Focus on Funding – September 2025
August 28, 2025
Welcome to Focus on Funding – your monthly resource to keep you abreast of current and new funding opportunities, and the latest funding news and events.
As well as Focus on Funding, you can access our support, including dedicated funding assistance, identifying funding sources, offering advice on strong applications, application reviews, communication with funders, application development and the facilitation of partnerships.
Other resources on the Funding page on our website include:
- Funding Application Checklist: Enhance your application with expert advice.
- Funding Applications Letters: Guidance on writing persuasive letters for charitable trusts and foundations when no application form is provided.
- Funding Tips: Key tips to consider when creating your funding application.
- Are You Fit to be Funded? Ensure your organisation is prepared to receive funding by addressing key aspects of capability, health, and policy compliance.
- Details of our online self-service funding portal, which makes it easy to find funding for specific activities or services by category, geographic area and more.
- How to access unrestricted funding using easyfundraising.
- Information on applying to the Eric Wright Charitable Trust.
For personalised support with funding for your voluntary or community group, or social enterprise, please contact us at:
📧 CVSfunding@cumbriacvs.org.uk
📞 01768 800350
This page will be updated with new information as we receive it during the month. Please check back regularly. (Last update: 29/09/25 – items added on this date are marked as [NEW])
You can view previous Focus on Funding posts here to catch up on our archive of information.
If you’ve seen something you think we should be sharing, let us know! Email us: info@cumbriacvs.org.uk
Funding News
The best AI grant writers for charities
Charity Digital share some of the best artificial intelligence tools available to help charities supercharge their grant writing and secure more funds.
The Fundraiser’s Guide to AI
Much has been written about Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the past couple of years. But now the dust is settling, and the technology is beginning to mature. Beacon’s latest guide demystifies what AI is, outlines the type of jobs it’s really good at, and is packed with ways that fundraisers are using it to automate their workloads and boost impact.
You’ll learn:
- The 2 main types of AI, and how other fundraisers are using them
- Which tasks on your to-do list AI is really good at
- Practical steps on getting started with AI
- The risks that charities need to be aware of when using AI
Free ‘How to Guide’ for fundraisers on strategy launched
Civil Society Media and Fundraising Magazine have released the How to Guide: Fundraising Strategy, a third, strategy-focused edition of their new “How to Guide” series, which aims to educate and share knowledge between fundraisers.
Like the previous How to Guides on legacies and next steps in fundraising, the new guide on strategy is also free, with the purpose of sharing the learning as widely as possible.
Whether your organisation is a national giant or a smaller charity with limited resources, having a clear strategy when it comes to things such as campaigning, partnerships, digital transformation and branding is essential.
Boost your autumn fundraising with this free calendar
The year may already be well underway, but for many charities, the most strategic months are still ahead.
As we head into September, it’s the perfect time for charities of all sizes, whether you’re a local organisation or a national non-profit, to refocus and prepare for the crucial final stretch of the year. Autumn is a key season to reconnect with supporters, re-energise your teams, and build momentum for the all-important year-end giving season.
To help you plan effectively, iRaiser has created a free, practical fundraising calendar for the second half of 2025.
Directory of Grant Making Trusts
Published this month, The Directory of Grant Making Trusts 2026/27 provides key information on over 2,000 grant-makers, each capable of giving at least £50,000 per year.
You might be surprised by what you find in this new guide! For example, did you know, the Elise Pilkington Trust gives to older people and equine welfare, including equine dental equipment?
And did you know that the Boris Karloff Charitable Foundation gives to charitable organisations, performing arts… and cricket?
Find out more and buy your copy here
CAF makes another record distribution to charities despite ‘challenging conditions’
The Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) distributed its highest-ever amount of £1.2bn to charities on behalf of individuals and businesses in its last financial year, despite a year of “economic volatility and geopolitical uncertainty” for charities it supports.
One of the largest charities in the UK by income, CAF distributed £1.23bn to charities around the UK and the world in 2024-25, compared to £1.16bn the previous year.
Private and corporate clients in the UK, US and Canada entrusted more than £1.34bn to CAF last year. These contributions increased by £188m compared to the previous year.
Help CIOF build better learning for fundraisers
The Chartered Institute of Fundraising (CIOF) has launched a Learning Review to better understand what fundraisers and their employers need from professional development. CIOF would like to know:
- What skills, knowledge, and behaviours are core to the role?
