Funding for communities
This section provides information for the voluntary and community sector (VCS) on obtaining funding for activities and projects.
County Council grants
District Council grants
South Cambridgeshire District Council
- Community Chest Grants
- Free Energy Surveys for Community Buildings
- Grants and funding
- Zero Carbon Communities Grant
East Cambridgeshire District Council
- Community Facilities Grant
- Community Fund
- Community Land Trusts
- Voluntary & Community Organisation Toolkits
- Section 106 Funding
Cambridge City Council
- Area Committee Grants
- Cambridge Street Aid
- Community Grants
- Grants and funding for individuals and community groups
Huntingdonshire District Council
- works with umbrella organisations like Hunts Forum and Cambridgeshire ACRE to provide information and organise events directed at the VCS
- works in partnership with local voluntary and community groups to apply for funding
Fenland District Council
- Changing Views Grants
- Glassmoor Local Environment Fund
- Ransonmoor Community Fund
- Whitemill Environment Fund
Local Support Organisations
- Cambridge Council for Voluntary Service
- Cambridgeshire ACRE
- Support Cambridgeshire
- Support Cambridgeshire 4 Communities (Grant Finder Portal)
Local Charitable Organisations
- Cambridgeshire Community Foundation
- Cole Charitable Trust
- Community Covenant for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
- Huntingdon Freemen’s Trust
- John Huntingdon’s Charity
Charitable Foundations and Trusts
- Austin Hope and Pilkington Trust
- Baring Foundation
- Bernard Sunley Charitable Foundation
- Biffa Award
- Charles Hayward Foundation
- Clore Duffied Foundation
- Comic Relief
- Community Radio Fund
- Esmee Fairbairn Foundation
- Funding Opportunities for NGOs | Bond
- Gerald Micklem Charitable Trust
- Grants Online
- Greggs Foundation
- Grocers' Charity
- Henry Smith Charity
- Lloyds Bank Foundation (Invest Programme)
- Morrisons Foundation
- National Lottery Community Fund
- National Lottery Big Lottery Fund Reaching Communities - see also Lottery Good Causes
- Prince’s Trust
- Rayne Foundation
- Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts
- Tudor Trust
- Trusthouse Charitable Foundation (UK)
- UK Research and Innovation
- UnLtd
- Vodafone UK Foundation
- Woodward Charitable Trust
- WREN FCC Community Action Fund
- Yapp Charitable Trust
National Government/European Funding
Big Lottery Fund is matching funds from the European Social Fund (ESF) for projects across England to tackle poverty and promote social inclusion in the Building Better Opportunities programme ESF is part of the European Structural and Investment Fund programme.
Funding for Young People and Families
See also the Funding for Communities section above.
Charitable Foundations and Trusts
Funding for Culture, Arts and Music
The Council aims to support access to cultural opportunities in the county and involves several initiatives:
- developing work in partnership with Arts Council England, East, the District and City Councils, professional and voluntary arts’ organisations
- general advice on the provision, management and development of arts’ facilities, projects and schemes
- advice and support to locally-based groups and organisations wishing to apply for funding from other sources
Charitable Foundations and Trusts
Charities, trusts, foundations and private/business sponsorship are all sources of potential financial assistance. You can find a few listed below. Research on the web or by subscription to one of the numerous funding directories and digests are the best ways of keeping up to date with opportunities.
Arts
- Arts Council National Lottery Project Grants
- Arts & Humanities Impact Fund
- BFI Funding and Support
- Carnegie UK Trust
- Clore Duffield Foundation
- Creative XR
- Elephant Trust
- Fenton Arts Trust
- Fidelio Trust
- Finnis Scott Foundation
- Foyle Foundation
- Garfield Weston Foundation
- Garfield Weston Foundation - Grant Programmes
- Idlewild Trust
- Local Trust – Creative Civic Change
- National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA)
- Paul Hamlyn Foundation (PHF)
- Wingate Foundation
Children and Youth
Crafts
International
Museums and Heritage
- Announcing new 'Reimagine grants' to support the future of museums - Art Fund
- About Archives Revealed - Archives sector (nationalarchives.gov.uk)
- AIM Arts Scholars Brighter Day Grant Scheme - AIM - Association of Independent Museums (aim-museums.co.uk)
- Funding | The National Lottery Heritage Fund
- Heritage and Conservation - Charles Hayward Foundation
- Home - Museum Development Network (mduk.org.uk)
- Museums and Galleries fund (ellerman.org.uk)
- Moving IT On 2nd Funding Round Open | Norfolk & Norwich Festival (nnfestival.org.uk)
- National Lottery Heritage Lottery Fund
- New Fund: If you’re developing diverse leaders of the future (coopfoundation.org.uk)
- Picture a future for UK nature | The Wild Escape
- Pilgrim Trust - Grant-making across the UK (thepilgrimtrust.org.uk)
- The Wolfson Foundation
- Weston Loan Programme - Art Fund
The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) is the largest dedicated grant funder of the UK's heritage. It is offering grants of £3,000 to £10,000 to not-for-profit organisations and partnerships for heritage projects through Start-up Grants. Applications can be submitted at any time and will be assessed within eight weeks. The HLF’s Townscape Heritage Initiative is open for application. Grants of between £100,000 and £2 million are available to support schemes that regenerate the historic environment in towns and cities.
