Community Development704+ Funders

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%

Community Development Funders

86 of 704 match your filters

Checked against verified programme data for 151 of 704 funders. 553 not yet verified are listed below; 65 that don't fit were excluded.

Architectural Heritage Fund

Matching programme: Project Development Grants (PDG) - Wales

The Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF), a UK-registered charity founded in 1976, champions the conservation and sustainable reuse of historic buildings...

Grant Range
£10,000 - £100,000

Asda Foundation

Matching programme: Local Community Spaces Fund

The Asda Foundation, an independent charity established in 1988 and funded by Asda Stores, empowers small grassroots community groups across the UK to...

Grant Range
£500 - £25,000

Ashley Family Foundation

Matching programme: Revenue Grants

The Ashley Family Foundation, established in 1986 by Sir Bernard and Laura Ashley, embodies a mission to harness creative enterprise for community ben...

Grant Range
£500 - £10,000

Baywind Energy Community Trust

Matching 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...

Grant Range
£100 - £5,000

Benefact Trust Limited

Matching programme: Building Grants

Benefact Trust Limited, formerly Allchurches Trust, is an independent UK-registered charity established in 1972 with roots in 1887, headquartered in G...

Grant Range
£5,000 - £25,000

Catherine Cookson Charitable Trust

Matching 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 ...

Grant Range
£100 - £100,000

Co-Operative Community Investment Foundation

Matching programme: Carbon Innovation 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 ...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £30,000

Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust

Matching 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...

Grant Range
£5,000 - £60,000

Community Foundation for Northern Ireland

Matching programme: Community Solutions to Housing and Homelessness programme

The Community Foundation for Northern Ireland, established in 1979 as the Northern Ireland Voluntary Trust, is an independent grant-making body with o...

Grant Range
£3,000 - £20,000

Corra Foundation

Matching programme: Henry Duncan Grants

Corra Foundation, an independent Scottish grant-maker established in 1985 (originally Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland), drives positive change, opp...

Grant Range
Contact funder

David Brownlow Charitable Foundation

Matching programme: Large Grants Programme

The David Brownlow Charitable Foundation drives positive social change by enhancing lives of disadvantaged individuals and communities through persona...

Grant Range
£5,000 - £50,000

Department for Transport

Matching programme: Transport Research and Innovation Grants (TRIG)

The Department for Transport (DfT), a UK ministerial department established in 2002, provides leadership and strategic frameworks for reliable, safe, ...

Grant Range
£30,000 - £45,000

Duke of Devonshire's Charitable Trust

Matching 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...

Grant Range
£250 - £10,000

E H Smith Charitable Trust

Matching 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 ...

Grant Range
£500 - £10,000

Ernest Kleinwort Charitable Trust

Matching 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...

Grant Range
£2,000 - £25,000

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation

Matching 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 ...

Grant Range
From £30,000

Football Foundation

Matching 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...

Grant Range
£300 - £100,000

Forever Manchester

Matching programme: Comic Relief and Sainsbury's Holiday Activity and Food Programme

Forever Manchester is an independent charitable foundation dedicated to empowering grassroots community activity and building resilient neighbourhoods...

Grant Range
£500 - £1,500

Forever Notts

Matching programme: J N Derbyshire Trust

Forever Notts, formerly Nottinghamshire Community Foundation and established in 1997 as an independent registered charity, serves as a vital broker fo...

Grant Range
£350 - £10,000

Forrester Family Trust

Matching programme: Small Grants

The Forrester Family Trust, established in 1986 by the Forrester family, is an independent charitable foundation dedicated to empowering small chariti...

Grant Range
£10,000 - £40,000

Foundation Scotland

Matching 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...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £35,000

Friends Provident Charitable Foundation

Matching 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...

Grant Range
£100,000 - £120,000

Gannochy Trust

Matching 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...

Grant Range
Contact funder

Geoffrey Watling Charity

Matching programme: General Grant Programme

The Geoffrey Watling Charity embodies entrepreneurial generosity, local pride, and civic friendship, channeling resources to vitalize communities thro...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £30,000

George Family Foundation

Matching programme: Authentic Leadership

The George Family Foundation, established in 1994 by Penny and Bill George in Minneapolis, Minnesota, advances wholeness in mind, body, spirit, and co...

Grant Range
£50,000 - £200,000

Grantscape

Matching 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...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £50,000

Gwinear-Gwithian Sustainable Community Fund

Matching programme: Gwinear-Gwithian Sustainable Community Fund

Gwinear-Gwithian Sustainable Community Fund is a community-rooted charity dedicated to enhancing sustainability, resilience, and quality of life in ru...

Grant Range
£500 - £10,000

H&F Giving

Matching programme: Earls Court Community Fund

H&F Giving is a place-based charitable funder established in 2018 through the merger of Hammersmith United Charities and Dr Edwards and Bishop King’s ...

