Grant funding guides
Practical, fact-checked guides for UK charities, community groups, CICs and small businesses. Every funder fact is checked against the funder's own website, and the sources are listed at the end of each guide.
Writing and winning bids
How to plan, write and report on a grant, step by step.
How Funders Assess Grant Applications
What happens after you press submit: eligibility checks, due diligence, scoring and panels, and what UK grant assessors look for at each stage.
Read the guideHow to Write a Statement of Need for a Grant
Show a funder the problem is real: how to write the need section of a grant bid, with free UK data sources, a simple structure and a worked example.
Read the guideTheory of Change: A Practical Guide for Small Charities
What a theory of change is, why funders like one, and how to build yours in an afternoon, with a simple template and a worked example for a small charity.
Read the guideGrant Monitoring and Reporting: What Funders Expect
What to record, what to report and when, from the day your grant lands to the end of grant report, with simple systems small organisations can keep up.
Read the guideLetters of Support for Grant Applications: A Guide
When funders want letters of support, who to ask, what a strong letter says, how many to send and a simple template you can share with your partners.
Read the guideSustainability and Exit Strategies in Grant Bids
How to answer the what happens when the grant ends question: realistic sustainability plans, exit strategies, plan B and how to show lasting impact.
Read the guideHow to Write a Risk Register for a Grant Bid
How to build a simple risk register for a grant application: types of risk funders look for, how to rate them, real mitigations and a template to copy.
Read the guideFunder explainers
How the big UK funders work, what they fund and how to apply.
National Lottery Funding: A Guide to the Community Fund
How The National Lottery Community Fund works: its main programmes in each UK nation, grant sizes, decision times, who can apply and how to pick the right one.
Read the guideInnovate UK Grants: How They Work and How to Apply
A plain guide to Innovate UK funding for businesses: competitions, KTP, loans, funding rules, who can lead, collaboration rules and how to find open calls.
Read the guideCommunity Foundation Grants: How to Find and Win Them
What community foundations are, what they fund, who can apply, typical grant sizes and how to find and apply to the community foundation for your area.
Read the guideGarfield Weston Foundation Grants: A Practical Guide
How Garfield Weston Foundation grants work: Regular and Major Grants, who can apply, what it will not fund, typical grant sizes and how to write the proposal.
Read the guideHow to Approach Charitable Trusts and Foundations
How to research, shortlist and approach UK charitable trusts and foundations: where to find them, when to make contact, what to send and how to follow up.
Read the guideEligibility by organisation type
What your legal structure means for the grants you can apply for.
Grant Eligibility by Organisation Type: Who Can Apply
Which grants charities, CIOs, CICs, community groups, social enterprises, schools and businesses can apply for, and how to read a funder's eligibility rules.
Read the guideCIO Grants: Funding a Charitable Incorporated Organisation
How grant funding works for charitable incorporated organisations (CIOs): which funders accept them, what they ask for, and how a new CIO can get its first grants.
Read the guideCIC Limited by Shares or Guarantee: Which Gets Grants?
The difference between a CIC limited by shares and one limited by guarantee, why funders care, the dividend cap and asset lock, and which grants each can get.
Read the guideHow to Write a Constitution for a Community Group
What a community group constitution must cover for funders to accept it: aims, membership, committee, meetings, money, changes and closure, with templates.
Read the guideUsing a Host Organisation to Apply for a Grant
How hosting works when a group without a bank account or constitution gets a grant through another organisation, which funders allow it, and what to agree.
Read the guideMoney, budgets and planning
Restricted funds, VAT, capital costs and keeping projects going.
How to Find Match Funding: Where to Look and How to Ask
Where UK charities, groups and small firms find match funding: other grants, councils, businesses, crowdfunding, in-kind support and your own reserves.
Read the guideCapital Grants: How to Fund Buildings and Equipment
How capital grants for buildings, refurbishment and equipment work: what funders expect on ownership, permissions, costs and match funding, and where to find them.
Read the guideHow Much to Ask For in a Grant Application
How to size your grant request: start from real costs, check the funder's range and typical awards, think about your share of the budget and avoid common mistakes.
Read the guideLooking for news and seasonal funding? See the blog, or browse every open grant.