Where to apply for funding externally
It can be tricky to know where to look when you are planning on applying for funding, so we have pulled together a few ideas for where you might want to look.
Support with a bigger application
If you're applying for a grant of more than £50,000 which isn't related to capital funding or for any building projects, then please get in touch with the Strategic Funding team who may be able to support you.
You can email the Strategic Funding Team at tobi.oyemade@scouts.org.uk.
We've listed below some trusts and foundations which provide funding and may be a great fit for your project. When completing your application, make sure that you've really ensured your project meets the funders' objectives. Many funders receive sometimes hundreds of applications a year, so they'll discount any applications which haven't considered their objectives, and this may put you at a disadvantage when applying for funding at another time.
Local funding opportunities
Below are opportunities that you can explore to apply for funding.
Andy Fanshawe Trust
£400 each year
Projects that give disadvantaged young people the chance to develop an existing interest in the great outdoors. There is no application form, but you need to send an email covering off the questions outlined on their website.
Asda Foundation
£400 - £1,600
Asda’s charity, Asda Foundation, is committed to supporting local communities through grant giving. They believe it takes a whole community working together to improve people's lives. This grant is designed to support a broad range of activities helping to transform communities and improve lives. There will be three phases under this grant.
Applications open from 28th August - 3rd November 2023
Ashtons Charitable Trust
The Ashtons Charitable Trust aims to support charities and worthy causes which are:
- local to the Ashtons Legal offices in Bury Edmunds, Cambridge, Ipswich, Leeds, Diss and Norwich.
- supported by members of Ashtons Legal and Heslop & Platt staff
- supported by Ashtons Legal clients
- charity clients of Ashtons Legal.
Applications to be submitted before 30th November 2023.
Austin and Hope Pilkington Trust
£5,000
The Austin and Hope Pilkington Trust provide grants to support children and young people in care.
Applications open from 1st - 30th September
Awards for All
£300-£10,000
Awards for All part of the National Lottery Community Fund. They will fund organisations with great project ideas that:
- Bring people together and build strong relationships in and across communities.
- Improve the places and spaces that matter to communities.
- Help more people to reach their potential, by supporting them at the earliest possible stage.
£10,000 to £100,000
The CAF Resilience Fund exists to help charitable organisations in England that support the people hardest hit by Covid-19.
Canoe Foundation
£500 - £10,000
Funding applications are open to groups in the UK with an active interest in improving access to water for recreational users and protecting the environment.
Co-op Local Community Fund
£1000 - £3000
Groups will be able to apply for funding from the Local Community Fund. They will support projects that:
- Bring people together to access food
- Help improve people’s mental wellbeing
- Create opportunities for young people to be heard and make a difference
- Help people protect local biodiversity or tackle climate change by reducing carbon emissions
Applications are currently closed.
Ecclesiastical
£1,000-£5,000
The Movement for Good Scheme is offering £1000 and £5000 grants to charities helping those that are in need.
Entrust
Up to £350,000 (community engagement is a requirement)
Entrust is the national distributor of the landfill tax to local distributors. Its emphasis is on developing a good local environment, including buildings and land. Section D of its priorities includes grant support to public amenities eg Scout Association buildings and land.
Ernest Kleinwort Charitable Trust
Small Grants - Up to £3,000, Medium Grants - £3,000 - £10,000, Large Grants - £10,000+
Ernest Kleinwort Charitable Trust fund charitable work in the County of Sussex. The organisations they give funding to are listed below.
- Care of the elderly
- Disability
- General welfare
- Hospices
- Youth
- Wildlife & environmental conservation
FCC Community Action Fund
Up to £100,000
The FCC Community Action Fund provides grants of between £2,000 and £100,000 to not-for-profit organisations for amenity projects eligible under Object D of the Landfill Communities Fund (LCF).
Only applications for projects sited within 10 miles of an eligible FCC Environment waste facility can be accepted.
Forrester Family Trusts
Up to £10,000
The Trusts' theme for the year ended in 31st March 2024 is 'immediate needs' as a result of the cost of living crisis. These grants will be up to a maximum of £10,000. They’ll only be available to charities with a turnover of less than £250,000.
Online applications will be accepted between 4th and 30th September 2023. They have £500,000 to distribute.