- Where are the gaps?
- How can CIOF support learning that’s meaningful, accessible, and rooted in the realities of fundraising work?
If you work in fundraising in any capacity, CIOF invites you to take a few minutes to complete their professional development survey. Your insights will help shape support, training, and professional pathways across the sector.
Find out more and take part in the survey
Funding needed for charities to upgrade old buildings, says government report
Many voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations are in need of capital funding to upgrade their old buildings, according to a government report.
An evaluation of the government’s £25.5m Energy Efficiency Scheme (EES), part of a £100m pledge to charities made by former chancellor Jeremy Hunt in his 2023 budget, concluded that many applicants’ buildings required structural works before energy efficiency measures could be introduced.
“This indicates a wider need for capital funding to address such structural challenges, to then enable VCSE organisations to participate in schemes such as the EES, to reduce both their costs and their carbon footprint,” the report reads.
Government urged to clarify future of EU replacement funding for charities
The government has been asked to clarify its plans to succeed the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), which replaced funding for communities from the European Union under the previous Conservative government.
In her spending review, chancellor Rachel Reeves said the current government would complete its transition from UKSPF by providing “targeted, long-term local growth funding to support regional growth across the UK”.
Support from 2026 will comprise a new local growth fund, she said last month, as well as investments in 350 deprived communities across the UK.
National Lottery Community Fund’s grants up by over £80m last year, accounts show
The National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF) distributed £80.8m more in grants last year, according to recently filed documents.
Annual accounts for the financial year to 31 March 2025, published in August, show that the community funder awarded £767m in 12,708 grants last year, compared with £686m in 13,720 grants in 2024.
Over the last five years, NLCF has distributed over £3.1bn, ranging from small grants of up to £20,000 to multi-million-pound programmes.
New fund to support vulnerable families
The government has announced a new fund to support struggling and vulnerable families, which will provide them with access a better education, a safe home, and the caring supportive environment they need to flourish.
The Better Futures Fund will support up to 200,000 children and their families over the next ten years by bringing together government, local communities, charities, social enterprises, investors, and philanthropists to work together to give children a brighter future.
Funding Alert: £7.2m Available for Digital Inclusion Projects
In February 2025, the Government announced plans to launch the Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund as a part of delivering Digital Inclusion Action Plan: First Steps. At this pre-market engagement activity hosted by the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, officials shared initial information about the Fund including the objectives, eligibility criteria, application process and timings.
Give fundraisers more control over their jobs to prevent turnover, report says
Fundraisers should be given greater autonomy over their roles in order for charities to improve retention of those in the profession, a report has recommended.
The report by fundraising consultant Hannah Kowszun, with support from think tank Rogare, argues that fundraisers having ownership of their tasks and targets, and being able to practise a variety of skills, is “significantly linked” to their intention to stay in their role.
Kowszun’s report also recommends dual promotion tracks, continuing professional development and informal interviews with staff to find out if they are happy in their roles, and if not, what actions can be taken.
Major foundation commits to increase its spending to £150m over five years
The Nuffield Foundation has committed to increasing its spending to £150m over the next five years as part of a new strategy.
Published in July, the foundation’s strategic review says it will spend £30m annually over the next five years on research and innovation that tackles social and economic problems in the UK.
This is an increase on the £21m spent every year in the previous five years, a spokesperson for the funder told Civil Society.
Funds with imminent deadlines
Deaf and Disabled People’s Organisations Fund
Deadline: 4th September 2025
Amount available: £75,000
Lloyds Bank Foundation’s programme is for small and local charities and CICs with an income between £25,000 to £500,000 that are led by and working with Deaf and Disabled people who are experiencing poverty. Organisations can apply for a three-year unrestricted grant of £75,000.
Your organisation will work directly with Deaf and Disabled people over the long term to support them to have more choice and control over their lives, access their rights and entitlements, and challenge the barriers they face.
The Theatres Trust
Deadline: 5th September
Amount available: £20,000
Grants of up to £20,000 are available to support not-for-profit theatres in the UK. The Theatres Trust is providing the funding to help theatres reduce their environmental impact. The funding will be provided to theatres that can demonstrate the major change to a theatre’s environmental impact of making a small change.
