Statutory and other Major Sources
- DfID / Comic Relief Common Ground Initiative
- Managed by Comic Relief
- The initiative aims to increase access to grants for small and Diaspora-led organisations in the UK that are working to create real and sustainable changes to some of the poorest and most disadvantaged communities in Africa. This fund also aims to strengthen the capacity of small and Diaspora organisations in the UK. Applicants can apply to the health, education or enterprise and employment programmes that have been developed specifically for this initiative, or to one of Comic Relief’s six existing grants programmes (see later section).
- Grants are available to UK registered charities (enterprise and employment projects have broader eligibility), with an annual turn-over of less that £1m for the previous two financial years Diaspora organisations may be of any size, and where the majority of the trustees define themselves as being of African heritage; who live in the UK but retain emotional, financial and cultural links with their country and/ or the African continent
- The scope of this funding is for work in any African country or group of African countries. There are three types of funding available for applicants under this initiative:
- ‘Research, consultation and planning’ grants of up to £25,000 for action research, baseline studies, needs analysis, piloting work, disseminating learning and related work.
- ‘Project’ grants. These may be up to £1 million over 5 years. However, the mean grant for most small organisations is under £200,000 over three years.
- Organisational development’ grants of up to £40,000 for up to three years.
- DfID Civil Society Challenge Fund
- Managed through Triple Line Consulting
- The CSCF supports activities that:
- improve the capacity of Southern civil society to engage in the local decision-making processes;
- improve the capacity of Southern civil society to engage in national decision making processes;
- improve national linkages through global advocacy;
- provide innovative service delivery; provide service delivery in difficult environments.
- DfID Development Awareness Fund (DAF) and Mini-Grants Scheme
- The Development Awareness Fund is being redesigned for relaunch in late 2010. It will continue to be for not-for-profit organizations that are seeking funding to raise public awareness and understanding of global poverty. It will not be for work with the formal education system, which will be provided under new education programmes developed for each nation.
- DfID Media Fund: Commonwealth Broadcasting Association Programme Development and Travel Bursary Funds
- These fund is for established, UK-based network and regional media producers/journalists who want to spend up to three months in a Commonwealth developing country in order to research material for programmes , and then to produce programmes for mainstream UK transmission, that promote UK public understanding of the developing world and the need to tackle global poverty. Up to £10,000.
- European Union Financing Instument for Development Cooperation ‘Non-State Actors and Local Authorities’ Programme
- Under this thematic programme from 2007-10, the Commission is supporting the right of initiative of non-state actors and local authorities by funding their initiatives in three main areas of intervention:
- actions in developing countries and regions;
- awareness raising and education in Europe on the subject of development;
- measures facilitating the coordination between civil society networks and local authorities.
- European International Twinning Partnerships for Development
- Comic Relief International Grants Programme
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Comic Relief have focused their grant making onto six ‘open’ grants programmes, and three additional programmes under the Common Ground Initiative. Your application needs to show how your work fits one of the programme strategies and all our grant-making principles. Grants are for between three and five years, and you can apply for up to £1 million for project grants and up to £25,000 for research and development grants.
- Trade
- People Affected by HIV and AIDS
- People Affected by Conflict
- Street and Working Children and Young People
- People Living in Urban Slums
- Women and Girls
- Sport for Change
- Common Ground Initiative
Charitable Trusts & Foundations
- Association of Charitable Foundations
- ACF (Association of Charitable Foundations) is the leading membership association for trusts and foundations in the UK with over 300 members ranging in size from small and local grant-makers to some of the world's largest foundations.
- Waterloo Foundation World Development Programme
- TWF aims to support organisations which help the economically disadvantaged build the basis of sustainable prosperity, by improving an individual’s ability to access a high-quality education; supporting communities to have access to clean drinking water, sanitation and hygiene; and providing support for successful enterprise development are all key to achieving this objective. Up to maximum £100,000 pa.
- Waterloo Foundation Environment Programme
- TWF is keen to support initiatives aimed at reducing man-made climate change and increasing the health of the marine environment, both in the UK and worldwide, with foci on forests and marine projects.
- Kitchen Table Charities Trust (KTCT)
- The Kitchen Table Charities Trust was created to help small charities, working mostly in Africa, which are using small amounts of money to transform peoples lives in the areas of:
- Primary education;
- Health, sanitation and clean drinking water;
- Child and mother care, including street children, orphanages and maternity services;
- Poverty alleviation, especially revenue generating projects.
- KTCT grants rarely exceed £5,000 per project or organisation. No part of any grant should be spent in Britain on administration - including salaries and advertising campaigns. Projects we support must give direct help to the very poorest (usually children or widows) at the bottom of the ladder.