Greenhall Foundation
£1,000 - £10,000
The objective of the Green Hall Foundation is to sustainably improve lives: among the sick, the elderly, the disabled and the disadvantaged particularly in the UK
Up to £5,000
For open grants they support charities that improve the quality of life for people and communities. They fund core costs and new or existing projects or programmes.
Hall & Woodhouse Community Chest
Between £300 - £3,000
Applications are welcome from any voluntary or community organisation that is based, or works in, our trading area across the south of England, from Devon to Kent and north to Bristol, Swindon, Bracknell and London. Groups can apply for grants or fundraising support ranging from £300 and £3,000 to help achieve their aims.
Applications for the 2023 Community Chest are now closed.
J P Morgan Foundation
J P Morgan assists clients with philanthropic interests who are looking to give back to their communities, foster a charitable legacy and make a difference in the world. Their areas of focus include animal welfare, arts and culture, civic activities, community development, education, environment, health and medical research, human and social services, international and religious causes.
Landsec Futures Community Grants
As part of its Build Well, Live Well, Act Well Sustainability Strategy, Landsec has made a commitment of £20 million over the next 10 years to support improving social mobility within the Real Estate Sector, whilst addressing local need, through its Social Mobility Fund.
Applications open from October 2nd - November 20th.
Leathersellers Foundation
Leathersellers Foundation is open for supporting organisations that understand the needs of their local community, are open and transparent about their work and finances and work in partnership with others.
Applications are open from 4th September.
Leslie Sell Charitable Trust
£50-£500
This independent Trust Fund makes small grants to Scout Groups to help with the cost of making repairs, or purchasing sundry items of equipment. The LSCT also gives assistance to groups and individuals when they make trips in the UK or overseas.
Making a Difference Locally (MADL)
Local independently-owned stores that are partnered with Nisa, can nominate local charities to receive a donation. MADL is designed so the local stores can specifically support charities that are in their local communities.
Mountain Training
Mountain Training's Skills & Training Fund supports the delivery of skills and leadership courses to people who face barriers to participation and are under-represented in the adventure activities sector.
Their funding offer includes a percentage of the course cost, a contribution towards personal assistance support (capped at £150 per candidate per course) and a contribution towards learning /teaching support (capped at £150 per candidate per course).
Plas y Brenin
Through a number of memorial trusts, Plas y Brenin offer funding to support young people access Mountain Training.
Applications for 2023 have now closed.
Princes Countryside Fund
Up to £25,000
Supporting Rural Communities is their flagship grant programme, awarding £500,000 each year to power community-led solutions that enhance the viability and sustainability of rural communities. Grants are for a maximum of £25,000 over two years, and applicants must be from properly constituted, not for profit organisations with an income of less than £500,000.
They support projects taking places in villages and towns in rurally isolated areas, where access to services is limited. They are looking to fund projects with the aim of:
- Reduced isolation for those living in rural areas through improved and extended services
- Improved wellbeing for residents through an increase in community activity
- Greater resilience for rural communities to weather future outbreaks of Covid-19 or similar events through having tried and tested mechanisms of support in place.
Applications open from 8th September - 20th October
RDC Foundation
£1000
The RDC Foundation awards grants to support young people under the age of 21 in recreational and leisure activities so as to develop their mental, physical and moral capabilities so that they grow to full maturity as individuals and members of society.
Robert Hall Foundation
The Robert Hall Foundation provides grants to charitable causes, with a particular focus on supporting scouting and youth projects.
RYA Foundation
The RYA Foundation gives out grants and supports projects that enable organisations to have the facilities and training they need to open their doors to more people from a broader range of backgrounds.
Save Our Wild Isles Community Fund
£500
This organisation has the power to make a real difference and help bring nature back to life. That’s why WWF, the RSPB and Aviva has come together to launch the 'Save Our Wild Isles Community Fund' to make it easier for communities to take action for nature.
Find out more about Save Our Wild Isles Community Fund
Berkshire and Buckinghamshire Scouts Shanly Foundation Grants Competition
The Shanly Foundation has announced a competition, open to Scout Groups located in the counties of Berkshire and Buckinghamshire to win a share of a total prize pot of £105,000.
