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

50 of 704 match your filters

Checked against verified programme data for 138 of 704 funders. 566 not yet verified are listed below; 88 that don't fit were excluded.

Arts Council England

Matching programme: Capital Investment Programme (Round 2)

Arts Council England is the national development agency championing arts, museums, and libraries, rooted in a post-war vision to advance creativity fo...

Grant Range
£10,000 - £30,000

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

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

Community Foundation for Northern Ireland

Matching programme: RTÉ Toy Show Appeal Community Grants Round

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

Cornwall Community Development Limited

Matching programme: ACRE Village Hall Capital Grants

Cornwall Community Development Limited, operating as Cornwall Rural Community Charity (CRCC), was established in 2001 from the Cornwall Rural Communit...

Grant Range
£500 - £10,000

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Matching programme: Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme (OWMIS) – Major Portside Hubs

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), established in 2016 through merger of business innovation and energy climate funct...

Grant Range
£50,000 - £10,000,000

Derbyshire Environmental Trust Limited

Matching 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...

Grant Range
£2,500 - £20,000

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

England and Wales Cricket Trust

Matching programme: County Grants Fund

The England and Wales Cricket Trust (EWCT), a registered charity (no. 1112540), promotes community participation in cricket as a means of healthy recr...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £50,000

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

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

Fort Augustus & Glenmoriston Community Company

Matching programme: Group Grant (standard)

Fort Augustus & Glenmoriston Community Company, established in 2007 by the local Community Council in the Scottish Highlands, is a community-led organ...

Grant Range
Up to £25,000

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

Greenham Trust Ltd

Matching 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 ...

Grant Range
£500 - £30,000

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

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

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

King Henry VIII Endowed Trust, Warwick

Matching 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...

Grant Range
£500 - £150,000

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

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

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

National Forest Company

Matching programme: Forest Creation Grant

The National Forest Company pioneers landscape-scale environmental regeneration through tree planting and sustainable land management in post-industri...

Grant Range
£500 - £25,000

National Lottery Heritage Fund

Matching 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 ...

Grant Range
£25,000 - £100,000

Northern Powergrid Foundation

Matching 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...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £20,000

Nova Wakefield District Limited

Matching programme: Castleford Pride in Place Community Grants Programme

Nova Wakefield District Limited is the local infrastructure charity empowering Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations across ...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £10,000

People's Health Trust

Matching programme: Advice for Health

People's Health Trust is a national UK charity established in 2011, funded initially by The Health Lottery, dedicated to challenging health inequaliti...

Grant Range
£5,000 - £50,000

Postcode Innovation Trust

Matching programme: Dream Fund

Postcode Innovation Trust, established in 2016, is an independent funder powered by proceeds from its society lottery linked to People’s Postcode Lott...

Grant Range
£100,000 - £1,250,000

Postcode Neighbourhood Trust

Matching programme: Postcode Neighbourhood Trust Community Grants

Postcode Neighbourhood Trust, a Scottish-registered charity and company limited by guarantee funded exclusively by People’s Postcode Lottery proceeds,...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £25,000

Real Farming Trust

Matching programme: LEAP (Loans for Enlightened Agriculture Programme)

The Real Farming Trust, a UK charity established in 2009 by Colin Tudge and Ruth West from the Oxford Real Farming Conference, drives the agroecologic...

Grant Range
£5,000 - £30,000

Rees Jeffreys Road Fund

Matching programme: Project Grants

The Rees Jeffreys Road Fund, established in 1950 by pioneering transport campaigner William Rees Jeffreys, is a UK charity dedicated to enhancing the ...

Grant Range
£5,000 - £30,000

Riverside Foundation

Matching programme: Isle of Dogs Community Chest Programme

Riverside Foundation, a registered UK charity established in 1983, transforms lives and regenerates deprived neighbourhoods, primarily where parent ho...

Grant Range
£500 - £10,000

Sir James Knott Trust

Matching programme: Rolling Grants Programme

The Sir James Knott Trust, established in 1924 by Tyneside shipowner Sir James Knott following the loss of his sons in World War I, is a cornerstone p...

Grant Range
Up to £20,000

Sir James Reckitt Charity

Matching programme: Main Grant Programme

The Sir James Reckitt Charity, founded by Quaker industrialist Sir James Reckitt, advances social, material, and moral welfare for Hull and East Yorks...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £10,000

Somerset Community Foundation

Matching programme: HPC Community Fund Small Grants

Somerset Community Foundation, established in 2002 by local residents, business leaders, and philanthropists in Somerset, England, is a place-based fu...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £10,000

South Downs National Park Trust

Matching programme: Pounds for Ponds Fund

The South Downs National Park Trust, established in 2017 as the official independent charity for the South Downs National Park spanning Hampshire, Wes...

Grant Range
£500 - £10,000

sportscotland

Matching programme: Cycling Facilities Fund - Club Hub and Event Projects

sportscotland, established in 1972 as the Scottish Sports Council by royal charter, serves as Scotland's national agency for sport and an executive no...

Grant Range
Up to £250,000

Steel Charitable Trust

Matching programme: Luton Matters Programme

Steel Charitable Trust advances meaningful change through strategic grantmaking to UK charities, rooted in a dual commitment to place-based regenerati...

Grant Range
£10,000 - £25,000

Summerfield Charitable Trust

Matching programme: General Grant Programme

Summerfield Charitable Trust advances community resilience, inclusion, creativity, environmental stewardship, and support for disadvantaged population...

Grant Range
£10,000 - £50,000

Sussex Community Foundation

Matching programme: Main Grants Programme

Sussex Community Foundation, established in 2006 by the late 10th Duke of Richmond and Gordon, is an independent UK Community Foundation dedicated to ...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £10,000

The Severn Trent Water Charitable Trust Fund

Matching programme: Severn Trent Community Fund (Project Funding)

The Severn Trent Water Charitable Trust Fund, established by Severn Trent Water Limited, champions social responsibility, fairness, and sustainability...

Grant Range
£2,000 - £200,000

Ulster Garden Villages Limited

Matching programme: UGV Charitable Grant Programme

Ulster Garden Villages Limited (UGV), a Belfast-based charitable foundation established in 1946, originally tackled post-war housing shortages in Nort...

Grant Range
£5,000 - £100,000

Veolia Environmental Trust

Matching programme: Community Grant Scheme

The Veolia Environmental Trust, a UK-registered charity established in 1997 by Veolia as an independent entity, channels funds from the government’s L...

Grant Range
£10,000 - £75,000

Walton on Thames Charity

Matching programme: Community Grants – Small Grants (up to £10,000)

Walton on Thames Charity, known as Walton Charity, is an ancient local foundation with over 800 years of history rooted in the parish of Walton-on-Tha...

Grant Range
£5,000 - £25,000

William Adlington Cadbury Charitable Trust

Matching programme: Birmingham and the West Midlands

The William Adlington Cadbury Charitable Trust, established in 1923 by Quaker philanthropist William Cadbury—former Lord Mayor of Birmingham—advances ...

Grant Range
£250 - £50,000

Wixamtree Trust

Matching programme: Main Grant Programme

The Wixamtree Trust, an independent grant-making charity established in 1962 by Sir Humphrey Whitbread, focuses on enhancing the wellbeing and develop...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £10,000

Woodsmith Foundation Limited

Matching programme: Community Grants

Woodsmith Foundation Limited, established in 2012 as the York Potash Foundation and now funded by Anglo American via a unique 0.5% revenue share from ...

Grant Range
£200 - £10,000
566 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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