Funding

Funding opportunities from:

Please note that that this is not a comprehensive list of funders and that MBF is not responsible for the content of any linked site and we do not recommend or endorse any of the websites listed here and accept no liability in respect of the content or views expressed.

MBF also run a one day training course to help organisations to develop and implement sustainable funding strategies.  Further details can be found within national training programme.


Trusts and Foundations

Abbey Charitable Trust
Supports local communities and disadvantaged people particularly in those areas where Abbey has a significant presence. Priorities are education and training; financial advice to help people manage their money; community regeneration. You can apply at any time of the year.

Age Concern - Small Grants Programme
Up to £1,000 towards new or expanding services or activities that directly benefit older people (befriending is supported).

Allen Lane Foundation
Priority groups: asylum seekers and refugees; gay, lesbian or bi-sexual people; offenders and ex-offenders; older people; people from BME communities; people experiencing mental health problems; people experiencing violence or abuse; travellers.

Baring Foundation
Grants to tackle disadvantage and discrimination.

Barrow Cadbury Trust
Grants to individuals and organisations working within these areas: young adults and criminal justice; inclusive communities; global exchange.

Bromley Trust
Supports detention centre and prison visitors and mentoring to refugees, asylum seekers and ex-offenders.

Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation 
Supports Education, Social Welfare and the Arts.

Charles Hayward Foundation
2008 funding categories are: heritage and conservation; criminal justice; hospices; older people; overseas; youth at risk.

Clothworkers' Foundation
Main grants programme (for charities with a turnover of under £10m) for: encouragement of young people; social inclusion; elderly; disability; visual impairment; textiles.

Coalfields Regeneration Trust
Areas of work: General, health, welfare, community regeneration, education, young people, older people.  Funds in the coalfield and former coalfield communities in England (North West, North East, Yorkshire, West Midlands, East Midlands, Kent), Scotland and Wales.

Comic Relief
Priority areas - young people, older people, mental health, refugees & asylum seekers, domestic violence, disadvantaged communities.  Comic Relief Young Carers grants 

Community Foundations
Charitable trusts that support local community causes.

Coop Foundation
Grants to local groups and organisations across its trading area. Particularly interested in locally led groups which demonstrate evidence of co-operative values: self-help, equality, democracy, concern for the community.

Esmee Fairbairn Foundation
Makes grants in four areas: arts and heritage, education, environment and social change.

Four Acre Trust
Funds vocational guidance and education; respite care and holidays with a leaning towards younger people. Particular interest in local or small organisations and those with a high level of volunteering involvement.

The Foyle Foundation
Distributes grants to charities whose core work is in Learning, the Arts and Health. State funded schools and special schools may also be supported.

Garfield Weston Foundation
Recent rounds of funding have helped projects in: arts, community, education, welfare, medical, social, religion, youth and environment. [Grant total of £40m]

Hedley Foundation
Supports young people, the disabled and terminally ill. Few grants exceed £5,000. Trustees meet 6 times a year.

Help Yourselves! Award Scheme
Small grants for projects involving young people and children who are excluded, isolated or living in areas of deprivation (£1,000 - £3,000). 

The Henry Smith Charity
Small and special grants to people in need.  Befriending is one of the services they support.

Hilton in the Community Foundation
Grants to charities and organisations focusing on young people - education; young people - health. Remaining 2008 deadlines: 4 Aug, 3 Sept, 28 Oct, 29 Nov

Joanies Trust
Grants up to £1,000 for charities working with young people aged 11-25. Next deadline is 31 August 2008.

KPMG Foundation
Focus on education and social projects for the disadvantaged with an emphasis on children and young people up to 30 years of age who have not fulfilled their educational potential. Priority groups are refugees, young offenders, children and young people who have been in care, children and young people with dyslexia/literacy difficulties.

LankellyChase Foundation
Funds: social welfare; community development; arts; heritage; penal affairs; mental health; prevention of domestic abuse. [Grant total: £4m]

Lloyds TSB Foundation
Grants to charities that help people to play a fuller role in their communities. Funding priorities for 2006 are: working with people from BME communities; refugees and asylum seekers; older people isolated from their communities; people with a learning disability.

Nationwide Foundation's small grants programme
Charities working with young offenders and prisoners' families can apply for grants of up to £5000.

Paul Hamlyn Foundation - refugees and asylum seekers
Community organisations that work with young refugees and asylum seekers can apply for grants of up to £50 000. 

Rank Foundation
Areas funded: encouraging and developing leadership amongst young people; supporting disadvantaged young people and those frail or lonely through old age or disability; the promotion of Christian principles through film and other media. Grant total: £5m.