- AIM - Association of Independent Museums
- Beecroft Bequest Museums Association
- Biffa Award
- Collections Care and Conservation Grants
- Cultural Development Fund: Round Three | Arts Council England
- Culture Recovery Fund - Arts Council England
- Culture Recovery Fund - Emergency Resource Support
- Digital Volunteering Funding - National Lottery Heritage Fund
- Dynamic Collections | The National Lottery Heritage Fund
- Grants - SHARE Museums East
- NFU Mutual
- NLPG_InfoSheet_Unlocking_Collections I Arts Council England (opens as a .pdf)
- Reimagine grants - Art Fund
- Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts
- Screwfix Foundation - Funding for All
Music
- BRIT Trust
- Concertina Charitable Trust
- Countess of Munster Musical Trust
- Dosoco Foundation
- Fidelio Trust
- Hattori Foundation
- PRS Foundation - British Music Abroad
- Wingate Foundation
- Youth Music
Arts Support Websites and What’s On?
Advice, Information and Contacts
Artists in Education
The Council's Code of Practice for artists working in schools is designed to help ensure that all those involved in an artist's residency, short project or even a one-off visit have agreed how the project will operate. Forward planning and putting child safety first helps to make sure the experience is positive for all concerned.
If you are working with young people and/or vulnerable adults you will need to undergo a DBS Check.
Arts Award
Arts Award gives children and young people (aged 7-25) the chance to explore art forms, including performing arts, visual arts, literature, media and multimedia. The award builds confidence, helps young people to enjoy cultural activities and prepares them for further education or employment.
Artsmark
Artsmark is awarded to schools who show a commitment to the full range of arts (music, dance, drama and art and design). The award scheme is open to all schools in England - primary, secondary, special schools and pupil referral units (maintained and independent) - and is awarded after an application, assessment and validation process.
Arts Advice and Information for Schools
- Access Art
- Artists in Schools
- Arts Works
- Department for Education
- Engage
- National Curriculum
- National Society for Education in Art and Design
Funding for Sports
Local and national funding opportunities for sports projects and activities can be found in this section.
Charitable Foundations and Trusts
- BBC Children in Need
- Cash 4 Clubs UK
- Cambridgeshire Community Foundation
- Caudwell Children
- Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASC)
- Disability Sport Project Grants
- Football Foundation
- Future Champion Grants
- GLL Sport Foundation - Athlete Support Programme
- Living Sport - a one-stop shop that signposts/links to all the main sports funders
- Sport England National Lottery funding
Examples of funding available from Sport England include Return to Play: Small Grants, awards of between £300 and £10,000 to not-for-profit organisations to help more people play sport, and Strategic Facilities Fund for capital grants to refurbish and improve community facilities.
Funding for Environmental Work
Local and national funding opportunities for environmental projects can be found in this section.
- A14 Community Fund - Cambridgeshire Community Foundation (umis.net).
- Amey Community Fund
- Awards for All
- Bromley Trust
- Community Chest Grants
- Daylesford Foundation
- Dulverton Trust Fund
- Ernest Cook Trust
- Esmee Fairbairn Foundation
- FCC Community Action Fund
- Garfield Weston Foundation
- Greggs Foundation Environmental Grant
- Heritage Lottery Fund
- John Ellerman Foundation (Environment Funding Grant)
- Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust
- Looker Energy Environmental Fund
- Landfill Communities Fund
- Mick George Community Grant
- People’s Trust for Endangered Species (Conservation Insight Grants)
- Polden-Puckham Charitable Foundation
- Tesco Bags of Help
- Waterloo Foundation Environment Grants
- Whitemill Environment Fund