in the future. Attend networking events and engage with funders on social media to build your charity's profile.

5. Be Prepared to Wait - it can take several months for funding decisions to be made, so be prepared to wait for a response. Use this time to continue building relationships with funders and exploring other funding opportunities.

If you follow these five simple tips you’ll be in a much stronger position to achieve your goals and gain access to those all important funds that could make all the difference to your organisation.

Summary

Hopefully some of the advice and organisations listed will give you a firm starting point of where to start looking for funding. This is also doubtless a topic we will return to again in the future to give you further tips on how to broaden your search. 

Even beyond government and charitable trusts, there is a whole world of crowdfunding and even corporate partnerships you might choose to explore. There are definitely significant opportunities out there, if you know where to look!

In the meantime, if you’d like to start looking into how you could put potential funding to good use and grow your charity, look no further than CiviPlus! Based on CiviCRM, voted 2nd best Charity CRM in 2024, it's the perfect digital toolkit that will help you keep track of all your applications and opportunities, it can even add pipeline predictions and probability trackers. You can get in touch here to find out more.