The funding is being provided in-partnership with Wolfson Foundation. Grants can be used on a variety of funding needs from machinery to building improvements.
Ofgem: Energy Redress Scheme
Deadline: 9th September, 5pm.
Amount available: £20,000 – £50,000
Who is the funding for? Charities supporting people in vulnerable situations struggling with their energy bills, and for projects targeting private rented sector properties. It can fund projects lasting up to two years.
Henry Smith Foundation – Domestic Abuse Fund
Deadline: Wednesday 10 September 2025, 5pm (Expression of Interest)
Amount available: £250,000 over five years (£50,000 per year). It’s expected that 20 grants will be made.
The Domestic Abuse Fund will provide grants to ‘led by and for’ organisations delivering specialist domestic abuse services. The funding is intended for groups that are deeply rooted in their communities and offer person-centred, holistic support that is tailored around the needs of people from marginalised and minoritised communities who have experienced domestic abuse.
The funding will enable the organisation to continue to contribute to meaningful, lasting change for survivors of domestic abuse.
Watch the live recording of the webinar to learn more about the Domestic Abuse Fund.
Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund – Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT)
Deadline: Wednesday 10 September 2025
Amount available: £25,000–£500,000
Grants are available to local authorities, charities, research organisations, and consortiums for projects tackling digital exclusion in England.
Projects should deliver innovative, locally tailored interventions and contribute to at least one focus area:
- Opening up opportunities through skills
- Breaking down barriers to digital services
- Tackling data and device poverty
- Building confidence and supporting local delivery
Host a Food Cumberland Harvest Fest in your community
Deadline: 12th September 2025
Amount available: £150
Cumberland Council’s Food Partnership, in collaboration with Futureproof Cumbria, is inviting applications for funding to help local groups host Harvest Fest events during Autumn 2025 – celebrating the season’s end with food, community and climate-friendly choices.
Grants of up to £150 per project are available for constituted groups planning events that promote local food, healthy eating, and low-waste, plastic-free celebrations.
Menus might include locally sourced meat, seasonal vegetable dishes, and other low-carbon, climate-conscious options — all served without single-use plastics.
The initiative supports the aims of the Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership, which is working to reduce carbon emissions across the region.
People Helping People in Barrow
Deadline: 19th September 2025
Amount available: up to £10,000
An exciting new fund created by local people, for local people in Barrow to support community projects and help those in need is now open for applications.
The People Helping People Fund will prioritise projects supporting vulnerable people, such as those facing isolation; creating opportunities for children, teens, and older adults; promoting Barrow’s strengths; and encouraging peer support and shared spaces.
Individuals working with a charitable group can apply for up to £750. Charities and groups with an income of less than £200,000 can apply for up to £10,000.
Scops Arts Trust
This round of funding is for projects for children and young people’s instrumental music education (choirs are excluded). Music education and engagement projects for children will be considered at every grants round.
Most grants will be awarded for specific projects, but the Trust will also contributions towards the core costs of smaller organisations where a grant could make an impact.
Amount available: Grant awards start at a few hundred pounds and very occasionally make multi-year grants of up to £15,000 pa.
Deadline: Tuesday 23rd September 2025 (5:00pm)
John Lewis Partnership Foundation Building Happier Futures Fund
The funding is intended to make a difference / to improve the lives of people who have grown up in care and will support projects that address the following:
- Focus on care experienced people. The Foundation works to improve the lives and harness the talents of individuals who have experienced care.
- Education, connection, experience and fun. The focus is on making a demonstrable difference to care-experienced people. This could be through employability in the broadest sense, including training, skills, experience, education and social skills. Activities will also support advocacy and fundraising for care-experienced people.
The funding will support UK based charities and initiatives of any size, as long as there is clear measurable impact and the charity is self-sustainable. The majority of funding will be smaller grants to smaller charities.
Amount available: £5,000 – £20,000.
Deadline: Thursday 25th September (5:00pm)
Zurich Municipal: Diversity and Inclusion Awards
Deadline: Midnight, 30 September 2025.
Amount available: The winning charity will be awarded £10,000, with second and third place prizes of £5,000 and £3,000, respectively.
Who is the funding for? Charities with annual incomes of up to £100,000 running diversity and inclusion programmes.
