General

There are various general-purpose funders that will fund a wide variety of projects, such as:

• The National Lottery Community Fund
• Postcode Places Trust, which has eight themes covering a wide range of charitable aims including mental wellbeing, the arts, biodiversity, sport and the climate emergency.
• Garfield Weston Foundation funds a wide range of projects: welfare, youth, community, arts, faith, environment, education, health, and museums and heritage. Match funding is required; applicants should have around half of their funding secured, and most grants are for up to 10% of the total project costs.
• The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation funds charities with a turnover above £100,000, and will fund core costs such as salaries over extended periods. Its three aims are improving our natural world, tackling injustice to deliver a fairer future, and nurturing creative, confident communities.
• Local councils’ community grant schemes including Cambridgeshire County Council, Cambridge City Council, Hunts District Council, East Cambs District Council, South Cambs District Council and most town and parish councils. Note that district council grants are open for applications for a limited period once a year. Most town and parish councils have a rolling application schedule.
• Cambridgeshire County Council’s Innovate and Cultivate Fund has a broad remit but has a requirement that projects must reduce pressure on council services and/or offer direct savings for the Council.
• Cambridgeshire Community Foundation manages a range of funds explicitly focused on Cambridgeshire
• Most social housing providers run grant schemes for projects that will benefit their tenants.
• Shops such as Tesco, Waitrose, Morrison’s, ASDA, Greggs, Co-Op, Ikea, Aviva and Lush.