Find Grants forYour Charity
Search thousands of live funding opportunities for UK nonprofits. Find the right grants for your cause in seconds.
Popular Searches
How to Find Grants for UK Charities and Nonprofits
Finding the right grants for your charity takes more than a Google search. There are thousands of active funding opportunities from trusts, foundations, lottery distributors, government bodies, and corporate giving programmes — but most are buried across dozens of different databases, funding portals, and funder websites. A grant finder aggregates these opportunities in one place so you can search by keyword, cause, geography, or funding size.
Our free UK grant finder lets you search live opportunities from our database of funders active across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Results show the funder name, funding range, deadline, and geographic scope. The free version shows 5 results per search — sign up to unlock our full database with AI-powered matching that learns your organisation's profile and surfaces the most relevant grants automatically.
The UK voluntary sector receives over £18 billion in grant funding annually from statutory, lottery, and independent sources. But competition is fierce: many funders receive 5–10 times more applications than they can fund. The organisations that succeed aren't necessarily doing the best work — they're the ones who find the right funders and apply strategically.
What Types of Grants Can UK Charities Apply For?
Tips for Successful Grant Searching
Search with the keywords your funders use, not the ones you use internally. A funder might call what you do "community cohesion" while you call it "youth outreach." Try multiple synonyms and sector terms. Also search by location — many funders restrict their giving geographically, so knowing your borough, district, or region helps surface the most relevant opportunities.
Don't just search for projects currently in development. Look at what funders have supported previously and work backwards — if a funder has given repeatedly to organisations like yours, that's a stronger signal than a funder who matches your keywords but has no track record in your area.
Most successful grant-funded organisations maintain a calendar of funders they plan to approach each year, building relationships with programme officers before applications open. Grant-finding tools help you populate that calendar with new prospects you might have missed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to be a registered charity to apply for grants?
Most larger grant programmes require applicants to be registered charities, Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIOs), or Community Interest Companies (CICs). Some funders also support unregistered community groups, particularly for smaller grants under £5,000. Lottery distributors like the National Lottery Community Fund have specific eligibility criteria — always check the funder's guidelines before investing time in an application.
How long does it take to get a grant?
Grant timelines vary enormously. Small trust grants can sometimes be awarded within 6–8 weeks of application. Major lottery or government grants can take 6–12 months from initial expression of interest to funding confirmation, and some require a two-stage application process. For capital projects requiring planning permission, the process can stretch even longer. Always build grant timelines into your project planning with substantial buffers.
What's the difference between a grant and a contract?
A grant is given to support a charitable purpose without a direct commercial exchange — the funder gives money and the charity delivers on its charitable objectives. A contract is a procurement arrangement where the public or private sector pays for a service to be delivered. Both can be legitimate funding streams, but they carry different VAT, legal, and governance implications. Grants are typically more flexible; contracts are more prescriptive about outputs and deliverables.
What do grant funders look for in applications?
Funders typically look for: a clear need your project addresses (backed by evidence), a well-defined plan for how the grant will be used, realistic and detailed budgets, demonstrated organisational capacity to deliver, and evidence that the project aligns with their specific priorities. Strong applications also show what will happen after the grant ends — funders want to see that their investment creates lasting change, not dependency.
Can I apply for multiple grants at the same time?
Yes, and for most projects you should. Rarely do charities fund an entire project from a single grant — a portfolio of funders covering different budget lines is common practice. Be transparent with each funder about the other grants you're applying for or have received. Concealing multiple funding sources is a serious breach of grant conditions. Some funders won't fund projects where another named funder is also contributing; always read the terms carefully.
Are there grants for small charities with no track record?
Yes. Many funders specifically target newer or smaller organisations. The National Lottery Community Fund's "Awards for All" programme (grants of £300–£20,000) is explicitly designed for grassroots and emerging organisations. Local community foundations, which operate in most regions of the UK, also prioritise local small charities. Some larger funders have "development grants" or "capacity-building grants" for organisations working toward their first major funded project.