- Baring Foundation – joint international development grants programme
- Registered charities, voluntary groups and not-for-profit organisations in the UK that work with non-governmental organisations and community-based organisations in sub-Saharan Africa can apply. The maximum size of grant is £250,000 and it can be awarded for a duration of up to five years. Grants are available to help tackle the problem arising from long-term migration and displacement of people in sub-Saharan Africa. The UK applicant is expected to channel grant funding into organisations operating in the region. Annual application deadline March.
- The Equitable Charitable Trust
- The aim of the Trust is the advancement of the education of young persons under 25 years, in particular for those who are mentally or physically disabled or disadvantaged in some way. One of three foci supports overseas projects that will help increase participation in, or improve the quality of, education for disadvantaged or disabled children and young people in developing countries. Grants made by the trust can be allocated towards project costs, capital expenditure, equipment and/or the salary costs of a post. The length of funding can range from one to three years. The size of grants ranges from £2,500 to £30,000; most multi-year grants will be for sums between £5,000 and £7,500 p.a.
- The Sigrid Rausing Trust
- The foundation supports the international human rights movement, with four programmes:
- Civil and Political Rights,
- Women’s Rights,
- Minority Rights
- Social and Environmental Justice.
- The Dulverton Trust
- Provides grants of between £10-30,000 to UK registered charities and organisations with charitable status for activity programmes including Peace and Humanitarian Support and Africa. They are particularly keen to support work in Wales and welcome telephone enquiries and applications from Welsh charities.
- The Potter Foundation
- The Foundation seeks to achieve an impact through wide-ranging grants that promote reason, education, and human rights, in the hope of improving mutual understanding, reinforcing good governance, and encouraging the growth and maintenance of a robust civil society, particularly in less developed countries.
- Charles Hayward Foundation
- Grants are available for projects in India, Pakistan and Commonwealth countries in Africa. Funding will be considered for: Water and Sanitation; Basic health education; Cure and rehab from disease and disability; Youth at risk, orphans and street children; Basic training in farming skills and income generation.
- Nominet Trust
- Support UK-based and international Internet-related initiatives in the sectors of education, research and development, safety and social inclusion. Projects should meet the needs of the Trust’s target groups, which are young people, older people, people with disabilities, people with illnesses, and generally those that are disadvantaged or vulnerable. Applications are taken online.
- The Gibbs Trust
- Provides grants between £500 and £10,000 towards wide range of activities including international.
- The Maypole Fund
- Grants of up to £750 to resource imaginative, non-violent activities by individual women and women's groups for the furtherance of peace with justice and environmental safety. We welcome applications from women for projects and activities for:
- disarmament and action against the arms trade
- anti-militarism and action against male violence
- nuclear and environmental issues
- promoting women's social and political autonomy throughout the world
- international links between women for these purposes.
- The Rufford Foundation
- The Foundation concentrates its funding on nature conservation projects in developing countries undertaken by small to medium-sized organisations. Grants to projects focusing on either overseas development or social welfare issues in the UK will not normally exceed £5,000.
- The Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts
- SFCT is the operating office of 18 grant-making trusts established by the Sainsbury family, these include:
- The Gatsby Charitable Foundation
- Gatsby has been funding and implementing programmes in Africa since the 1980s with the overall objective of stimulating job creation and improving incomes for the poor. Programmes have focused mostly on two key areas: disseminating agricultural research to small-holder farmers, and providing assistance to small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
- Ashden Trust
- The Ashden Trust is a grant-making charity established in 1989 and is one of the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts. We primarily support programmes which have a focus on climate change, sustainable development or on improving the quality of life in poorer communities.
- The True Colours Trust
- TCT are committed to improving access to affordable palliative care in sub-Saharan Africa. The small grants programme, administered by the African Palliative Care Association, provides grants of between £1,000 - £2,500, to organisations offering palliative services across the continent.
- The Headley Trust
- Development projects in sub-Saharan Anglophone Africa, and Ethiopia.
- The Staples Trust
- Overseas development - projects which empower women, support the rights of indigenous people, improve shelter and housing, generate income in disadvantaged communities, and encourage sustainable agriculture
Support
‘Finding and Getting Money’ Information Sheets from WCVA.
Visit the website of Sustainable Funding Cymru, a resource that provides practical information to voluntary and community organisations in Wales on how to develop a sustainable funding approach.
Introductory Pack on Funding and Finance for Voluntary and Community Sector Organisations from Finance Hub.
See NCVO's Introduction to Fundraising pages on its website for a basic guide to grant diversification, developing a fundraising strategy, finding funding information and resources, and what makes a good funding bid.
NCVO’s Sustainable Funding Project also have a website to encourage organisations to explore a wide range of funding and financing options and broaden their income base.
There is a broad guide to writing funding proposals available for download on the CIVICUS website.
BIG Lottery guide to Full Cost Recovery.
BOND runs funding training courses on how to gain access to funding opportunities.