Rayne Foundation
Open application grants for arts; education; health and medicine; social welfare and development.

Tesco Charity Trust Community Awards
Local organisations working to support elderly people and people with disabilities are able to apply for an award of between £1,500 and £5,000. The deadline for writing to the Trust is the 30 June each year.

Trusthouse Charitable Foundation Grants
Distributes £2 million through a small and large grants scheme.  Priorities are Health care and Disability; Community support; Education and the Arts. Has funded both mentoring and befriending schemes in the past.  Meets each quarter to discuss applications.

Tudor Trust
Supports organisations working across the UK with a focus on small groups. We aim to support work which addresses the social, emotional and financial needs of people at the

UIA Charitable Foundation
Small grants for small organisations or groups looking at victims of domestic abuse, drug and alcohol addiction, rehabilitation of offenders.

Woodward Charitable Trust
Favours small-scale, locally based initiatives

The YAPP Charitable Trust
Grants to small charities to sustain existing work with: elderly people, children and young people (aged 5-25), disabled people and people with mental health problems, people trying to overcome life-limiting problems of a social origin (such as addiction, relationship difficulties, abuse, a history of offending), education and learning. Most grants are for £1500 or £2000.

Young Carers grants
£1 million grants programme for voluntary sector services to young people during 2006-07.


Government

Government Funding website
Guide to grants for the voluntary sector.

Guide to Government assistance to the third sector 
(booklet) May 2006

Children, Young People & Families Grant Programme

Connected Fund
Grants of up to £5 000 for local projects tackling guns, knives and gangs - will fund new initiatives as well as ongoing schemes.  

Connecting Community Plus, Community Grants programme
Helps locally managed organisations run projects.

Faith Communities Capacity Building Fund
£4.5 million available to faith groups across England and Wales.

Getting Results - the CRE's funding programme for local racial equality work
Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) - Priorities are intercommunity conflict prevention and resolution and support for victims of racial discrimination and harassment.

NOMS grants scheme supports projects by voluntary and community organisations working with offenders and their families. 
The main priority for the next grant round (deadline 15 Sept 2006) is projects working in the Children and Families pathway and they particularly welcome applications which focus on support for women and black, Asian and minority ethnic offenders.

The Refugee Community Development Fund
Makes grants available to organisations that work in the UK with refugees and refugee communities, including those that provide services to asylum seekers. 

Section 64 Scheme (Department of Health)
Grants to voluntary sector organisations in England whose activities support the Department of Health's policy priorities. 

Youth Opportunity Fund
To support greater participation of young people.

Community Champions Fund
Set up by the DfES to encourage and support individuals to become, or to continue to be, leaders in their communities. Offers small grants. Home Office - refugees and asylum seekers:
Purposeful Activities Fund supports projects that enable asylum seekers to interact with local communities and Refugee Integration Challenge Fund - for innovative projects addressing specific social needs amongst refugee communities. 

Futurebuilders
Fund for voluntary and community organisations planning to deliver public services.

Local Network Fund for Children and Young People
DfES works in partnership to provide small grants for small voluntary organisations working with children and young people aged 0-19.

Opportunities for Volunteering (OFV)
A Department of Health scheme distributing grants to local health and social care projects. Sixteen charities distribute OFV grants (each with different priorities and deadlines).

V - National Youth Volunteering Programme
Grants available from 27 June 2007 to deliver innovative volunteering opportunities for 16-25 year olds.

Lottery

Good causes lottery website

Big Lottery Fund which includes:

Reaching Communities to improve local communities and the lives of people most in need. Will fund projects for up to five years. The Big Boost - an awards programme to encourage young people to set up projects that will make a real difference to them and their communities. An award consists of cash plus support and can be individuals or groups of young people. Family Learning Fund – grants of between £10 000 and £500 000 for projects and activities that get parents and children learning together.
BASIS (part of Big Lottery)
Aims to improve infrastructure support for voluntary and community organisations whose main purpose is to support the work of other VCS organisations. 

Awards for all
A Lottery grants programme aimed at local communities awarding grants of between £500 and £5000.

Sport England
Grants to sport projects (large and small). 


European

European Social Fund
Source of funding for activities to develop employability and human resources. Some mentoring projects have been funded in the past – see Achievements section on website.

British Council Youth Exchange Programme
Grants for European youth cultural exchanges for youth groups (aged 15-25). Are different deadlines depending upon anticipated project start date.

Additional sources

Subscription only sites:
Funding Information
Funders Online