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This page lists sources of funding for projects, groups, and organisations, as well as for individuals in need
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Funding for projects, groups and organisations
National organisations
- Lottery Funding www.lotteryfunding.org.uk
0845 275 0000
0845 602 1659 (textphone)
Can search information on current funding programmes across the UK.
- Big Lottery Fund www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
general.enquiries@biglotteryfund.org.uk
0845 4 10 20 30
0845 039 0204 (textphone)
1 Plough Place, London, EC4A 1DE
Big Lottery Fund is responsible for giving out half the money for good causes raised by the National Lottery.
- Awards for All www.awardsforall.org.uk
- general.enquiries@awardsforall.org.uk
0845 4 10 20 30
0845 039 02 04 (textphone)
Awards grants of between £300 and £10,000 for people to take part in art, sport, heritage and community activities, and projects that promote education, the environment and health in the local community.
- Charities Commission www.charitycommission.gov.uk
enquires@charitycommission.gov.uk
0845 3000 218 (8am-8pm Mon-Fri, 9am-1pm Sat)
0845 3000 219 (textphone)
0151 703 1555 (fax)
Registrar and regulator for charities in England and Wales.
Not a funding body.
Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP 2005)
Choosing and preparing a governing document
- Association of Charitable Foundations www.acf.org.uk
0207 255 4499
ACF (Association of Charitable Foundations), Central House, 14 Upper Woburn Place, London WC1H 0AE
Offers publications on grants and a long list of links member grant-giving trusts.
Does not award grants itself.
- New Philanthropy Capital www.philanthropycapital.org
3rd Floor, 185 Park Street, London, SE1 9BL
info@philanthropycapital.org 020 7620 4850
Highly-respected organisation that provides fundraising and research publications for charities and donors. Excellent resources for understanding donor thinking. Also a supporter of Mind.
- Charities Aid Foundation www.cafonline.org
03000 123 000
Has a section on Charity fundraising and Research.
- Community Foundation Network www.communityfoundations.org.uk
One of the largest funders of community organisations in the UK
If you are looking for grant funding, please contact your local community foundation.
- Wales Council for Voluntary Action www.wcva.org.uk
0800 2888 329
help@wcva.org.uk
Organisation for community and voluntary groups in Wales. Has a section on Grants and loans.
- Institute of Fundraising www.institute-of-fundraising.org.uk
020 7840 1000
Park Place, 12 Lawn Lane, London SW8 1UD
Fund-raising training and advice.
Institute of Fundraising Cymru
0292 034 0062
- UnLtd www.unltd.org.uk
020 7566 1100
123 Whitecross Street, Islington, London EC1Y 8JJ
Gives grants to individuals or informal groups to finance the running costs of projects that create a positive change in the community.
- Directory of Social Change
08450 77 77 07
Offers several important fundraising publications.
- Fair Share Trust www.fairsharetrust.org
The FST is a flexible programme, funding a variety of activities and projects - with an emphasis on building the capacity, skills and support networks in local neighbourhoods - tailored to match local needs. Grants between £5,000 to £250,000.
Websites
- FunderFinder www.funderfinder.org.uk
Has lots of free advice and resources for fundraising, including software to help write applications and budgets, leaflets.
- GovernmentFunding www.governmentfunding.org.uk
Register to use searchable database of key information on grant schemes, with downloadable application forms and guidance documents. Free for organisations with a turnover of less than £500,000.
- fit4funding
The Charities Information Bureau
- FinanceHub www.financehub.org.uk
For third sector funding and finance. Has a section on Looking for funding and introductory guides.
- Civil Service Benevolent Fund A-Z of Fundraising Ideas page. Lists hundreds of ideas.
- GRANTNet www.grantnet.com
GRANTnet enables you to identify and select only funding schemes and awards that are appropriate for your project.
- How2fundraise www.how2fundraise.org
Free online resource for volunteer fundraisers, from the Institute of Fundraising. Has a huge amount of fundraising tips, templates, advice and 'how to' guides
- VoIResource www.volresource.org.uk
Resource for virtually any information related to running voluntary and community organisations. Has a funding and grants section and information on fundraising on the net.
- RNIB 13 fundraising tips page. Simple tips for individuals' fundraising.
- Philanthropy UK www.philanthropyuk.org
For aspiring philanthropists. Has a Resources for grant seekers page. Useful for major donor development.
- GrantCraft www.grantcraft.org
Mainly aimed at grant-makers and has a series of guides. May be useful for research.
- Showcase of Fundraising Innovation and Inspiration www.sofii.org
Archive of the best fundraising creativity and innovation from around the world
- Martin's Money Tips
Grant Grabbing section includes home improvement, , and and there are links to forums towards the bottom of the page.
- EveryClick www.everyclick.com
Search engine that gives money to charity. Free to signup.
- FroggyBank www.froggybank.co.uk
Cashback community site where shoppers can donate some of the cashback earned to charity. More info here. Free to signup.
- justgiving www.justgiving.com
www.justgiving.com/mind
Portal for making raising funds easier. Integrates Gift Aid.
- In Kind Direct www.inkinddirect.org
Re-distributes new goods donated by manufacturers and retailers to voluntary organisations. Registration is free and organisations only pay for handling, packing and delivery.
- Google Grants www.google.co.uk/grants
Free AdWords (advertising) on Google for charities.
- Capital Volunteering legacy fund
Funding of up to £3000 for service-user led activities and approaches to supporting people with severe/enduring mental health issues to become more socially included through volunteering.