The Hugo Burge Foundation
The funding is intended to support creativity across the UK. There are three key areas:
- Creative Education: Supporting projects that provide young people (ages 0-29) with opportunities to engage in creative activities. This includes funding for workshops in schools, field trips to cultural sites, and the purchase of materials for student engagement.
- Creative Communities: Aiding organisations, festivals, fairs and community groups that develop and deliver cultural and creative arts initiatives within their local areas.
- Creative Individuals: Providing individual artists, including those in visual and expressive arts, writers and craftspeople, with funding to support their artistic projects.
Amount available: £15,000 for Creative Education and Creative Communities. £5,000 for Creative Individuals
Deadline: Tuesday 30 September 2025 (11:59pm)
New Funds
Community Radio Fund
The Community Radio Fund supports the sustainability and growth of Ofcom-licensed community radio stations, including:
- Management of station
- Fundraising to support the station (eg, grants, commercial funding)
- Administration
- Financial management and reporting
- Community outreach
- Volunteer organisation and support
Grants can only be made to Ofcom-licensed community radio stations in the UK, broadcasting on AM, FM, or via a Community Digital Sound Programme licence on a digital radio multiplex.
Deadline: Sunday 5th October, 5pm
Amount available: up to £100,000
Postcode Neighbourhood Trust – North of England
Deadline: Open for applications at 9am on Thursday 25th September and close at 12 noon on Monday 6th October 2025
Amount available: up to £50,000 across a three year period
Unrestricted grants are available for registered charities, community interest companies, and community benefit societies based and working in the north of England whose main activities address the current themes of the Trust:
- Enabling participation in the arts
- Preventing or reducing the impact of poverty
- Supporting marginalized groups and/or tackling inequality
- Improving mental health with a focus on organisations that are actively supporting specific mental health issues, rather than general mental wellbeing activities
Who can apply – organisations with an income between £10,000 and £1 million in the most recent financial year. Priority may be given to organisations with an income of less than £250,000.
Comic Relief Community Fund for England
Will support organisations in England that are:
- Tackling the immediate and urgent impacts of being in poverty, including providing essential resources like food, shelter, advice and healthcare. For example, foodbanks, community kitchens, homeless shelters, welfare advice agencies and health outreach projects.
- Working to empower communities to take positive steps to lift themselves out of poverty in the longer term. For example, projects that build skills, increase access to employment, strengthen financial resilience or develop community-led solutions.
Applicants must be based within the area where they are carrying out activities and have an annual income of £250,000 or less.
Amount available: £5,000
Deadline: Monday 6th October 2025 (12 noon)
[NEW] Wildlife Trusts: Green Community Grants Programme
Amount available: Up to £25,000 per charity
Deadline: 8th October 2025
Funding for small charities and not-for-profit groups contributing towards nature recovery and responding to the climate emergency – and also for proposals to improve places for nature and people’s access to them.
Organisational aims and objectives should fit one of these themes, but funding can also be used for a wider range of sustainable activities, including recycling, litter picking, beach cleans or sustainable transport.
Take the Lead community grants
Health data can be used in lots of different ways. Scientists might use health data from the NHS to develop new treatments and understand diseases. A group of friends might use health data from their fitness watches to compete in a step challenge. An artist might use health data from a community survey as inspiration for a mural. What could you use health data for?
Our Take the Lead grants enable community groups across the across the UK to apply for funding to deliver a standalone project, event or series of activities exploring how data can support their health and wellbeing in their communities, between 12 January and 8 April 2026. Activities can be delivered at any point during this period.
Deadline: 13th October 2025
Amount available: £500 to £1,500
Strategic Priorities Fund
Deadline: 12.00, on Monday 20th October (Expression of interest)
Amount available: Total of £700,000 annually
Following the success of the Barrow Social Impact Fund in Year 1 2024/2025 Team Barrow is delighted to launch the locally led and designed ‘strategic priorities’ element of the fund.
Team Barrow is committing £700K annually from 2025- 2029 through the ‘strategic priorities’ element and in one single funding round with the aim of awarding a small number of multiyear grants by March 2026.
This element of the fund has been designed with and for Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) organisations to help address some of the challenges faced by this vital ‘people’ sector, including enabling greater financial sustainability as well as maintaining support for local people, and improving outcomes for our communities.
