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.

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.

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.

RGS Explore Grants

The RGS Explore Grants offer £500 to £5,000 to support teams undertaking overseas expeditions. As the successor to the Geographical Fieldwork Grants, the Society's longest running grant scheme, these awards are designed to support and enable the next generation of explorers and field researchers, especially those undertaking their first overseas projects. Awards will be made to teams undertaking original, challenging journeys with meaningful local collaborations at their core, aiming to advance geographical knowledge and deepen understanding of the world's environments, people and places. The expedition is expected to take place outside of the UK with a minimum of four weeks in the field, ideally undertaken between April and October.

The Next Challenge Expedition Grant

The Next Challenge Grant is an annual bursary for adventures that was started in 2015 and has funded over 70 different adventures. The money comes from Tim Moss (founder), small crowdfunded donations, and contributions from other adventurers. The grant was created to give back to the adventure community, as the founder received many expedition grants when younger that helped him undertake fantastic adventures. In 2015, the website earned £200 in advertising revenue which was offered as a grant, and when announced, many other adventurers and 100 members of the public matched the pledge, raising £1,600. This process now happens every year, typically raising around £2,000. The money is distributed between winning applicants, each receiving between £100 and £800 plus equipment. The grant is primarily aimed at beginners and those who have not done lots of expeditions before. Winners also receive equipment available to borrow and email support from Tim Moss. The grant is open to all people, of all ages, and of any nationality.

The Jack Bloor Fund

The Jack Bloor Fund was established in 1985 to commemorate the life of Jack Bloor, a Yorkshire legend and pioneering fell runner, climber, orienteer, caver and cyclist. The Fund continues Jack's enthusiasm for encouraging young people to enjoy the outdoors whilst always aiming to fulfil their potential. The Fund provides grants to young people under 26 years who live or are based in Yorkshire to improve their physical and/or technical skills in any recognised outdoor adventure sport. Applications are welcome all year round and are reviewed individually by the Jack Bloor Trustees. The Fund supports activities including fell running, cycling, mountaineering, outdoor first aid courses, independent expeditions, orienteering, athletics, sailing, biathlon, canoeing/kayaking, climbing, and various qualifications. Successful applicants are asked to provide a short report and photographs detailing what the grant has helped them achieve. Money for the Fund is raised through donations and the annual Jack Bloor Races held on Ilkley Moor each May.

Major Grants

The Forte Charitable Foundation's Major Grants programme provides funding to voluntary sector organisations working in family support in areas of urban and rural deprivation. The programme offers single year grants between £10,000 and £50,000 for core costs, salaries, running and project costs, or multi-year grants for a maximum of 3 years not exceeding £100,000 in total. Organisations must focus on family support, which may include early intervention, families coping with addiction, and prisoners' families. The foundation's preference is for front line organisations working directly with families in need, and they are unlikely to support campaigning, fundraising, organisational development or capacity building. Eligible organisations must have a turnover up to £500,000 and their postcode or project area must be ranked within the most deprived 15% of the Index of Multiple Deprivation for urban areas or within the most deprived 50% for rural areas. The programme uses a two-stage application process and organisations cannot reapply for two years after completion of a grant.

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.