GrantMatch

CIC Grants UK: Funding for Community Interest Companies

Community interest companies can apply for far more grants than most CIC owners realise. Here is where CICs actually win funding in the UK, what tends to exclude them, and how to apply.

Community interest companies sit in an awkward but useful spot. You are a business, so some charity-only grants are closed to you. You exist for community benefit, so a lot of funding that is shut to ordinary companies is open to you. The trick is knowing which is which. There are more than 270 grants open to CICs on GrantMatch right now, and this guide shows you where they are, what tends to exclude a CIC, and what you need to apply.

Where CICs actually win funding

Four routes account for most CIC grants.

Community foundations

Every region has a community foundation handing out small grants, usually £500 to £5,000, and CICs are almost always eligible. They are the most winnable money for a new CIC.

Search your local foundation by name. The grant will rarely say "CIC", but you will usually qualify as a community organisation.

Corporate community funds

Large companies run community grant programmes that welcome CICs.

The National Lottery Community Fund

Awards for All is the classic first grant for a CIC: relatively simple to apply for, up to £20,000, and open to CICs delivering clear community benefit. If you have never won a grant before, this is often the one to aim at.

Local councils

Councils run their own community grants, often small and on a rolling basis, and CICs are eligible. These almost never appear in national lists, so search your council by name.

What tends to exclude a CIC

CIC owners waste time on grants that were never open to them. You are usually ruled out when a grant:

  • requires registered charity status (a CIC is not a charity, whichever way it is limited);
  • is a business growth grant that excludes organisations with an asset lock or a non-profit rule;
  • expects match funding you cannot raise;
  • funds one legal form only, such as a charitable incorporated organisation.

Read the eligibility line first. If it says "registered charities only", move on. If it says "not-for-profit" or "community organisations", you are usually in.

Does limited by shares or by guarantee matter?

Sometimes. A few funders prefer CICs limited by guarantee, the more community-focused form, and are wary of CICs limited by shares that can pay a capped dividend. Most community and lottery funders do not mind either way. If a grant is silent on it, apply.

How to apply, and what you will need

CIC applications ask for a consistent set of documents, so prepare them once and reuse them:

  • your CIC number and date of incorporation;
  • your governing document (Articles of Association and the CIC form);
  • a short statement of your community benefit, matching your CIC report;
  • a simple budget and a bank account in the CIC's name;
  • for some funders, evidence of your asset lock.

Keep your latest CIC34 community interest report to hand, because funders use it to check you are delivering what you claim.

See what you qualify for

There are 270 grants open to CICs on GrantMatch today. Browse them all on the CIC grants hub, which updates daily. On any grant page you can check whether you are eligible against your CIC's details before reading the full criteria, which saves the wasted effort of applying for charity-only funding.

If you are weighing up your options, our guides on social enterprise grants and grants for sole traders cover the neighbouring routes.

Next step

Start with your local community foundation and one corporate fund such as Screwfix, both winnable in weeks rather than months. Check your eligibility on each before you write anything, and keep your CIC number and community benefit statement in one folder so the second application is faster than the first.