Find Grants bySector
Explore funding opportunities across different charity sectors. Select a category to discover relevant grants and streamline your prospect research.
Finding Sector-Specific Grants for Charities and Nonprofits
Most funders specialise. Arts councils fund arts. Health foundations fund health. Education trusts fund education. The most effective grant strategy begins with identifying funders whose mission and sector focus align closely with your work — not just funders who've given to organisations vaguely similar to yours, but funders who have a track record of supporting exactly what you do.
Sector grants browsing lets you explore the funding landscape within your specific area of work. Whether you're a youth arts organisation, an environmental justice charity, a sports development programme, or a healthcare access project, the funders most likely to support your work are the ones who understand your sector and have made grants in it before.
Our sector grants explorer organises funding opportunities by cause area so you can drill down into the grants most relevant to your mission. Each sector has its own funding dynamics, typical grant sizes, key funders, and application cycles — understanding these patterns helps you time applications strategically and prioritise your strongest prospects.
Key Sectors and Their Major Funders
How to Research Funders in Your Sector
Start by looking at which funders have supported organisations similar to yours. Annual reports from sector-aligned charities often list their funders. Grant databases, foundation websites, and Companies House filings (for charitable companies) can reveal a funder's recent giving history. Look for patterns: how large are their grants? Do they fund operational costs or project costs only? Do they give to the same organisations year after year, or rotate their portfolio?
Within each sector, there are typically a handful of major institutional funders (lottery distributors, government departments, large foundations) and a longer tail of smaller trusts and foundations. A balanced grant pipeline includes prospects from both tiers — the major grants that require months of preparation and relationship-building, and the smaller grants where you have a realistic chance of success with a straightforward application.
Sector networks are invaluable for grant intelligence. Joining your sector's membership body, attending funder briefings, and connecting with peer organisations in your space will surface opportunities and insider knowledge about funder priorities that never appear on public databases.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if my organisation works across multiple sectors?
Many organisations do cross-cutting work — a youth organisation that also addresses health, or an arts charity that delivers education outcomes. The key is to frame your applications in the language of the specific funder you're approaching. For a health funder, emphasise the health outcomes of your work. For an arts funder, emphasise the cultural and creative dimensions. The same programme can legitimately be presented in different ways depending on which outcomes are most relevant to the funder's priorities.
Are there grants specifically for small organisations in each sector?
Yes, most major funders have small grants programmes alongside larger awards. Arts Council England's "Developing your Creative Practice" supports individual artists and small organisations. National Lottery Community Fund's "Awards for All" funds community projects up to £20,000. In the health sector, many local NHS trusts and integrated care boards have small grants programmes for community health initiatives. Searching by sector combined with a maximum grant size filter is the fastest way to find appropriate opportunities.
How do grant priorities change within sectors?
Funder priorities shift with government policy, public health crises, social movements, and the personal interests of foundation leadership. Post-pandemic, funders across sectors prioritised mental health, digital inclusion, and community resilience. The cost-of-living crisis has increased interest in poverty reduction and emergency support. Following major environmental commitments, climate-related funding increased significantly across sectors from arts to health to community development. Staying current with sector news helps you anticipate where new funding will flow.
What's the difference between sector grants and unrestricted funding?
Most sector grants are restricted — they must be used for specific purposes aligned with the funder's priorities. Unrestricted funding (sometimes called core funding or general operating support) can be used however the charity sees fit, including for overheads and administration. Unrestricted grants are rarer and more competitive, but growing numbers of funders — particularly those influenced by trust-based philanthropy — are moving toward general operating support. Some sector funders offer a mix of project and core funding.
How do I know if a funder is right for my organisation before applying?
Review the funder's past grants (often listed in their annual report or on 360Giving for UK funders), read their strategic priorities carefully, check if your organisation type and size fall within their typical range, and if possible, contact the programme officer before submitting. Many funders welcome pre-application conversations. A 10-minute call with a programme officer can save you 10 hours on a doomed application and provide intelligence that significantly strengthens one you should pursue.