Community Development Grants & Funding
There are 704 UK funders offering grants for community development charities, with typical awards from £100 to £4,500,000.
Community development funding supports the organisations and initiatives that strengthen local areas across the UK. This encompasses community centres, neighbourhood projects, civic participation, social cohesion, and place-based regeneration. Many of the UK's largest funders — including the National Lottery Community Fund, Garfield Weston Foundation, and local community foundations — prioritise grassroots organisations that are rooted in and responsive to their communities. Funding is available for both capital projects (building renovations, community spaces, equipment) and revenue work (staffing, activities, outreach). Community development grants often favour a participatory approach, where local residents are involved in identifying needs and designing solutions. Rural communities, post-industrial areas, and urban estates with high deprivation frequently receive targeted support. The trend toward devolution and community ownership of assets has also created new funding streams for community land trusts, community energy projects, and social enterprises.
Quick Stats
- Total Funders
- 704
- Grant Range
- £100 - £4,500,000
- Open to Applications
- 48%
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Clear filtersFilters use programme details verified from each funder's own published guidance. Funders we haven't verified yet are listed separately below, never hidden.
Community Development Funders
62 of 704 match your filtersChecked against verified programme data for 153 of 704 funders. 551 not yet verified are listed below; 91 that don't fit were excluded.
1989 Willan Charitable Trust
Verified openMatching programme: The 1989 Willan Charitable Trust
The 1989 Willan Charitable Trust, established in 1989 and governed by Willan Trustee Limited, is a UK-based funder dedicated to alleviating social and...
Architectural Heritage Fund
Verified openMatching programme: Project Viability Grants (PVG) - Northern Ireland
The Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF), a UK-registered charity founded in 1976, champions the conservation and sustainable reuse of historic buildings...
Arts Council England
Verified openMatching programme: National Lottery Project Grants
Arts Council England is the national development agency championing arts, museums, and libraries, rooted in a post-war vision to advance creativity fo...
Baywind Energy Community Trust
Verified openMatching programme: Main Grant Programme
Baywind Energy Community Trust champions community-owned renewable energy and environmental sustainability, rooted in the pioneering ethos of the UK's...
Bolton Community and Voluntary Services
Verified openMatching programme: Bolton's Fund: Medium Grants
Bolton Community and Voluntary Services (Bolton CVS) is a registered charity and local infrastructure organisation dedicated to strengthening the volu...
Castle Cavendish Foundation
Verified openMatching programme: Locally Identified Needs Grants
Castle Cavendish Foundation is a Nottingham-based registered charity and social impact company, established over 15 years ago, dedicated to enhancing ...
Catherine Cookson Charitable Trust
Verified openMatching programme: Main Grant Programme
The Catherine Cookson Charitable Trust embodies Dame Catherine Cookson's vision to transform lives in North East England communities through enduring ...
Co-Operative Community Investment Foundation
Verified openMatching programme: Green Opportunities Fund
The Co-operative Community Investment Foundation, known as the Co-op Foundation, is the charitable arm of the Co-operative Group, established in 2002 ...
Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust
Verified openMatching programme: Brighter Futures
The Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust, an independent grant-making charity founded in 1969 by Sir James Colyer-Fergusson, is dedicated to improving li...
David Brownlow Charitable Foundation
Verified openMatching programme: Large Grants Programme
The David Brownlow Charitable Foundation drives positive social change by enhancing lives of disadvantaged individuals and communities through persona...
Derbyshire Environmental Trust Limited
Verified openMatching programme: Derbyshire Environmental Trust Capital Funding Scheme
Derbyshire Environmental Trust Limited, founded in 1997 as a registered charity in response to the Landfill Communities Fund, channels landfill tax re...
Duke of Devonshire's Charitable Trust
Verified openMatching programme: Duke of Devonshire's Charitable Trust
The Duke of Devonshire's Charitable Trust is a family-led foundation embodying stewardship, heritage responsibility, and community flourishing through...
E H Smith Charitable Trust
Verified openMatching programme: General Charitable Grants
The E H Smith Charitable Trust, family-founded in 1944, embodies community responsibility by reinvesting business profits to uplift local communities ...
England and Wales Cricket Trust
Verified openMatching programme: Interest Free Loan Scheme (Clubs with Junior Section)
The England and Wales Cricket Trust (EWCT), a registered charity (no. 1112540), promotes community participation in cricket as a means of healthy recr...
Eric Wright Charitable Trust
Verified openMatching programme: Community Grants
The Eric Wright Charitable Trust embodies a founding vision of responsible business stewardship channeling construction industry profits into perpetua...
Ernest Kleinwort Charitable Trust
Verified openMatching programme: Medium Grant
The Ernest Kleinwort Charitable Trust (EKCT), established in 1963 by Ernest and Joan Kleinwort, is a family-led grant-making foundation dedicated to m...