The Million Hours Fund
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and The National Lottery Community Fund have launched Phase 3 of the Million Hours Fund, a £19 million joint investment (£12 million from DCMS, & £7 million from the National Lottery Community Fund). The Fund will run until 31 March 2027.
The Million Hours Fund provides youth organisations with funding to deliver positive activities for young people in areas with higher rates of anti-social behaviour.
Deadline: 22nd October (at midday)
Amount available: £30,000 to £100,000
Parkinson’s UK: Physical Activity Grants
Amount available: Up to £3,000 per charity
Deadline: Thursday 23rd October
Funding is available for any local community groups and clubs, exercise coaches, activity providers and physios with a connection to the Parkinson’s community. Classes and activities can range from walking football and dance to table tennis and seated yoga, among many others.
Congregational and General Charitable Trust Grants
Applications are accepted from all churches of the Protestant tradition in the UK, but particularly those of the United Reformed and Congregational denominations. They also consider applications from church community projects for funding towards capital costs (but not for ongoing work).
The maximum percentage project cost is 25% to the nearest £100.
Deadline: Friday 24th October (10am), for consideration at the meeting on 4 December 2025
Amount available: £1,000 to £25,000
Linnean Society – Our Local Nature Grants
Grants for community organisations linked with young people (aged 16 and under) to deliver projects and activities that engage young people with local nature and natural spaces and improve their understanding of local biodiversity.
- Activities, include:
- Running a school festival about nature.
- Painting community murals showcasing biodiversity in the area.
- Building or restoring a community garden.
- Creating a nature walk.
- Hiring a speaker to come and talk about local foraging.
Deadline: Saturday 25th October, midnight
Amount available: up to £1,000. However, groups are encouraged to apply for significantly lower amounts.
Skipton Charitable Foundation
The funding only supports registered charities (established for at least 3 years) serving people in the top 50% of the UK Index of Multiple Deprivation.
The funding is to help people experiencing hardship and/or underserved groups to:
- Access a place to call home with the following target outcomes:
- Access and support into a safe and secure permanent place to call home – supporting charities that enable people most in need to live independently.
- Access and support into a safe and secure temporary home in times of crisis. Enabling people into temporary accommodation in emergency situations such as homelessness, palliative or end of life, or for those experiencing domestic abuse.
- Improve financial wellbeing with the following target outcomes:
- The support needed to prevent and/or address financial difficulty. Support for charities who provide help and guidance on how to manage money and improve financial wellbeing.
- Access to financial education. Support for charities whose work will support financial independence and education.
Amount available: £10,000
Deadline: Friday 31st October 2025 (5:00pm)
Warburtons Families Matter Community Grants Programme
Deadline: Tuesday 4th November 2025
Amount available: £400
Small grants are available for local projects, activities and organisations that have charitable aims and that will be of real direct benefit to families and have a direct and tangible social impact on people’s lives.
Funding is available for projects that are working towards one of Warburtons’ outcome areas:
- Health – supporting families to care for each other and lead healthier lives
- Place – supporting families to flourish in communities that are safer, greener and more inclusive
- Skills – supporting families to gain useful skills for life and work
DCMS/Wolfson: Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund 2025-27
Amount available: Up to £400,000 towards eligible capital projects
Deadline: 5pm, 14th November 2025
Who is the funding for? Accredited museums, museum services and galleries in England with at least one designated collection, or current Arts Council national portfolio organisations.
Bids submitted for consideration must meet at least one of the following criteria: material improvements to the display and interpretation of collections, in permanent galleries, exhibition spaces and public spaces, to enhance visitor experience; improvements to access and/or interpretation for visitors with disabilities, children and young people, and/or underrepresented audiences, or improvements to environmental controls, collections storage and conservation facilities to enhance the care of collections.
Cash4Clubs
The 2025 programme is focused on supporting adult participation in sport.
Priority will be given to applications from groups working in areas of high deprivation and engaging adults from specific under-represented groups. That means those who:
- Are supporting adults living in an area of high deprivation. (Using Government Indices of Multiple Deprivation and the Pobal HP Deprivation Index).
- Increase access to sport for one or more under-represented groups, including women, people from racially diverse communities, people with disabilities and people from the LGBTQ+ community.