Grant Range
£5,000 - £50,000

Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland

Matching programme: 40 INVEST

Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland, established over 40 years ago and funded entirely by Lloyds Banking Group profits as one of four autonomous H...

Grant Range
£2,500 - £45,000

Herefordshire Community Foundation

Matching programme: Main Grant Programme

Herefordshire Community Foundation (HCF), established in June 2002, is an independent grant-making charity dedicated to promoting charitable purposes ...

Grant Range
£3,000 - £5,000

Hey Smile Foundation

Matching programme: I AM Fund

HEY Smile Foundation, founded in 2008 by Jim Dick OBE, is a Yorkshire-based infrastructure charity dedicated to strengthening the voluntary sector in ...

Grant Range
£500 - £10,000

HM Treasury

Matching programme: Rapid Response Vehicles Grant Scheme

HM Treasury, the United Kingdom's economic and finance ministry established centuries ago and led by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, serves as the gu...

Grant Range
£1,000,000 - £50,000,000

Home Office

Matching programme: Community Engagement Fund 2025/26

The Home Office, the United Kingdom's interior ministry established in 1782, serves as the lead government department for public safety, national secu...

Grant Range
£5,000 - £10,000

Housing Pathways Trust

Matching programme: Main Grants Programme

Housing Pathways Trust, a historic almshouse charity rooted in seventeenth-century principles, drives community transformation by enabling those in ne...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £5,000

Hugh Fraser Foundation

Matching 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...

Grant Range
£2,000 - £20,000

Isle of Wight Foundation

Matching programme: Isle of Wight Foundation Grant

The Isle of Wight Foundation, established in 2014 by a consortium of private sector companies including Island Roads, Meridiam, and Vinci Concessions,...

Grant Range
£3,000 - £16,000

Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust

Matching programme: Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust Grants

The Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, founded in 1904 by Quaker philanthropist Joseph Rowntree, advances social justice through bold interventions in demo...

Grant Range
£10,000 - £100,000

Kensington and Chelsea Foundation

Matching programme: Earls Court Community Fund

The Kensington and Chelsea Foundation, established in 2008 as an independent place-based charity, addresses profound hardship, exclusion, and inequali...

Grant Range
£2,000 - £25,000

Kensington and Chelsea Social Council

Matching programme: Healthier Futures: North Kensington Self-Care General grants

Kensington and Chelsea Social Council (KCSC), established in 2001 as the voluntary sector infrastructure organisation for the Royal Borough of Kensing...

Grant Range
£5,000 - £15,000

Lancashire Environmental Fund Limited

Matching programme: Small Grants

Lancashire Environmental Fund Limited is a partnership-driven grantmaker dedicated to offsetting landfill impacts through environmental enhancements t...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £30,000

Locality (UK)

Matching programme: Cost of living grants

Locality is a national network and registered UK charity founded in 1994 through the merger of two leading community support bodies, dedicated to empo...

Grant Range
£10,000 - £75,000

London Borough of Hounslow

Matching programme: Revenue Fund

London Borough of Hounslow drives its Thriving Communities Fund through a mission to reduce inequality, build community resilience, and empower civil ...

Grant Range
£250 - £100,000

London Community Foundation

Matching programme: Wimbledon Foundation Community Fund

London Community Foundation champions a fairer London by investing in small, local charities and grassroots groups tackling deep inequalities, wealth ...

Grant Range
£500 - £25,000

London Marathon Charitable Trust Limited

Matching 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-...

Grant Range
£10,000 - £80,000

Marketors Trust

Matching programme: Charity Grants Programme

The Marketors Trust, established in 1976 as the charitable arm of the Worshipful Company of Marketors, inspires excellence in marketing while supporti...

Grant Range
£2,500 - £10,000

Millennium Stadium Charitable Trust

Matching 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...

Grant Range
Contact funder

Milton Keynes Community Foundation Limited

Matching 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...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £15,000

Ministry of Defence

Matching programme: Community Covenant Grant Scheme

The Ministry of Defence (MOD), established in 1964 as the UK's central government department for defence, serves as headquarters for the British Armed...

Grant Range
£5,000 - £50,000

Mobbs Memorial Trust Limited

Matching 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...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £5,000

Morrisons Foundation

Matching programme: Grant Funding Programme

The Morrisons Foundation, established in 2015 by Wm Morrison Supermarkets Ltd, is a UK grant-maker dedicated to creating lasting positive change in co...

Grant Range
£5,000 - £10,000

Showing 50 of 86 matching funders

553 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.

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

1

Describe Your Charity

Tell us what your charity does, who you help, and where you work. Takes 30 seconds.

2

Get Matched Instantly

Our AI ranks all 704 community development funders by how well they fit your specific work.

3

Write Winning Applications

Our AI assistant helps you draft and refine grant applications tailored to each funder.

Which of These 704 Funders Are Right for You?

Browsing 704 funders manually takes hours. Describe your charity once and get your top matches ranked by compatibility — in seconds.

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