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
Verified openMatching programme: Grants
The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, established in 1961 by Ian Fairbairn in memory of his wife, is one of the UK's largest independent funders, dedicated ...
Football Foundation
Verified openMatching programme: Lionesses HERe to Play Fund
The Football Foundation, established in 2000 by the Premier League, The FA, and the UK Government via Sport England, is the UK's largest sports charit...
Fort Augustus & Glenmoriston Community Company
Verified openMatching programme: Apprenticeship Scheme
Fort Augustus & Glenmoriston Community Company, established in 2007 by the local Community Council in the Scottish Highlands, is a community-led organ...
Foundation Scotland
Verified openMatching programme: Achlachan Wind Farm Community Fund
Foundation Scotland, Scotland's sole community foundation, drives a mission to empower communities by bridging innovative ideas with resources, foster...
Friends Provident Charitable Foundation
Verified openMatching programme: Building Resilient Economies programme
Friends Provident Charitable Foundation, an independent UK grant-making charity established in 2004 with a £33 million endowment from Friends Providen...
Gannochy Trust
Verified openMatching programme: Main Grants
The Gannochy Trust, established in 1937 by Scottish philanthropist A.K. Bell, is a major charitable funder anchored in Perth and Kinross with a missio...
Geoffrey Watling Charity
Verified openMatching programme: General Grant Programme
The Geoffrey Watling Charity embodies entrepreneurial generosity, local pride, and civic friendship, channeling resources to vitalize communities thro...
Grantscape
Verified openMatching programme: Middlemoor Wind Farm Community Benefit Fund (Organisations)
Grantscape, established in 1997, is a specialist UK charitable grant-maker dedicated to strengthening local communities and protecting the natural env...
Greenham Trust Ltd
Verified openMatching programme: Major Funding
Greenham Trust Ltd, founded in 1997 as Greenham Common Community Trust following the closure of RAF Greenham Common, reinvests commercial income from ...
Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland
Verified openMatching programme: COLLABORATE
Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland, established over 40 years ago and funded entirely by Lloyds Banking Group profits as one of four autonomous H...
Housing Pathways Trust
Verified openMatching programme: Main Grants Programme
Housing Pathways Trust, a historic almshouse charity rooted in seventeenth-century principles, drives community transformation by enabling those in ne...
Hugh Fraser Foundation
Verified openMatching programme: The Hugh Fraser Foundation
The Hugh Fraser Foundation, established in 1960 by Sir Hugh Fraser, advances health, education, citizenship, community development, poverty relief, an...
Janet and Bryan Moore Charitable Trust
Verified openMatching programme: Discretionary Grants
The Janet and Bryan Moore Charitable Trust is dedicated to enhancing and uniting rural communities through grants that preserve heritage and foster co...
King Henry VIII Endowed Trust, Warwick
Verified openMatching programme: Town Share Discretionary Grants
The King Henry VIII Endowed Trust, Warwick, established in 1545 through Tudor-era negotiations to safeguard ecclesiastical assets during the Dissoluti...
Liz and Terry Bramall Foundation
Verified openMatching programme: General Grants
The Liz and Terry Bramall Foundation, established in 2008 by businessman Terry Bramall CBE and his wife Elizabeth with a £100 million endowment, is a ...
London Marathon Charitable Trust Limited
Verified openMatching programme: Active Spaces Fund
London Marathon Charitable Trust Limited, operating as the London Marathon Foundation and founded in 1981 by marathon co-founders, champions the life-...
Millennium Awards Trust
Verified openMatching programme: Millennium Awards Trust Scaling Up Award
The Millennium Awards Trust, established in 2002 with an endowment from the UK government's Millennium Commission and National Lottery, catalyses posi...
Millennium Stadium Charitable Trust
Verified openMatching programme: Regional Grants
The Millennium Stadium Charitable Trust is an independent Welsh grant-maker founded to harness the legacy of the Millennium Stadium for enhancing qual...
Milton Keynes Community Foundation Limited
Verified openMatching programme: Oak Grants
Milton Keynes Community Foundation is an independent place-based funder with a mission to strengthen communities and improve quality of life by channe...
Mobbs Memorial Trust Limited
Verified openMatching programme: General Grant Programme
The Mobbs Memorial Trust Limited, established in 1956 by Sir Noel Mobbs using family endowment funds, is a family-governed grantmaker dedicated to pre...
National Forest Company
Verified openMatching programme: Forest Creation Grant
The National Forest Company pioneers landscape-scale environmental regeneration through tree planting and sustainable land management in post-industri...
National Lottery Community Fund
Verified openMatching programme: National Lottery Awards for All England
The National Lottery Community Fund, legally the Big Lottery Fund, is the UK's largest community funder, established in 2004 as a non-departmental pub...
