Discover Funding Opportunities

The Hedley Foundation Grants

The Hedley Foundation awards grants to small UK registered charities that can demonstrate quantifiable outcomes to beneficiaries. The Foundation supports charities with annual incomes below £1 million, providing grants that enable high-impact work. Typical grants of up to £5,000 are regularly made, with occasional larger sums awarded to charities where significant impact can be achieved. Smaller charities often benefit from grants starting at £250. The Foundation excludes funding for core salaries, building construction, general running costs, transport, financial deficits, overseas projects, community interest companies, religious institutions, museums, or individuals. Applicants must not have received a grant from the Foundation within the last two years. The Trustees meet regularly to review applications and make funding decisions, typically responding within four months if successful.

Community Grant Scheme

The Community Grant Scheme is an opportunity for voluntary and community sector organisations to apply for a grant to run projects to support Dover district residents. This grant scheme supports community organisations and groups based within the Dover District, or seeking grants for activities that will benefit a community within the Dover District. Applicants can apply for a grant between £100 and £5,000 to support various community projects. Applications are welcomed from registered charities, charitable incorporated organisations, community interest companies, social enterprises, constituted voluntary/community groups, constituted sports clubs, constituted youth clubs, constituted school-related groups, and constituted church/faith groups. Projects should be completed within 8 months of award, and the scheme cannot back-fund applications that have already started.

Connected Communities Fund

The Connected Communities Fund is a partnership between OCVA, Community First Oxfordshire, and Oxfordshire County Council to support The Oxfordshire Way, a countywide vision to help people live well and independently in their communities for as long as possible. It's all about building resilience, reducing isolation, and creating opportunities for people to stay active, connected, and supported close to home. The fund supports regular, ongoing activities that bring people together and create lasting impact, including activities that help people connect and socialise, projects that support mental and physical wellbeing, initiatives that reduce isolation including language, cultural, or caring barriers, and intergenerational or community-wide projects focused on benefits for older people. The fund especially welcomes projects that fill gaps in local support, add to what's already available locally, try something new such as tackling digital exclusion or using local spaces creatively, work with local businesses to create social, environmental, or economic benefits, support unpaid carers, and help build strong, resilient communities that last beyond the life of the grant. Organisations can apply for up to £5,000 to help cover costs of running activities that benefit older adults (50+) and adults (18+) with additional needs, including people living with physical or mental health conditions, neurodivergent adults, those experiencing loneliness or social isolation, people facing language or cultural barriers, and unpaid carers. Projects can focus on community-based socialising, health and wellbeing, arts, culture and creativity, green/environmental and outdoor activities, and learning new skills. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis with no closing date until all funding has been allocated. The fund is currently paused with updates to be announced on their website and social media channels.

The Didcot Powerhouse Fund

The Didcot Powerhouse Fund, launched at the end of 2021, invites grant applications from charities and organisations providing support to the wider Didcot community. Grants are offered annually and are themed. The Fund aims to accelerate levelling up in the Didcot area by streamlining corporate and community giving more effectively to support neighbourhoods where additional support is urgently needed. The theme for 2026 is 'Powering a healthy Didcot', which aims to improve physical health, mental health and community resilience in Greater Didcot and the surrounding villages. At least 90% of beneficiaries of any grant from the Fund must live inside the Didcot Garden Town Area of Influence. Over the last four years, £383,000 has been awarded in 70 grants all serving beneficiaries in the Powerhouse area.

Zack Martin Breaking Barriers Grant

The Zack Martin Breaking Barriers (ZMBB) Grant was created in memory of Zack Martin, an avid climber and humanitarian who died just before his 25th birthday. This grant seeks to fund expeditions that focus primarily on humanitarian efforts and secondly on an objective involving alpinism, mountaineering, rock/ice climbing and bouldering. Successful candidates must demonstrate how their expedition fully encompasses both tenets of this grant. The humanitarian objective must have immediate impact, be sustainable, feasible and assure continuity to provide benefits to local people after initial implementation. Ideally, objectives will teach locals 'how to', enable infrastructure and provide some level of continued support and funding. The alpine objective must focus on alpine related adventure and/or discovery in the natural environment. Exploration in other areas such as ski mountaineering or river exploration that lead to a greater understanding and improvement of the alpine environment could also be considered.

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.

The Thomas Farr Charity Grant

The Thomas Farr Charity is a grant-making trust established in 1989 following the sale of the Home Brewery. The charity supports charitable projects and activities in Nottinghamshire, focusing on areas where the Home Brewery had a historical presence. The main areas of giving include education, youth, health, and the elderly. The charity operates as a general charitable trust, allowing the Trustees to apply income for charitable purposes at their absolute discretion. Trustees meet three times each year in March, July, and November to review applications. Grant amounts distributed annually depend on the income generated from the charity's investments. Applications are welcomed from organizations working in community healthcare, health education, lifelong learning projects, community development, personal social services addressing social deprivation, crime prevention schemes, and community social activities promoting engagement for vulnerable people. The charity does not support individuals, large national charities based outside Nottinghamshire, loans or business finance, campaigning or political work, activities that have already taken place, or general mail shot appeals.

Tesco Bags of Help Community Grant

Bags of Help is Tesco's local community grant scheme, which funds thousands of community projects every year. The scheme is always open for applications from charities and community organisations. Three community projects in each local area are voted on by customers in Tesco stores throughout the UK, with projects changing every three months. The project that receives the most votes in its area will receive a grant of up to £1,000. The scheme is administered by Groundwork, working with greenspace scotland to support successful projects in Scotland. Projects must bring benefits to the community and can cover a wide range of local causes including equipment for schools and youth groups, environmental improvements, play areas, counselling services, mental health activities, equipment to reduce social isolation, sports equipment, support for health issues, and equipment for community halls. Bags of Help can fund 100% of project costs, and projects must be completed within twelve months of receiving the grant.