Hampshire and Isle of Wight Community Foundation
CatalogAbout
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Community Foundation (HIWCF) connects local generosity with local need, funding charities and community groups making lasting change across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The foundation addresses poverty and inequality by awarding grants to organizations and individuals, building endowment funds for the community, and working with donors, businesses, and charitable trusts to support vital community support services.
Funding Opportunities
Support Grants for Care Leavers
Support Grants for Care Leavers is a flexible funding programme designed specifically for young people aged 18 to 25 who have been in care with Hampshire County Council, Isle of Wight Council, Southampton City Council or Portsmouth City Council. This grant programme is made possible through the generous support of Sovereign Network Group and CCLA. The fund provides financial support across three key areas to help care leavers transition to independent living and achieve their goals. First, it assists with costs of setting up a new home, including purchasing essential items like white goods (refrigerators, washing machines), furnishings such as curtains, moving costs, or rent deposits. Second, it supports wellbeing activities that improve physical and mental health, such as yoga classes, gym memberships, counselling sessions, or participation in cultural and arts events and experiences. Third, it helps with costs related to accessing training, study, and employment pathways, including course fees, computer equipment, interview clothing, equipment needed for training or a new job, and travel expenses like rail cards for work. Grants of up to £750 are available to individuals. These are non-repayable grants, not loans, providing direct financial assistance to care leavers during a critical transition period in their lives. The programme aims to provide flexible support tailored to the individual needs of care leavers as they establish independence and pursue education, employment, and wellbeing goals.
Dayas Music Scholarship Fund
The Dayas Music Scholarship fund was formed after Mrs Hayton (née Dayas) left a sum of money in her will to create a music scholarship. The fund enables individuals over 18 years of age to undertake studies or projects in connection with composition, conducting, instrumental performance, singing, music in education and musicology. The scholarship offers grants to support musical tuition, especially for those providing a community benefit, with applications for studies or projects in pianoforte being prioritised. The fund is administered by Hampshire & Isle of Wight Community Foundation and is designed to support flourishing communities by tackling poverty and inequality through music education and development.
SWEF Enterprise Grants for Individuals
SWEF offers grants up to £2,000 for adults aged 18-30 who have a new business trading for less than 2 years. This program is designed to support young business owners who face barriers to investing in and growing their businesses in Hampshire, Southampton, Portsmouth, and the Isle of Wight. The program offers two types of grants: Start-up Grants (up to £500) for businesses turning over less than £500 a month, and Business Grants (up to £2,000) for businesses turning over £500+ a month. Applicants must be the majority shareholder of their business, have a business bank account, and be a sole trader, limited company, or CIC limited by shares. There must be a clear intention for the business to be the applicant's sole work focus, and the grant must be used to transform the business and take it to the next stage. This is not a loan scheme and does not need to be repaid. The program prioritizes funding for young people who face financial challenges preventing them from developing their business. The application process involves completing an online application form that asks about the applicant's business and how a grant would help make it more successful or help take the business to the next stage. Application support is available for those who need help completing the form.
Ford - Southampton Community Fund
The Ford - Southampton Community Fund aims to support skills initiatives for young people aged 11-25 years old living in Southampton and Eastleigh. This grant programme focuses on helping young people acquire new skills that will enable them to grow into active citizens who take on volunteering, employment, or further learning. The fund supports nonprofit community organisations that reach young people through skills-based interventions. Both life skills and employability skills are eligible, helping to remove or reduce barriers faced by young people as they enter their adult lives. Examples of eligible projects include youth clubs with sustained and structured activity programmes, coding clubs, themed workshops (such as IT, public speaking, CV writing), work experience initiatives, and social enterprises that offer skills development for participants. The fund is scheduled to reopen in September 2026.
Including Communities 2025
Including Communities will deliver on HIWCF's core aim of tackling poverty and inequality by helping to build flourishing and connected communities. The program believes that communities thrive when local community activities and services regularly bring people together and when these activities and services are shaped by local people from the target community. This grant program offers 12-month grants ranging from £1,000 to £10,000 for not-for-profit community organisations. The grants are designed to support local community activities and services that help build connected and flourishing communities throughout the region. Grants will only be made to organisations that are based in AND supporting work within Hampshire, Portsmouth, Southampton, and the Isle of Wight. Smaller catchments within any of these geographies are allowed, such as a town, a village, or a housing estate. The program is currently closed and will be re-opening in August 2026.
Isle of Wight Community Fund 2025
The Isle of Wight Community Fund aims to fund community projects on the Isle of Wight helping to tackle poverty and to increase health and wellbeing. The Community Fund offers 12-month grants of £1,000 – £5,000 for not-for-profit community organisations. The fund will only make grants to organisations based in AND supporting work within the Isle of Wight. When applying for this fund, community organisations should consider how the project will help to ease poverty and/or increase health and wellbeing for participants. Projects can reach island residents of all ages and fund work that is one-to-one (such as counselling) as well as work on a group basis. The Isle of Wight Community Funds are made possible by endowment funding donated by IOW donors, and are managed by HIWCF. HIWCF administers this grant programme with a core aim to tackle poverty and inequality. HIWCF understands the connection between health and poverty and that health can be positively impacted by people being involved in shaping local projects and services.
