GrantMatch

Grants in Northern Ireland: Funding for Businesses, Charities and Community Groups

Many UK grants exclude Northern Ireland, so knowing the NI-specific funders matters. Here is where businesses, charities and community groups in Northern Ireland actually find funding, and how to apply.

If you run a business, charity or community group in Northern Ireland, one thing shapes your whole grant search: a lot of UK funding is England-only. Defra's farming schemes, Arts Council England and English council grants all stop at the Irish Sea. The funding open to you comes mainly from Northern Ireland's own bodies, and once you know them the picture gets much clearer. This guide walks through the main NI funders, the NI equivalents of the England-only schemes, and how to apply.

Business and innovation: start with Invest NI

Invest Northern Ireland is the main business-support agency, and its programmes are the first place a NI business should look. These are support packages more than fixed cash grants, but they carry real value.

Farmers and food producers: DAERA, not Defra

The farming schemes in the UK press are usually Defra's, and they do not apply in Northern Ireland. Your department is DAERA, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, which runs its own capital, environmental and rural development schemes; check DAERA directly for the current rounds. At the processing and growth end, Invest NI's Agri-Food Investment Initiative supports the agri-food sector. For the wider UK picture, our farming grants guide explains how the scheme types work.

Community and charity: Community Foundation Northern Ireland

For community groups, charities and social enterprises, the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland runs most of the winnable small grants.

Your council runs grants too

Northern Ireland's 11 councils run their own community, sports and small business grants, usually small and on a rolling basis. They rarely appear in national lists, so search your council by name: Belfast, Derry City and Strabane, Armagh City Banbridge and Craigavon, and the rest all have live schemes at various points in the year.

The National Lottery in Northern Ireland

Arts and culture

The Arts Council of Northern Ireland funds artists and arts organisations that Arts Council England will not cover.

What grants are available in Northern Ireland right now?

The Northern Ireland grants hub lists everything live today, both NI-only funds and UK-wide schemes that include Northern Ireland, and it updates daily as new rounds open. On any grant page you can check whether you are eligible against your own details before reading the full criteria, which is the fastest way to rule out the England-only schemes.

What tends to exclude Northern Ireland

The single biggest time-waster is applying for a grant that stops at England. You are usually ruled out when a scheme:

  • is run by an England-only body such as Defra, Arts Council England or Historic England;
  • is a local council or Growth Hub grant for a specific English region;
  • names England, Scotland or Wales in its eligibility without mentioning Northern Ireland.

Always read the geography line first. UK-wide funders, including the National Lottery, most research councils and some corporate foundations, do include NI, but never assume it.

How to apply, and what you will need

NI funders ask for a consistent set of things, so prepare them once and reuse them:

  • your organisation's registration details (company, charity or CIC number);
  • a short description of the project and the community or economic benefit it delivers;
  • a simple budget, and any match funding you can show;
  • for Invest NI support, evidence that you are trading or ready to trade in Northern Ireland.

Next step

Pick your route: a NI business should start with Invest NI, a farmer with DAERA, a community group with the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland and Awards for All, and check your own council either way. Check your eligibility on two grants before you write anything, and keep your registration number and a short benefit statement in one folder so the next application is quicker than the first.