- Encourage adults who would not usually engage in sport to take part. Examples include activities that support physical and mental wellbeing or tackle issues such as loneliness and rural isolation.
- Address broader social issues for the local community, for example tackling crime and anti-social behaviour or supporting community cohesion.
Please note you are only eligible to apply for funding if you are an adult group working with 18+ only. Applications cannot be accepted from any organisations with junior sections, delivering junior activities or working with young people in any way.
Amount available: £2,000
Deadline: Monday 8th December
Motability Foundation: organisation grants
Amount available: £50,000 to £150,000 for small grants; £150,000 to £1m for large grants.
Deadline: Not specified.
Charities and organisations can apply for grants to enhance existing services or launch new initiatives that improve transport access for disabled people. Funding can be used for staffing, vehicles, operational costs, and infrastructure. The foundation is welcoming applications from organisations that have been active for least three years and have a turnover of £50,000 or more.
Worshipful Company of Innholders: charity grants
Amount available: One-off awards of between £500 and £5,000
Deadline: Rolling basis
Who is the funding for? Smaller charities in England and Wales, with a preference for London, for work with the young, the elderly, and the hospitality industry. The funding committee meets in March, June and December of each year.
Matson Ground Fund
Deadline: n/a
Amount available: £1,000 to £15,000
Grants for charitable organisations to bring people together to address shared challenges, foster social action, and improve local spaces.
The Fund aims to:
- strengthen communities and improve people’s lives through local, community-led projects
- respond flexibly to emerging needs
- support creative ideas to tackle social or environmental issues and enable communities to be more resilient in the long term
The Fund aligns with the Cumbria Lieutenancy’s Strategy, which was launched in September 2025.
Lakeland Disability Support Fund
Deadline: n/a
Amount available: £100 to £5,000
Grants for charitable groups or individuals with physical disabilities residing within the former local authority area of South Lakeland who require items, facilities, or support to relieve their disability.
Priority will be given to individuals.
Geoffrey Blake Architectural Heritage Fund
Deadline: n/a
Amount available: £500 – £1,000
Grants for volunteer-led and charitable groups to support community-based projects of architectural merit in Cumbria that enhance people’s experience and understanding of the built environment.
Projects must have full access by the public and have a clear benefit to the community.
CiFR Community Flood Resilience Fund
Deadline: n/a
Amount available: up to £12,500
Grants for groups across Cumbria supporting communities to build resilience to future flooding.
The purpose of the fund is to (1) provide support, resources, and equipment to specified communities at risk of flooding; (2) to enable those communities to test and trial ways to become better prepared for flooding; and (3) be better able to respond to and recover from flooding, by building assets within their community.
Age Friendly Activities Fund
Deadline: n/a
Amount available: up to £5,000
The Age Friendly Activities Fund provides small grants to help remove barriers that prevent older people in the former South Lakeland district from participating in community life. The Fund supports projects that reduce social isolation, promote physical and mental wellbeing, and help older people feel more connected and valued in their communities.
It is part of Age Friendly South Lakeland, which aims to foster inclusive, age-friendly environments where older people can stay active, engaged, and socially connected.
Million Hours Fund – Phase 3
Deadline: 22nd October
Amount available: £30,000 to £100,000
Grants are available for not-for-profit organisations, schools and local authorities to provide extra support to young people (aged 10 to 18 years; up to 25 years with disabilities and special educational needs) in areas with higher rates of anti-social behaviour in England.
The funding is for extra hours of youth work to give these young people more places to go and positive things to do. These extra hours could be used for things like learning, arts, and playing sports, or for activities like mentoring, and developing social or life skills.
Branching Out Funding
Deadline: 14 November 2025
Amount available: £250 to £2,500
Exciting news for all green thumbs and community champions! The Tree Council is now accepting applications for the Branching Out Fund, This is a fantastic opportunity for schools, community groups, charities, and other organisations across the UK to embark on tree-planting projects during the 2025/26 Winter planting season.
What Can You Fund?
- Native Trees: Bare root, UK-sourced and grown, native trees
- Hedging Projects: UK-sourced and grown, bare-root whips and cell-grown stock
- Hedgerow Trees: Perfect for enhancing biodiversity
- Orchards: Fruit trees on various rootstocks
- Eco-Friendly Materials: Cardboard/bioplastic tree guards, non-plastic ties, and mulch
- Sustainable Stakes: Coppiced chestnut or hazel, or machined softwood
Project Completion: Planting must be completed, and claim forms submitted by 15 March 2026 (midnight).
Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to green your community and contribute to a healthier planet.
For more details, visit The Tree Council’s website
General Funds
National Churches Trust
Deadline: 4th November 2025
Amount available: £10,000 – £50,000
Grants are available for urgent and essential structural repairs or the installation of kitchens and toilets. Funding is available for this type of work on buildings that were originally built as churches.
Due to limited funding, grants will typically be for less than £40,000, the average grant is around £15,000 and 50 per cent match funding is required.
National Lottery Awards for All England – Environment
Deadline: 17th December 2025
Amount available: £300 to £20,000 for up to two years
The climate and nature emergency affects us all, but local action can make a real difference. We fund community-led projects that improve the environment and help people connect with and enjoy nature where they live.
You can use the funding to:
- start a new activity or continue an existing one
- help your organisation adapt to new challenges
- run one-off events that have a clear environmental benefit.
We’re looking to fund projects that:
- help people connect with and care for nature in their area
- make a positive difference to the environment
B&Q Foundation
Deadline: Rolling
Amount available: £5,000/£10,000
The B&Q Foundation provides grants for a wide range of community organisations who are seeking funding to improve or develop spaces that benefit their community. Typically, the foundation provides up to £10,000 for building and indoor projects or £5,000 for garden projects. Using Neighbourly, the B&Q Foundation asks charities to complete a simple three step application process. Currently, its focus is on charities supporting people who are at risk of homelessness.
The Movement Fund
Deadline: Rolling
Amount available: between £300 and £15,000
Sport England has reserved up to £16 million from its £160 million Movement Fund to help the sector respond to the impact of climate change. Sports clubs and physical activity groups are being encouraged to apply for grants which can be used to fund projects that will improve sustainability by addressing at least one of six Every Move priorities:
- Just transition: inequalities, inclusion and participation
- Energy and resources: carbon emissions, travel and facilities
- Energy and resources: circular economy – supply chains, products and waste
- Nature: blue-green environment quality and use
- Nature: biodiversity
- Resilience: adapting to climate change and extreme weather events.
To be eligible, projects should also demonstrably improve physical activity in the community and have a clear, feasible and reasonable delivery plan. Projects in an area of high need will be prioritised.
Priority will also be given to work that benefits: people living on low incomes, disabled people or those with long-term health conditions, older people, people from culturally diverse communities, pregnant women and parents with very young children, girls aged 5-16, LGBTQ+ people and people in foster care.
The Anchor Foundation
Deadline: Rolling
Amount available: £500 – £12,000
Grants are on offer for Christian charities working to tackle social exclusion. The foundation has a particularly interest in charities working within “healing and the arts.”
Grants are only offered to registered charities. Applications for building work are rarely supported and charities are asked to apply for funds towards a specific project.
Walney Extension Community Fund
Deadline: Rolling
Amount available: Discretionary
Due to the extension of Walney Wind Farm, areas of Cumbria are eligible for funding from Orsted. The renewable energy giant has two funds available to charitable initiatives: The Walney Extension Community Fund and the Walney Extension Skills Fund.
Orsted’s Community Fund has two funding rounds each year, with its next deadline in January and is open to organisations in parts of Copeland, Barrow-in-Furness, the Walney islands and South Lakeland.
Calisen Impact Charitable Trust
Deadline: Rolling
Amount available: Discretionary
Grants are available for charitable initiatives in the UK that “champion sustainable energy solutions and foster inclusive, safe and diverse educational and work environments within the UK.” The funding is administered by Calisen, a British energy firm.
UK registered charities can apply for the funding to cover project costs. The fund’s objectives include achieving net zero and promoting inclusive workplaces.
Jean Sainsbury Animal Welfare Trust
Deadline: Rolling
Amount available: £1,000 – £10,000
Animal welfare charities in the UK can apply for funding to cover projects that benefit and protect animals; relieve the suffering of animals, address the conservation of wildlife and encourage a greater understanding of animals.
The funding is available from the Jean Sainsbury Animal Welfare Trust and can be used for: general running costs associated with the rescue, rehabilitation and rehoming of animals, donations towards capital purchases and assistance with vets fees.