Portsmouth Community Fund 2025
The Portsmouth Community Fund is a grant programme that funds community projects within Portsmouth that work to tackle poverty and increase health and wellbeing. The priority of these funds is for projects supporting Portsmouth City residents. The Community Fund offers 12-month grants of £1,000 – £5,000 for nonprofit community organisations based in and supporting work within Portsmouth and immediately surrounding areas. Community organisations should consider how the project will help to ease poverty and/or increase wellbeing for participants. Projects can reach Portsmouth residents of all ages and fund work that is one to one (such as counselling) as well as work on a group basis. There is a designated part of this fund (circa 20%) that is ringfenced for work with people who have a learning disability. The Portsmouth City Community Funds were established by Portsmouth City Council from a number of charitable trusts and is managed by HIWCF, whose core aim is to tackle poverty and inequality.
Montagu Neville Durnford and Saint Leo Cawthan Fund
The Montagu Neville Durnford and Saint Leo Cawthan Fund supports projects that serve Portsmouth residents aged 60 and over who are living hard and challenging lives. Priority is given to projects supporting Naval men and women or their widows/widowers. The fund is administered by the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Community Foundation (HIWCF) and is designed to support their core aims through meeting impact themes around 'Flourishing Communities' and 'Poverty and Inequality'. The programme offers 12-month grants ranging from £1,000 to £5,000 for nonprofit community organisations. Funded projects can include both one-to-one support such as counselling as well as group-based work. The fund only makes grants to organisations based in Portsmouth City and supporting work within Portsmouth City. The programme will be reopening in 2026.
Charles Burnett Memorial Fund - Our Community New Forest & Waterside
This grant programme is funded by the Charles Burnett Memorial Fund and is designated for community organisations based in and supporting people in the New Forest. Charles Burnett was a philanthropist who championed work strengthening local communities, recognizing that being part of a strong, connected community can help people lead happier, healthier lives. The programme 'Our Community – New Forest & Waterside' seeks to use a community-based response to help people be part of and thrive within their local community. The New Forest faces national challenges such as cuts to community services and the rise of division and extremist views, as well as specific local needs such as limited public transport and an ageing population. The fund supports community organisations delivering grassroots activities that effectively reach New Forest residents, helping them build meaningful social links and opportunities within their local community. Examples include projects supporting older people whose lives are impacted by bereavement, clubs for young people to help them reconnect face to face and spend valuable time away from screens, or initiatives that help LGBTQ+ people to be part of a peer network. The programme is administered by Hampshire & Isle of Wight Community Foundation under its impact themes of 'flourishing communities' and 'health and wellbeing'. The fund will be re-opening in 2026.
Get Active, Get Involved (Hampshire Playing Fields Fund)
The Get Active, Get Involved programme supports local provision that helps people access community sports and physical activity across Hampshire, Portsmouth, Southampton, and the Isle of Wight. The programme has a broad and inclusive definition of community sports and physical activity, including seated keep-fit, cricket, Nordic walking, running clubs, football, wheelchair sport clubs, tai chi, rugby, movement or dance sessions for preschoolers, sport for a community of interest, yoga, dance, netball, and table tennis. This 12-month grant programme is specifically designed for grassroots nonprofit community organisations working to remove barriers to local people accessing sporting activities and spaces. The fund continues the legacy of the Hampshire Playing Fields Fund and supports HIWCF's impact theme around health and wellbeing. Applications can be for new or existing community activities, and the programme particularly values work that reaches new and underrepresented communities. Successful applicants demonstrate how they provide open access to local communities through inclusive sporting and physical activity provision.
Past Futures (Round Two) - A People's History of the Isle of Wight
Past Futures is a grant programme made possible by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, delivered through Creative Island and HIWCF across the Isle of Wight. The programme aims to fund Island-based heritage and community organisations to capture, celebrate and curate the 'everyday' heritage of the Island, with a focus on showcasing forgotten and hidden histories. This entry-level grant funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund is designed to help the Island's communities capture their own distinctive heritage stories. Projects can include diverse heritage outputs such as photo collections, touring exhibitions, or audio/video records of people's stories. Examples include museums wanting to expand stories around key objects in their collections, or documenting the contributions of particular communities such as Filipino nurses to the local hospital. All applicants must engage with the Programme Heritage Lead who will provide support throughout the application process and ensure compliance with National Lottery Heritage Fund requirements.
At a Glance
- Total Funding Opportunities
- 12
- Active Now
- 11
- Source Domain
- hiwcf.org.uk
Catalog Data
This funder profile was automatically extracted from grant listings. Information may be incomplete.
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