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

51 of 704 match your filters

Checked against verified programme data for 138 of 704 funders. 566 not yet verified are listed below; 87 that don't fit were excluded.

Arts Council England

Verified open

Matching 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...

Grant Range
£10,000 - £30,000

Baywind Energy Community Trust

Verified open

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

Bolton Community and Voluntary Services

Verified open

Matching programme: Bolton Housing Partnership Grants – Organisations

Bolton Community and Voluntary Services (Bolton CVS) is a registered charity and local infrastructure organisation dedicated to strengthening the volu...

Grant Range
£3,000 - £5,000

Co-Operative Community Investment Foundation

Verified open

Matching programme: Young Gamechangers 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

Verified open

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 Wiltshire & Swindon

Verified open

Matching programme: Community Grants

Wiltshire and Swindon Community Foundation, founded in 1975 as an independent charity (formerly Community Foundation for Wiltshire & Swindon), tackles...

Grant Range
£750 - £5,000

Community Foundation in Wales

Verified open

Matching programme: Fund for Wales

Community Foundation Wales, established in November 1998 as a registered charity and company, drives philanthropy to strengthen Welsh communities by c...

Grant Range
£500 - £2,000

Cumbria Community Foundation

Verified open

Matching programme: Cumbria Community Foundation Grants

Cumbria Community Foundation, established in 1999, is an independent UK community foundation dedicated to tackling poverty, enhancing quality of life,...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £10,000

Duke of Devonshire's Charitable Trust

Verified open

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

Elmgrant Trust

Verified open

Matching programme: Organisation Grants

The Elmgrant Trust, family-founded in 1936 by Leonard and Dorothy Elmhirst and Beatrice, carries forward the Dartington Hall ethos of rural regenerati...

Grant Range
Contact funder

Eric Wright Charitable Trust

Verified open

Matching programme: Community Grants

The Eric Wright Charitable Trust embodies a founding vision of responsible business stewardship channeling construction industry profits into perpetua...

Grant Range
£500 - £24,000

Forever Manchester

Verified open

Matching programme: CDL Fund

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

Grant Range
£500 - £1,500

Forever Notts

Verified open

Matching programme: Kynan Eldridge Fund

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

Fort Augustus & Glenmoriston Community Company

Verified open

Matching programme: Community Benefit Grant

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

Friends Provident Charitable Foundation

Verified open

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

Verified open

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

Verified open

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

Housing Pathways Trust

Verified open

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

Verified open

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

J G Graves Charitable Trust

Verified open

Matching programme: General Grant Programme

The J G Graves Charitable Trust, founded in 1930 by Sheffield businessman and philanthropist John George Graves, is a legacy-driven funder dedicated t...

Grant Range
£500 - £3,000

John Moores Foundation

Verified open

Matching programme: Grants for Merseyside

The John Moores Foundation, established in Liverpool in 1964 by philanthropist Sir John Moores, is a family-founded independent grant-maker dedicated ...

Grant Range
£2,000 - £10,000

Kelly Family Charitable Trust

Verified open

Matching programme: Main Grant Programme

The Kelly Family Charitable Trust, a UK-based family foundation established in 2004 by the Kelly family, is dedicated to strengthening and preserving ...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £5,000

King Henry VIII Endowed Trust, Warwick

Verified open

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

Lancaster Foundation

Verified open

Matching programme: Grant Funding (General Programme)

The Lancaster Foundation, established in 1997 by John and Rosemary Lancaster, is a UK charitable trust driven by Christian values, aiming to express G...

Grant Range
£15,000 - £100,000

Len Pick Trust

Verified open

Matching programme: Grant Under £1,000

The Len Pick Trust is a community-rooted grantmaker inspired by the philanthropic legacy of local farmer and benefactor Len Pick, dedicated to deliver...

Grant Range
£500 - £15,000

Millennium Awards Trust

Verified open

Matching 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...

Grant Range
£500 - £18,000

Millennium Stadium Charitable Trust

Verified open

Matching programme: Local 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

Verified open

Matching programme: Community Roots Project

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

Moto Foundation

Verified open

Matching programme: Community Grants

Moto Foundation, established in 2005 as Moto in the Community and rebranded in 2022, serves as the charitable arm of Moto Hospitality Limited, the UK'...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £2,500

Northern Powergrid Foundation

Verified open

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

Oakdale Trust

Verified open

Matching programme: Grant Applications

The Oakdale Trust is a small, family-run charitable foundation established in 1946 by Brandon Cadbury, rooted in the Cadbury family's philanthropic le...

Grant Range
£250 - £3,000

P H Holt Foundation

Verified open

Matching 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...

Grant Range
£3,000 - £10,000

Pembrokeshire Association of Voluntary Services

Verified open

Matching programme: Port of Milford Haven Community Fund

Pembrokeshire Association of Voluntary Services (PAVS) serves as the County Voluntary Council championing charitable purposes for public benefit throu...

Grant Range
£500 - £5,000

Point North Community Foundation

Verified open

Matching programme: SWEF Business Grant

Point North Community Foundation, formerly County Durham Community Foundation and established in 1995 by Sir Paul Nicholson and David Grant, is an acc...

Grant Range
£2,000 - £10,000

Quartet Community Foundation

Verified open

Matching programme: Express Grant Programme

Quartet Community Foundation harnesses local philanthropy to tackle entrenched inequalities, promote inclusion, and build resilient communities throug...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £25,000

Rees Jeffreys Road Fund

Verified open

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

Richmond Foundation

Verified open

Matching 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...

Grant Range
Up to £180,000

Salford Community & Voluntary Services

Verified open

Matching 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...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £5,000

Shears Foundation

Verified open

Matching programme: Small Grants Programme

The Shears Foundation, a family-led charitable foundation established in 1994 by Trevor and Lyn Shears from proceeds of the Go-Ahead transport group f...

Grant Range
£3,000 - £6,000

Sir James Reckitt Charity

Verified open

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

Suffolk Community Foundation

Verified open

Matching programme: Central Fund

Suffolk Community Foundation, established in 2005 as one of the UK's 47 community foundations and the largest independent grant-maker to Suffolk's vol...

Grant Range
£2,000 - £5,000

Sussex Community Foundation

Verified open

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

Tees Valley Community Foundation

Verified open

Matching programme: Warm This Winter Fund

Tees Valley Community Foundation, known as The Tees Foundation, drives positive change by connecting philanthropic donors to grassroots initiatives ta...

Grant Range
£500 - £2,500

Torbay Community Development Trust Ltd

Verified open

Matching programme: Torbay Council Community Fund

Torbay Communities, rooted in asset-based community development, empowers local voluntary, community, and social enterprise organizations to foster in...

Grant Range
£5,000 - £40,000

Triodos Foundation

Verified open

Matching programme: Triodos Foundation Grant

Triodos Foundation, established in 1996 as an expression of Triodos Bank’s ethos of sustainable, ethical finance, is a UK-registered grant-maker dedic...

Grant Range
£500 - £3,000

Two Ridings Community Foundation

Verified open

Matching programme: Community First Prime Opportunities Fund

Two Ridings Community Foundation, established in 2000 by former Chief Constable David Kenworthy, inspires local giving and channels philanthropic inve...

Grant Range
£200 - £30,000

W F Southall Trust

Verified open

Matching programme: W F Southall Trust Main Grant Programme

The W F Southall Trust, established in 1937 by Wilfred Francis Southall, is a Quaker-based family grant-making trust dedicated to advancing Quaker val...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £5,000

Walton on Thames Charity

Verified open

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

Verified open

Matching programme: Ireland

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

Verified open

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

Showing 50 of 51 matching funders

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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