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
173 of 704 match your filtersChecked against verified programme data for 228 of 704 funders. 476 not yet verified are listed below; 55 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...
Access - The Foundation for Social Investment
Verified openMatching programme: Local Access
Access – The Foundation for Social Investment drives systemic transformation in the social investment market, empowering charities and social enterpri...
Addington Fund
Verified openMatching programme: Emergency Relief (Forage Aid)
The Addington Fund is an independent UK charity established in 2001 in response to the classical swine fever and foot-and-mouth outbreaks, dedicated t...
Alan Boswell Group Charitable Trust
Verified openMatching programme: The Alan Boswell Group Charitable Trust
The Alan Boswell Group Charitable Trust, established in May 2019 by the Norwich-based independent insurance broker and risk management group, channels...
Alfred Williams Charitable Trust
Verified openMatching programme: Alfred Williams Charitable Trust
The Alfred Williams Charitable Trust, established in 1973 by Mr. Alfred Williams and governed by trustees with deep Suffolk connections, is a grant-ma...
Anthony and Gwendoline Wylde Memorial Charity
Verified openMatching programme: Large Grant Applications - Individuals
The Anthony and Gwendoline Wylde Memorial Charity embodies values of local generosity, practical compassion, and community solidarity, memorializing i...
Architectural Heritage Fund
Verified openMatching programme: Project Development Grants (PDG) - Scotland
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...
Ballinger Charitable Trust
Verified openMatching programme: Project / Capital Grant
The Ballinger Charitable Trust, founded in 1994 by the Ballinger family with deep personal ties to North East England, supports UK-registered charitie...
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...
Blanchminster Trust
Verified openMatching programme: General Grant Programme
The Blanchminster Trust, believed to be Britain's oldest continuously operating charitable trust since its formal establishment in 1421 with 14th-cent...
Bolton Community and Voluntary Services
Verified openMatching programme: Bolton Housing Partnership Grants – Individuals
Bolton Community and Voluntary Services (Bolton CVS) is a registered charity and local infrastructure organisation dedicated to strengthening the volu...
Brian Leslie Racher 2004 Charitable Trust
Verified openMatching programme: Application for a Grant (Organisations)
The Brian Leslie Racher 2004 Charitable Trust promotes diverse charitable purposes enhancing community welfare for local residents, embodying values o...
Castle Cavendish Foundation
Verified openMatching programme: Area-Based 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 ...
Charities of Thomas Wade and Others
Verified openMatching programme: Main Grants Programme
Charities of Thomas Wade and Others, known as Wade's Charity, is a historic Leeds-based grant-making trust established in 1530 by Thomas Wade during H...
Charles Littlewood Hill Trust
Verified openMatching programme: Charles Littlewood Hill Trust Grant Programme
The Charles Littlewood Hill Trust, established in 1978 by Charles Littlewood Hill, pursues a mission of advancing diverse charitable purposes through ...
City Health Care Partnership Foundation
Verified openMatching programme: Small Grants
City Health Care Partnership Foundation, established in 2013 by City Health Care Partnership CIC, is a grant-making charity dedicated to promoting hea...
Civic Power Fund
Verified openMatching programme: Alliance for Youth Organising
The Civic Power Fund, launched in 2022 as the UK's first pooled donor fund for grassroots community organising, unites progressive trusts like Unbound...
Clarion Futures
Verified openMatching programme: Community Catalyst
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
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 ...
Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation
Verified openMatching programme: Education grants
The Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation (CISWO), established in 1920 with charitable status since 1995, is the UK's sole national charity dedica...
Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation 2014
Verified openMatching programme: Education Grants
Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation 2014 serves as trustee for CISWO, a national charity dedicated to advancing health, relieving poverty and ha...
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...
Community Foundation for Calderdale
Verified openMatching programme: SWEF Enterprise and Business Fund
The Community Foundation for Calderdale (CFFC), established in 1991, is a not-for-profit community foundation dedicated to reducing inequalities and c...
Community Foundation for Wiltshire & Swindon
Verified openMatching 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
Verified openMatching 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...
Congleton Inclosure Trust
Verified openMatching programme: Congleton Inclosure Trust Grants
Congleton Inclosure Trust, established in 1795 by Act of Parliament through the enclosure of local wastelands, is a longstanding charitable trust dedi...
Consolidated Charity of Burton Upon Trent
Verified openMatching programme: Financial Assistance for Individuals (Education, Personal Development, Sport, Arts)
The Consolidated Charity of Burton upon Trent is a centuries-old endowed charity rooted in local philanthropic traditions, dedicated to delivering pub...
Corra Foundation
Verified openMatching programme: Boost Fund
Corra Foundation, an independent Scottish grant-maker established in 1985 (originally Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland), drives positive change, opp...
Cripplegate Foundation
Verified openMatching programme: Disability Fund
Cripplegate Foundation drives lasting social change to build an equal society free from poverty and inequality, empowering residents to access opportu...
Cruden Foundation Ltd
Verified openMatching programme: Main Grant Programme
Cruden Foundation Ltd, established in Edinburgh from a building business legacy, embodies a mission of community regeneration and enduring public bene...
Cumbria Community Foundation
Verified openMatching 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,...
Cwmbran Trust
Verified openMatching programme: Cwmbran Trust Main Grant Programme
The Cwmbran Trust, evolved from the Girling (Cwmbran) Trust and formally established in 1998, is a place-based charitable organisation dedicated to be...
Daisy Trust
Verified openMatching programme: Grants
The Daisy Trust, established in 1982, is a grant-making charity dedicated exclusively to supporting disadvantaged residents of all ages in the London ...
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...
David Laing Foundation
Verified openMatching programme: Main Grant Programme
The David Laing Foundation, an independent family grantmaker established in 1979 by philanthropist David Laing—former Lord-Lieutenant of Northamptonsh...
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...
Devon Community Foundation
Verified openMatching programme: Community Benefit Funds
Devon Community Foundation, established in 1996 as Devon’s largest independent grantmaker and a registered charity, harnesses local philanthropy to st...
Dorset Community Foundation
Verified openMatching programme: SWEF Enterprise Fund
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
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: Building Materials Donation Program
The E H Smith Charitable Trust, family-founded in 1944, embodies community responsibility by reinvesting business profits to uplift local communities ...
Earley Charity
Verified openMatching programme: Grants to Organisations – £3,000 and under
The Earley Charity, evolved from historic poor relief traditions, drives its mission to alleviate poverty, hardship, and disadvantage among vulnerable...
Elmgrant Trust
Verified openMatching programme: Individual Grants
The Elmgrant Trust, family-founded in 1936 by Leonard and Dorothy Elmhirst and Beatrice, carries forward the Dartington Hall ethos of rural regenerati...
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...
Enkalon Foundation
Verified openMatching programme: Ex-Employee Support
The Enkalon Foundation embodies a mission rooted in community resilience and social welfare, originating from support for former factory workers facin...
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 ...
Essex Community Foundation
Verified openMatching programme: Google Essex Data Centre Community Fund
Essex Community Foundation, established in 1996, is an independent charitable foundation dedicated to enhancing quality of life for Essex residents by...
Showing 50 of 173 matching funders
476 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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Which of These 704 Funders Are Right for You?
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