You are invited to apply to one of two categories:
- Repairs and Extensions - Offering the opportunity for 5 Scout Groups to each win a grant of up to £15,000.
- Activities and Equipment - offering the opportunity for 6 Scout Groups to each win a grant of up to £5,000.
Applications open from the 3rd of January 2024 to the 9th of February 2024.
Sport England
£300-£15,000
The Small Grants programme from Sport England, offers funding to projects involving adults and young people aged 14 or over, which meet one or more of the aims of our ‘Towards an Active Nation’ strategy:
- Getting inactive people to become more active.
- Developing lasting sporting habits.
- Creating more positive attitudes among young people
- Developing more diverse volunteers.
- Improving progression and inclusion among the most talented. Projects working with young people should be predominantly aged 14 and above but we are happy to consider projects where a proportion of under 14s will benefit.
The closing date for applications is 31 March 2024.
Sport England - Queens Platinum Jubilee Activity Fund
Between £300 and £10,000
Sport England have launched a new £5 million fund to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee that aims to use sport and physical activity to bring communities together and tackle inequalities.
Using money from the National Lottery, the fund will make awards of between £300 and £10,000 to community organisations in support of new projects providing opportunities to become more physically active.
Find out more about the Queens Platinum Jubilee Activity Fund
Sport England - Return to Play
Up to £50,000
Sport England has launched a new fund that will support groups, clubs and organisations that have been impacted by restrictions brought in to tackle Covid-19. The Return to Play Fund, is made up of three parts: a £10m small grants which will provide grants of between £300 and £10,000 to help sport and activity groups, clubs and organisations respond to the immediate challenges of returning to play in a Covid-19-safe environment; a £5m Community Asset Fund that will provide grants ranging in value from £10,001 to £50,000 to help local sports clubs and organisations to adapt and open important places and spaces that can help them welcome back their local community safely; and a £1.5m Active Together fund which is a crowdfunding initiative will help sports clubs and organisations set up their own campaigns to help sustain them through the crisis. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
Sports England Foundation
£300 - £10,000
The Sports England funding opportunity is committed to supporting projects that bring communities together and provide sport and physical activities for people who may be less physically active. Applications should consider how the project adds value to services currently available in your local community, and work collaboratively with other groups to maximise the impact of the project.
This fund is now closed.
Find out more information about Sports England Foundation
Tesco Bags of Help
£500-£2,000
Bags of Help is always open for applications from charities and community organisations.
Three community projects in each local area will be voted on by customers in Tesco stores throughout the UK*, with projects changing every other month. Following the vote, the project that received the most votes in its area will receive a grant of up to £2,000, second place receiving up to £1,000 and third place up to £500.
The Arnold Clark Community Fund
Up to £1,000
The Arnold Clark Community Fund are making a commitment to give back to the communities in which they operate. They've created a fund to help registered UK charities and local community groups continue their important work during this challenging time. 500 grants are made each month, and if your application is not successful one month, it will roll over in to the next month.
Applications open from October 2023.
The Catherine Cookson Trust
£100 - £100,000
If you're in education, training, environment, conservation, arts and culture, as well as general charitable purposes, your organisation could be eligible for a grant from the Catherine Cookson Charitable Trust.
The Foyle Foundation
£1,000 - £10,000
The Foyle Foundation has re-opened its Small Grants Scheme to support smaller, grass-roots and local charities across the UK during the Covid-19 crisis. Organisations which are currently delivering services to the young, vulnerable, elderly, disadvantaged or the general community either directly or through online support can apply for grants of between £1,000 and £10,000. Funding can be used to cover core costs or essential equipment, to enable ongoing service provision, homeworking, or delivery of online digital services for charities with a turnover of less than £150,000 per annum that can show financial stability and a clear need for their services. Competition for funding is expected to be strong. Applications can be submitted at any time.
The Hedley Foundation
Up to £5,000
A small number of grants are available for small to medium-sized registered charities who are working to help people who are disadvantaged to improve their situation, either by involvement in project or support work.
The Henry Sell Charity
£500-£2,750
The Holiday Grants Programme provides grants for recreational trips and holidays for groups of children in the UK who are disabled or disadvantaged. Priority is given to children in the 20% most deprived communities in the UK.