Subscription websites
Publications
- 2010, Funding Resources, FunderFinder (109KB PDF file). Free list of useful publications.
- Guide to Local Trusts in Greater London 2008/09, DSC.
- Guide to Local Trusts in the Midlands 2008/09, DSC.
- Guide to Local Trusts in the North 2008/09, DSC.
- Guide to Local Trusts in the South 2008/09, DSC.
These reference works cover 2,500 grant-making trusts, each with the potential to give at least £20,000 a year. With information supplied by the trusts themselves, the entries include: contact details; what is (and is not) funded; type and range of grants made; examples of recent grants.
Each volume costs £40.
- 2007, Grant-making by UK Trusts and Charities, Association of Charitable Foundations and CAF (Charities Aid Foundation). Provides a range of statistics about non-governmental grant-makers in the UK and the nature and extent of their grant-making.
Free to download
Funding ideas for individuals in need
Organisations
- The Association of Charity Officers (ACO) www.aco.uk.net
Postal Address: Unit 9, Cefn Coed Parc, Nantgarw, Cardiff, CF15 7QQ
Helpline service run by Turn2us on behalf of The Association of Charity Officers (ACO). Turn2us assists people to find appropriate grant giving charities (with a database of over 3,500 charitable funds) as well as carrying out benefit checks for people, to ensure they are receiving all the welfare benefits and tax credits they are entitled to. Turn2us is available on free-phone 0808 802 2000 or visit www.turn2us.org.uk.
- The Grut Charitable Trust
01460 279100
info@turn2us.org.uk
17 Market Street, Crewkerne, Somerset TA18 7JU
Small grants between £50 and £100 given to alleviate the effects of illness and poverty, particularly amongst the young and the elderly. Applications will only be considered if supported by a recognised Voluntary Body, Local Authority or Social Welfare Organisation.
- Independence at Home (formerly know as Invalids at Home)
www.independenceathome.org.uk/
e-mail: iah@independenceathome.org.uk
020 8427 7929 (9.00am - 1.00pm Mon-Thursday)
Congress House, 4th floor, 14 Lyon Road, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 2EN
Provides financial help to all people living at home who are substantially disabled or severely long term ill and in need. Priority is given for items directly related to needs which arise from disability or illness. Grants are not made for medical treatment, phone rental or call charges, televisions, holidays, new cars, debt relief or items provided through statutory sources
- Family Action (formerly the Family Welfare Association)
501-505 Kingsland Road London, E8 4AU
020 7254 6251
Assistance is primarily targeted at families and individuals with low incomes, particularly those living on benefit - professional referral required. Funds are not available for private school fees, rent arrears, council tax, council tax arrears, fines, funeral expenses nor for items covered by statutory funding.
- Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland
/
Kinwarton Road, Alcester, Warwickshire B49 6BP
01789 765 411
Rotary International is a global network of service volunteers, with a strong reputation of charitable giving to those in need. Contact UK headquarters for details of your nearest local Rotary Club.
- Charity Search www.charitysearch.org.uk
info@charitysearch.org.uk
0117 982 4060
Freepost (BS 6610), Avonmouth, Bristol BS11 9TW
Helps older people in genuine financial need receive the support that may be available to them from a variety of charitable sources.
- Furniture Reuse Network www.frn.org.uk
National body of furntiure reuse organisations. Has details of other community recycling projects listed on the Contact Us page.
- Quaker Social Action Homestore
Runs five projects which provide different and practical solutions to the issues which affect people on a low income in East London.
- Aldo Trust
Coast Cottage, 90 Coast Road, West Mersea, Colchester, CO5 8LS
Tel: 01206 383809
Grants for people in need who are being held in detention pending their trial or after their conviction. The applicant must still be serving the sentence. Applicants must have less than £25 in private cash.
- Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution www.rabi.org.uk
Helpline 01865 727888
Provides financial help, as well as other advice, to members of the farming community in need.
- EDF Energy Trust www.edfenergytrust.org.uk
Independent charitable trust awarding grants for the payment of energy bills, other essential bills (applicants must be customers of specified energy boards), and for the provision of financial advice by voluntary organisations.
Websites
- List of Charities for people in need
An excellent individual's website. Lots of links to grants for individuals in need, including prisoners, ex-prisoners and people with mental health problems. Also has information on how to write a grant application at the bottom of the downloads page.
- Turn2us www.turn2us.org.uk
Has a searchable list of over 700 charities
- Funder Finder Support for individuals page www.funderfinder.org.uk/personalsupport.php
- Guidestar UK www.guidestar.org.uk
Search engine for charities. Enter "grant need individual" or "grant need individual mental" to narrow the search for charities offering grants.
- Martin's Money Tips
Grant Grabbing section includes home improvement, , and and there are links to forums towards the bottom of the page.
- Freecycle www.freecycle.org
A world-wide organisation with thousands of members who 'recycle' old items from clothing to computers, household goods to children's toys. Subscribers can request items or post items they want to get rid of, then individuals can 'bid' for the free item and usually pick it up. The entire service is free-of-charge and there are many local groups nationwide.
Subscription Websites
Publications
- French, A., Lynch, G. & Ryland, R. 2011, , DSC.
Clear, comprehensive guide containing details of over 2,500 national and local trusts which make grants to individuals - includes service and ex-service charities, sickness and disability charities and occupational charities. This new edition also provides a model of how to make an effective application. It remains a key reference book for advice and social workers, as well as individuals .
Costs £75 - ask in local library.