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
107 of 704 match your filtersChecked against verified programme data for 137 of 704 funders. 567 not yet verified are listed below; 30 that don't fit were excluded.
Action Together CIO
Matching programme: Ashton Parish Church Charity Small Grants Programme
Action Together CIO, established in 2016 through the merger of Voluntary Action Oldham and Community and Voluntary Action Tameside, serves as the infr...
Adnams Community Trust
Matching programme: Adnams Community Trust
The Adnams Community Trust, established in 1990 by Adnams PLC—a historic brewery based in Southwold, Suffolk—channels at least 1% of the company's ann...
Architectural Heritage Fund
Matching programme: Project Viability Grants (PVG) - Wales
The Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF), a UK-registered charity founded in 1976, champions the conservation and sustainable reuse of historic buildings...
Arts Council England
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...
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...
Bolton Community and Voluntary Services
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...
Clarion Futures
Matching programme: Digital Grants Programme
Clarion Futures is the charitable foundation of Clarion Housing Group, the UK's largest housing association, established as the successor to William S...
Co-Operative Community Investment Foundation
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 ...
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...
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...
Community Foundation for Wiltshire & Swindon
Matching programme: Community Grants
Wiltshire and Swindon Community Foundation, founded in 1975 as an independent charity (formerly Community Foundation for Wiltshire & Swindon), tackles...
Community Foundation in Wales
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...
Cornwall Community Development Limited
Matching programme: Digital Together Community Hub and Creative Digital Grants
Cornwall Community Development Limited, operating as Cornwall Rural Community Charity (CRCC), was established in 2001 from the Cornwall Rural Communit...
Croydon Voluntary Action
Matching programme: Croydon Community Grant Fund
Croydon Voluntary Action (CVA) is the leading umbrella organisation for Croydon's voluntary and community sector, established to promote charitable pu...
Cumbria Community Foundation
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,...
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Matching programme: FleX Competition (Flexibility Exchange Demonstrator)
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), established in 2016 through merger of business innovation and energy climate funct...
Developing Healthy Communities (DHC) Limited
Matching programme: PHA Short Term Funding
Developing Healthy Communities (DHC) Limited is a longstanding Northern Ireland-registered charity with over 30 years of experience transforming lives...
Dorset Community Foundation
Matching programme: EDC Project Fund for Strength & Sustainability
Dorset Community Foundation is an independent grantmaker dedicated to improving lives and fostering thriving, united communities across Dorset by chan...
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...
Elmgrant Trust
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...
Eric Wright Charitable Trust
Matching programme: Community Grants
The Eric Wright Charitable Trust embodies a founding vision of responsible business stewardship channeling construction industry profits into perpetua...
Essex Community Foundation
Matching programme: East of England Co-op Community Cares Fund
Essex Community Foundation, established in 1996, is an independent charitable foundation dedicated to enhancing quality of life for Essex residents by...
Forever Manchester
Matching programme: Bright Futures Fund
Forever Manchester is an independent charitable foundation dedicated to empowering grassroots community activity and building resilient neighbourhoods...
Forever Notts
Matching programme: Brian Treffry and Joan Oliver Fund
Forever Notts, formerly Nottinghamshire Community Foundation and established in 1997 as an independent registered charity, serves as a vital broker fo...
Fort Augustus & Glenmoriston Community Company
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...
Foundation Scotland
Matching programme: Women's Fund for Scotland
Foundation Scotland, Scotland's sole community foundation, drives a mission to empower communities by bridging innovative ideas with resources, foster...
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...
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...
Gatwick Airport Community Trust
Matching programme: Gatwick Airport Community Trust Grant Fund
Gatwick Airport Community Trust is an independent grant-making charity established in 2002 through a legally binding agreement between Gatwick Airport...
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...
Greater Manchester High Sheriff's Police Trust
Matching programme: Major Tier
The Greater Manchester High Sheriff's Police Trust is a civic partnership dedicated to enhancing community safety and quality of life by preventing cr...
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...
H&F Giving
Matching programme: Winter Support 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 ...
Hammersmith United Charities
Matching programme: Community Grants
Hammersmith United Charities, an endowed local charity founded in 1618, focuses on relieving poverty and disadvantage among residents of the Hammersmi...
Heart of England Community Foundation
Matching programme: Alan Higgs Community Grants
Heart of England Community Foundation, established in 1995, is an independent grant-making charity dedicated to improving lives across Birmingham, Cov...
Helen Roll Charity
Matching programme: Helen Roll Charity Grant Programme
The Helen Roll Charity, established in 1992 by Jenny Williamson in Ramsden, Oxfordshire, honors her grandmother Lady Helen Roll and draws from family ...
Herefordshire Community Foundation
Matching programme: Community Chest Programme
Herefordshire Community Foundation (HCF), established in June 2002, is an independent grant-making charity dedicated to promoting charitable purposes ...
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 ...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
J G Graves Charitable Trust
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...
John Moores Foundation
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 ...
Kelly Family Charitable Trust
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 ...
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...
Kensington and Chelsea Social Council
Matching programme: COVID-19 and Vaccine Awareness Grant
Kensington and Chelsea Social Council (KCSC), established in 2001 as the voluntary sector infrastructure organisation for the Royal Borough of Kensing...
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...
Lake District Foundation
Matching programme: Real Hedge Fund
The Lake District Foundation, successor to Nurture Lakeland, drives a mission to safeguard the Lake District's natural environment, rich heritage, and...
Lancashire Environmental Fund Limited
Matching programme: Green Grants
Lancashire Environmental Fund Limited is a partnership-driven grantmaker dedicated to offsetting landfill impacts through environmental enhancements t...
Showing 50 of 107 matching funders
567 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
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