The Henry Smith Charity
£500 - £2,750
The purpose of the Holiday Grants programme is to provide access to recreational trips or holidays for groups of children who experience disadvantage or who have disabilities. In particular we are interested in contributing to trips that would not take place without our funding.
The National Lottery Community Fund
£10,000-£500,000
The National Lottery Community Fund have a range of funding opportunities, offering funding from £10,000 up to £500,000.
The Sir James Knott Trust
Up to £1,000
Grants are available to charities in the North East of England to help improve the conditions of people living and working in Tyne and Wear, Northumberland, County Durham, and Hartlepool.
The Tree Council
£250 - £2,500
The Tree Council actively supports community tree, hedgerow, and orchard projects that boost agricultural productivity and creating green spaces that promote physical and mental well-being.
Applications close 3rd December.
the7stars foundation
Up to £1,500
the7stars foundation, supports the most challenged young people in the United Kingdom. Assisting forgotten young people aged 16 years and under, lacking opportunity, to achieve their potential. Their funding looks to support those challenged by abuse; addiction; those who are young carers; and those without a safe place to call home. Their grant funding prioritises the areas of abuse, addiction, child carers and homelessness.
Trusthouse Charitable Foundation
£2,000-£10,000
This Small Grants Program offers single year grants for core costs, salaries, running and project costs for work in the community which addresses the challenges of local communities in areas of extreme deprivation.
Variety Youth Club Grants
Typically between £250 and £600
Variety’s roots lie in supporting youth clubs. They’ve been supplying groups with essential equipment for 70 years. That’s why they set aside funding each year to support youth clubs that work with the most disadvantaged young people through informal education, positive activity, and skills development.
They are currently not open for applications.
Yapp Charitable Trust
Up to £10,000
Yapp Charitable Trust offer grants to registered charities working with their identified priority groups, including young people aged 5-25. Funding must be used to cover core funding, not for new projects, and charities with an annual expenditure of more than £40,000 will not be considered.
Young Explorers Trust
Grants made to young people only – not to groups. The Young Explorers' Trust offers grant aid to individuals aged 25 and under who are taking part in expeditions or other adventurous activities. The definition of adventure should relate to the background and experience of the applicant.
Scout buildings refurbishments
A number of funders make grants to charities and groups for building refurbishments. For groups with your own facilities, this could be a favourable option to secure important funding to make improvements or necessary maintenance on your Scout buildings.
Bernard Sunley Foundation
The Bernard Sunley Foundation funds Capital projects in England and Wales which include new buildings, extensions, refurbishments and recreational spaces. They do not specify a funding limit.
Garfield Weston
Garfield Weston accepts applications from organisations working in the areas of Welfare, Youth, Community, Arts, Faith, Environment, Education, Health and Museums & Heritage. They recommend that you have around half of your funding identified before applying to them, so it should be for match-funding only. You can apply for capital costs (buildings, refurbishments), general running costs or project costs.
Morrisons Foundation
Up to £10,000
The Morrisons Foundation awards grant funding for charity projects which make a positive difference in local communities. In the main grants are available to fully fund projects, and can also be spent on building work.
Screwfix Foundation
Up to £5,000
The Screwfix Foundation supports projects that will fix, repair, maintain and improve properties and community facilities for those in need throughout the UK.
The Wickes Community Programme is a dedicated product fund which supports local initiatives to maintain and renovate community areas.
Biffa UK Wide
Up to £200,000
Biffa operate a community buildings scheme, supporting new build and improvement works projects through their Main Community Buildings Scheme. Projects must be within 10 miles of a Biffa Operation. Priority is given to projects that can demonstrate innovative use of a community amenity to enhance, maintain or introduce real, community-led social, economic or environmental improvements. Must be within 5 miles of a Biffa operation or within 10 miles of a Biffa landfill site.
Learn more about Biffa UK wide
Keeping up-to-date
We know that funding rounds can change frequently, so we'll monitor the available funding, and update these pages every three months.
Last updated: September 2023
UK Headquarters Grants
Did you know that you can apply for grants through The Scout Grants Committee (SGC)? The SGC is the group of national volunteers who support the management of the grants provided to local Scouts. There are a range of funding opportunities through funding managed by the SGC, so why not check out what opportunities are available here first?
Find out more about the available grants