Discover Funding Opportunities

Rural England Prosperity Fund

The Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF) is a capital-only fund offering support to small businesses and community infrastructure projects in rural England. The fund aims to improve productivity and strengthen the rural economy and rural communities. It provides grants of up to £10,000 per application for businesses and organizations within Babergh and Mid Suffolk districts, with exceptional grants of up to £15,000 for projects strongly supporting Net Zero Infrastructure or Farm Diversification priorities. The fund is a top-up to and complementary to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and succeeds EU funding from LEADER and the Growth Programme which were part of the Rural Development Programme for England. The fund operates at a 50% intervention rate, meaning projects must be match-funded at 50% of total project costs. All payments are made as reimbursements at the end of the process, so projects must be fully funded upfront. Priority areas include investment in net zero infrastructure, SME investments and diversification, farm diversification outside of agriculture, and visitor economy business expansion. For 2025/26, Babergh received £186,377 and Mid Suffolk received £246,455 in REPF allocations. All projects must be completed and grants claimed by 1 March 2026. Available funds are now extremely limited and close to fully committed. Potential applicants must first contact the Economic Development team on an invitation-only basis if their project meets the mandatory grant criteria, though funding availability cannot be guaranteed.

Help the Homeless Small Grants Programme

Help the Homeless is a small trust that provides capital grants to small homeless charities throughout the UK. The grant programme supports registered charities with an annual turnover of less than £500,000 that work wholly or mostly with homeless people. Funding is restricted to capital projects only and cannot be used for running costs, salaries, or IT equipment. The trust offers quarterly application deadlines throughout the year and aims to inform applicants of decisions within eight weeks. With limited funds available, the trust carefully evaluates each application against strict eligibility criteria to ensure support reaches organizations directly focused on addressing homelessness through capital improvements.

Sport Facilities Fund

The Sport Facilities Fund (SFF) supports capital projects that help to create or improve places where people take part in sport and physical activity. The fund aims to support projects that provide more opportunities for people to get involved in and participate in sport and physical activity. With a budget of approximately £2 million per annum, there is likely to be greater demand and competition for funding than is available. Prioritisation will be given to projects that deliver the greatest impact on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion objectives. Projects that can clearly demonstrate an inclusive approach that targets participants in/from SIMD areas or areas of rural disadvantage, or those with additional needs, or those from ethnically diverse communities, or other protected characteristics as identified in The Equalities Act 2010, will be prioritised. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis with deadlines on 1st April and 1st September each year at 5pm.

Capital Projects Grant

The Garfield Weston Foundation provides capital grants for building works, repairs, or equipment necessary to an organization's work. Capital grants are normally no more than 10% of a total project cost. For local community projects such as village halls, community centres, and places of worship, grants are unlikely to exceed £30,000 regardless of project size. Organizations applying for £100,000 or more must have annual income or project value over £1 million. The Foundation expects applicants to have around half of the total project costs raised before applying and to demonstrate local fundraising activity showing community support.

Small Grants

The Forte Charitable Foundation offers Small Grants to support community-focused organizations working in deprived areas of the UK. These single-year grants range from £2,000 to £10,000 and can be used for core costs, salaries, running costs, and project costs. The program specifically targets organizations located in areas identified by the Indices of Multiple Deprivation - either in the bottom 15% most deprived urban areas or bottom 50% most deprived rural areas. The foundation's preference is for front-line organizations working directly with people in need, providing essential community support services. Applicants must have an annual income not exceeding £250,000 and be able to secure 50% of the total project costs from other sources. The grant will cover a maximum of 50% of the total cost of the project, salary, or core running costs. Successful applicants can re-apply for funding for up to two additional years, allowing for a maximum of three years of support. Organizations must be embedded in their local community and able to start spending the grant within 1-2 months of receipt. Capital projects are not funded under this program. The foundation does not support campaigning, organizational development, capacity building, or work that represents a significant shift away from an organization's existing core aims and experience. However, they will consider new work if it is a logical extension of existing activities.