Voluntary and community groups rely on grant funding. It helps them to provide services that make a difference to communities and people's lives.
You don't need to be registered as a charity to apply for funding, but you must be a not-for-profit organisation.
Applying for a grant
Before you apply for a grant it's important that you've done some business planning.
Whatever the size of your group you'll need to identify the funding you need and what you need it for. You might need the money to sustain your group, grow and develop it, or to run a specific project.
You'll need to be able to demonstrate to funding bodies how the money will help your organisation to develop. You'll also need to show how you'll sustain your business once the grant runs out. This is often called an 'exit strategy'.
Key stages in applying for funding
- Preparation: drawing up your strategy.
- Application: there's more to this than filling in a form. Find out as much as you can about the funding body. Some of the main grant-giving groups are listed below. Look at the kind of projects they've funded recently.
- Receipt: once you've sent your application you'll usually get a letter. This will tell you what the funding body expects in return for the grant. It'll include any conditions attached to the grant.
- Project delivery: most funders will want to monitor how you spend the grant. Make sure you factor spend monitoring into your project so you can provide the information they need. We can help you do this.
Guidance from South Yorkshire Funding Advice Bureau
The South Yorkshire Funding Advice Bureau information sheets can help you with the process of applying for funding.
Getting support and advice
There are over 8,000 grant-giving bodies in the UK. Working out which funding to apply for can seem like a daunting process.
We can help your voluntary or community group find and apply for grants or other funding. We can also give you advice on setting up your project monitoring. Fill in our online form to get in touch us.
Barnsley CVS also provide support to voluntary and community groups. They can advise on funding, capacity building and recruiting volunteers, as well as a range of other matters.
Where to get a grant
The following places provide support and grants to voluntary and community groups. Visit My Funding Central to search for other funders.
- Allen Lane Foundation (supports general charitable causes)
- Arts Council England (funds art activities)
- Barnsley CVS (helps with running a voluntary or community organisation)
- Barrow Cadbury (committed to bringing about socially just change)
- Big Lottery Fund (gives grants to organisations ranging from small local groups to major national charities)
- Black Environment Network (provides grants to enable ethnic participation in communities)
- British Council (grants for study, travel and work either abroad or in the UK)
- Britten Pear Foundation (grants for music)
- Cabinet Office (funding opportunities for groups and organisations)
- Church Urban Fund (grants to reduce poverty and break down social barriers)
- Clore Duffield Foundation (funding for cultural learning, arts and heritage and social care)
- Coalfields Regeneration Trust (grants to improve the qualify of life in former mining communities)
- Commission for Rural communities (funding for schemes to improve the environment)
- Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation (small grants and awards for arts)
- East Peak Innovation Partnership (covers Penistone, North Sheffield and Denby Dale; offers grants for community-led rural development)
- Energy Saving Trust (help for community schemes to set up community energy projects)
- English Heritage (find a volunteering opportunity at a site near you)
- Ernest Cook Trust (grants for charities to benefit children and young people)
- Esmee Fairbairn Foundation (social investments and grants for arts and projects for young people)
- European Commission (funding for a range of projects)
- European Cultural Foundation (grants to maximise the impact of culture)
- European Investment Fund (provides risk finance to small and medium sized enterprises)
- European Structural and Investment Fund (grants up to £15,000 to support activities that engage people in hard to reach communities)
- Foyle Foundation (grants for charities for projects supporting arts and learning)
- Glass House Community Led Design (supports public involvement in designing the built environment)
- Green Flag Award (Keep Britain Tidy grants for projects)
- Groundswell (homelessness and social exclusion grants)
- Henry Smith Charity (grants for groups supporting carers, vulnerable adults and disadvantaged groups)
- Hilden Charitable Fund (homelessness, refugee and other community grants)
- Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (a Quaker Trust funding charitable work on equality and justice)
- Kings Fund (funding for health care projects)
- Lankelly Chase Foundation (grants for projects on homelessness, substance misuse, mental illness or domestic abuse)
- Lloyds TSB Foundation (community programme for investment and enabling)
- Nationwide Foundation (grants and social investments to help people with housing needs)
- Prince's Trust - (England & Wales) (development grants to help people access learning, training or employment)
- Ron Pickering Memorial Fund (funding for sports groups and scholarships)
- South Yorkshire Community Foundation (grants for groups that help to improve lives in communities)
- The Architectural Heritage Fund (funding for rescuing neglected buildings and using them as community resources)
- The Cooperative Charitable Foundation (support for community groups and joint working to improve communities)
- The Garfield Weston Foundation (supports charities with arts, youth, community, health and environment projects)
- The Royal Society (grants for science, education and industry)
- Tree Council (supports projects to get people involved in conservation)