Better Tomorrows Fund
Deadline: Rolling
Amount available: £25,000
The Cumbria Community Foundation administered Better Tomorrows Fund offers grants to enhance youth work provision, the focus being on areas with no existing youth work provision. Initially intended to run over three years, the Better Tomorrows Fund will now run for six.
Non-profit organisations can apply for multi-year funding of £25,000 per year.
Funding events
Meet the Funder: Postcode Neighbourhood Trust
Monday 8th September, online.
Is your organisation looking for unrestricted, multi-year funding?
Cumbria CVS is delighted to host the Postcode Neighbourhood Trust for a ‘Meet the Funder’ event. This online session will provide the opportunity for you to Meet the Funder and find out what you need to know to make an application for your project/organisation. Their funding for Round 3 in 2025 opens Thursday 25th September and closes 12 noon Monday 6th October.
Does your project fall into one of the following themes:
- Enabling participation in the arts
- Preventing or reducing the impact of poverty
- Supporting marginalized groups and/or tackling inequality
- Improving mental health
Meet the Funder: Sport England – Movement Fund
Wednesday 10th September, online.
The Sport England Movement Fund offers funding via crowdfunding pledges and grants to improve physical activity opportunities for the people and communities who face barriers to physical activity and need it the most. They can fund a wide range of costs and items up to £15,000.
In this webinar we will cover key information about the fund, including the fund’s criteria, what can and can’t be funded, how to apply and what to include in your application.
Why companies give (in their own words)
11th September, online.
Join Fundraising everywhere as they reveal the findings from in-depth interviews with 20 people inside companies. From shareholders to marketing assistants, on why their company gives, and just as importantly, why they stop.
You’ll hear what matters to them, what turns them off, and what they wish fundraisers understood.
South Lakes Funding Fair
Tuesday 23rd September 2025, Kendal Town Hall.
Book a place and come along to meet with local and national funders and support groups regarding you project/funding requirements, as well as getting a chance to network with other organisations. Find out which funders and support organisations are attending!
Meet the funder: easyfundraising
Wednesday 1st October, online.
🎉 Discover Free Funding for Your Community Group – Don’t Miss Out! 🎉
Looking for a simple way to bring in extra funds for your community group? Join our free online session and find out how you can unlock unrestricted funding through easyfundraising – just by encouraging your supporters to shop online!
In this friendly and informal session, Becky Coleman from easyfundraising will show you how your members, volunteers, and wider community can raise free donations for your group every time they shop online – from groceries to holidays and everything in between.
Plinth Foundation launches
Tuesday 7th October, online. Plinth, an all-in-one platform to manage your organisation, track impact, and secure funding, are launching the Plinth Foundation, and would like to invite you to their free opening event.
The event will focus on two things (1) Introducing the Foundation and (2) Creating an open space to discuss the funding challenges charities are facing, with a focus on uses that are ‘unfundable.’
Plinth also want to do more than just give charities funding, they plan to give grantees:
- Free access to premium AI tools
- Pro bono consulting to build tech capability
- £500 – £1000 in completely unrestricted funding
You can book your space and find out more here
Get Grants Free Virtual Conference
7th & 8th October, online. Join us for TWO days of expert advice, top tips, Q&As, networking, peer-support, and lots of chat!
As with everything we do, every session will have practical support and advice that you can take away and put into practice.
Carlisle Funding Fair
Tuesday 14th October, Cumbria CVS, Shaddonagate.
Book a place and come along to meet with local and national funders and support groups regarding you project/funding requirements, as well as getting a chance to network with other organisations. Find out which funders and support organisations are attending!
Writing a Successful Funding Application
19th November, online. This 3 hour course provides a beginner’s guide to how to write a successful funding application, using the National Lottery Community Fund’s Awards For All online application form as an example.
In these 3 hours you’ll get:
- The chance to go through a successful funding application and understand how you can emulate it
- Advice on key elements such as writing project outcomes, evidencing co-production and creating an accurate budget
- Time to start sketching out your own application, ask questions and get expert advice
- The chance to step back and decide what you need to do next to lay the foundations for a strong application for your project
Barrow Funding Fair
Wednesday 4th February 2026, Barrow Town Hall.
SAVE THE DATE!