National Lottery Heritage Fund
Verified openMatching programme: National Lottery Grants for Heritage £10,000–£250,000
The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the UK's largest dedicated heritage funder established in 1994 (with roots in the 1980 National Heritage Memorial ...
Natural Resources Wales
Verified openMatching programme: Tiny Forests in Wales
Natural Resources Wales (NRW), established in 2013 through the merger of Countryside Council for Wales, Environment Agency Wales, and Forestry Commiss...
Norfolk Community Foundation
Verified openMatching programme: Borough Council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk Small Grants Scheme
Norfolk Community Foundation is an independent local charity dedicated to strengthening Norfolk communities by investing in small grassroots organizat...
Northern Ireland Community Development Health Network Ltd
Verified openMatching programme: Building the Community-Pharmacy Partnership (BCPP) Level 2
Community Development and Health Network (CDHN) champions community development to eradicate health inequalities in Northern Ireland, recognizing heal...
Northern Powergrid Foundation
Verified openMatching programme: Energy Resilience Grants Programme
Northern Powergrid Foundation champions energy resilience and social equity for communities ravaged by extreme weather, with a mission rooted in preve...
Nova Wakefield District Limited
Verified openMatching programme: Community Tree Planting Programme
Nova Wakefield District Limited is the local infrastructure charity empowering Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations across ...
P H Holt Foundation
Verified openMatching programme: Main Grant Programme
The P H Holt Foundation is a legacy-driven grantmaker rooted in over a century of philanthropy aimed at improving everyday life for Merseyside residen...
Postcode Innovation Trust
Verified openMatching programme: Social Investment Programme
Postcode Innovation Trust, established in 2016, is an independent funder powered by proceeds from its society lottery linked to People’s Postcode Lott...
Postcode Local Trust
Verified openMatching programme: Postcode Local Trust Core Grant Programme
Postcode Local Trust, established in 2014 as a registered charity and company limited by guarantee, channels proceeds from the People’s Postcode Lotte...
Rees Jeffreys Road Fund
Verified openMatching programme: MSc Bursaries
The Rees Jeffreys Road Fund, established in 1950 by pioneering transport campaigner William Rees Jeffreys, is a UK charity dedicated to enhancing the ...
Richmond Foundation
Verified openMatching programme: Gateway Funding
Richmond Foundation, an independent charitable foundation established in 1786 from a royal land donation by King George III and Queen Charlotte, rebra...
Salford Community & Voluntary Services
Verified openMatching programme: Salford Centenary Fund – Large Grants
Salford Community & Voluntary Services (Salford CVS), established in 1919 as part of post-WWI social service efforts and independent since 1973, serve...
Showing 50 of 62 matching funders
551 funders not yet verified against these filters
We haven't confirmed these funders' programme details yet, so they may or may not fit. Showing the first 10.
Tips for Applying to Community Development Funders
Community development funders want to see that your organisation is genuinely rooted in the area you serve. Demonstrate local knowledge by referencing specific neighbourhood dynamics, community assets, and the relationships you have built over time — not just census data. Describe a participatory needs assessment process: how did residents themselves identify the issues your project addresses, and how will they continue to shape delivery? Partnership working is essential in this space, so detail your collaborations with other local organisations, statutory agencies, and community groups, explaining what each partner brings and how you avoid duplication. Address sustainability explicitly — funders need confidence that your work will continue beyond the grant period through community ownership, income generation, volunteer capacity, or integration into local infrastructure. Include community asset mapping that shows you understand what already exists and how your project builds on strengths rather than starting from scratch. Strong applications demonstrate that the community drives the agenda rather than the organisation imposing solutions. Show how you reach residents who are typically excluded from community engagement processes, and explain your approach to building social capital and civic participation alongside delivering specific project activities.
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Frequently Asked Questions about Community Development Grants
What grants are available for community development charities in the UK?
There are 704+ UK funders offering grants for community development charities. These range from small community grants under £5,000 to large multi-year funding programmes exceeding £100,000. Use Fundermatcher to find the best match for your organisation.
How much funding can community development organisations get?
Grant amounts for community development charities vary widely depending on the funder and project. Typical grants range from £1,000 to over £100,000. Many funders offer multi-year funding for established organisations with a strong track record.
How do I apply for community development grants?
Start by identifying funders whose priorities align with your community development work. Fundermatcher matches your charity's profile against 704+ funders to find the best fit. Our AI assistant can then help you draft compelling grant applications.
How to Find the Right Community Development Funders
Describe Your Charity
Tell us what your charity does, who you help, and where you work. Takes 30 seconds.
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Our AI ranks all 704 community development funders by how well they fit your specific work.
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Which of These 704 Funders Are Right for You?
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