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
72 of 704 match your filtersChecked against verified programme data for 111 of 704 funders. 593 not yet verified are listed below; 39 that don't fit were excluded.
Access - The Foundation for Social Investment
Matching programme: Local Access
Access – The Foundation for Social Investment drives systemic transformation in the social investment market, empowering charities and social enterpri...
Action Together CIO
Matching programme: Fix The Digital Divide Fund
Action Together CIO, established in 2016 through the merger of Voluntary Action Oldham and Community and Voluntary Action Tameside, serves as the infr...
Active Essex Foundation
Matching programme: Sport and Youth Crime Prevention programme (SYCP)
Active Essex Foundation is an independent charity established in 2016 to tackle health and social inequalities in Essex, Southend, and Thurrock throug...
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...
Benefact Trust Limited
Matching programme: Community Impact Grants
Benefact Trust Limited, formerly Allchurches Trust, is an independent UK-registered charity established in 1972 with roots in 1887, headquartered in G...
Bolton Community and Voluntary Services
Matching programme: Bolton's Fund: Hate Crime Awareness Grants 2025
Bolton Community and Voluntary Services (Bolton CVS) is a registered charity and local infrastructure organisation dedicated to strengthening the volu...
City Health Care Partnership Foundation
Matching 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
Matching programme: Community Action Fund
The Civic Power Fund, launched in 2022 as the UK's first pooled donor fund for grassroots community organising, unites progressive trusts like Unbound...
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 ...
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 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...
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...
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,...
Dorset Community Foundation
Matching programme: BCP Crisis and Resilience 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
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: Eric Wright Charitable Trust Grants 2025/26
The Eric Wright Charitable Trust embodies a founding vision of responsible business stewardship channeling construction industry profits into perpetua...
Ernest Kleinwort Charitable Trust
Matching programme: Large 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
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 ...
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...
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...
Greaves & Withey Foundation
Matching programme: Main Grant Programme
The Greaves & Withey Foundation, formerly the Robin Greaves Foundation, is a family-led independent charity established by the Greaves and Withey fami...
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...
Heathrow Community Trust
Matching programme: Communities Together Small
Heathrow Community Trust (HCT), established in 1996 as an independent grant-making charity, supports and enhances quality of life for communities arou...
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 ...
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...
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...
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...
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 ...
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...
Lancaster Foundation
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...
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...
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...
Millennium Awards Trust
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...
Milton Keynes Community Foundation Limited
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...
Ministry of Defence
Matching programme: Defence Technology Exploitation Programme (DTEP)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD), established in 1964 as the UK's central government department for defence, serves as headquarters for the British Armed...
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...
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 ...
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...
Oxfordshire Community Foundation
Matching programme: Community Capacity
Oxfordshire Community Foundation (OCF), established in 1995, is an independent charity dedicated to improving lives and tackling inequality in Oxfords...
P H Holt Foundation
Matching programme: Action on Abuse Fund
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...
Partnership Foundation
Matching programme: Community Projects Fund
The Partnership Foundation is an urban regeneration charity founded to combat deprivation and neglect by enhancing social and economic well-being for ...
Peabody Community Foundation
Matching programme: Kerslake Awards
The Peabody Community Foundation (PCF), established in 2016 as the charitable arm of Peabody Group, builds on George Peabody's legacy to foster health...
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...
Showing 50 of 72 matching funders
593 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
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