Clothworkers' Foundation Grants: Capital Funding Guide

The Clothworkers' Foundation funds something many charities find very hard to raise money for: capital costs. A new minibus, a refurbished community hub, laptops for a small team or a better database can change what an organisation is able to do, yet most funders prefer to pay for activities and staff. This guide explains how the Foundation's Open Grants Programme works, who can apply, what it pays for, how the decisions are made and how to give your application the best chance. Everything here comes from the Foundation's own website, checked on the date shown on this page.

What the Clothworkers' Foundation is

The Foundation was set up in 1977 by The Clothworkers' Company and is a registered charity. It has its own endowment and also receives donations each year from the Company. Its stated mission is to support charities and social businesses that work with marginalised and disadvantaged people and communities, and those working towards a more equitable society.

It runs two kinds of funding. The Proactive Grants Programmes are strategic, are developed by the Foundation itself and are not open to applications. The Open Grants Programme is, in the Foundation's words, its only funding area that is open to applications. So when people talk about applying to Clothworkers, they mean the Open Grants Programme.

The Foundation says it awarded more than £8.65 million through the Open Grants Programme in 2025, and that the success rate for eligible applications that year was 28%. You can see the programme listed on GrantMatch as the Open Grants Programme.

What the Open Grants Programme funds

The programme funds capital costs only. The Foundation describes four types of capital project:

• Buildings. Buying, building, renovating or refurbishing a building.
• Fittings, fixtures and equipment. For example office equipment and furniture, sports or gym equipment, digital or audiovisual equipment, garden equipment and specialist therapeutic equipment (but not medical equipment).
• Vehicles. For example minibuses, cars, people carriers, 4x4s and boats. The Foundation says it is unlikely to fund the whole cost of a new vehicle, or to fund an organisation that already owns a large number of vehicles.
• Digital infrastructure. One-off costs such as a new website or app, a CRM database or digitising a process. The Foundation says these projects should be well past the brainstorming stage and ready to develop, and it publishes separate guidance on them.

It is equally important to know what it will not pay for. The published list includes salaries and overheads, volunteer expenses, training, rent, leasing property or equipment, project management costs, marketing and leaflets, one-off events, consumables such as clothes, kits, toys and stationery, equipment for one-off use or that service users keep permanently, and costs for projects that have already been completed. It also does not fund vehicles for organisations whose core work is community transport, or projects whose main purpose is heritage or culture.

If you are new to this kind of funding, our capital grants guide explains how capital budgets, quotes and match funding usually work.

Who can apply

Both your organisation and your project have to be eligible. The Foundation funds organisations operating in the UK that are:

• registered charities, including CIOs
• not-for-profit organisations with a suitable asset lock, such as CICs limited by guarantee without share capital and Community Benefit Societies
• exempt charities, where it asks for details of your principal regulator or evidence of HMRC exemption
• special schools

It says a constitution on its own is not enough to show you are eligible, and you will need to attach your accounts. If you are a CIC, our guide to CICs limited by shares or guarantee explains why the share capital question matters.

Turnover limits

The size of your organisation decides which grant you can ask for:

• a Small Grant, of £15,000 or less, is for organisations with an annual turnover under £2 million
• a Large Grant, of more than £15,000, is for organisations with an annual turnover under £10 million

So an organisation with a turnover above £2 million cannot apply for a Small Grant, and one above £10 million cannot apply at all.

Who is excluded

The published exclusions include organisations that have had a grant offer from the Foundation in the past five years, or an application declined in the past six months; organisations that promote a religion or only serve people of one religion; organisations that promote a political party; second-tier or infrastructure bodies such as a CVS, unless the project is for their own front-line services; hospices and NHS charities; grant-making organisations; almshouses; and schools, colleges and universities, except special schools for students with physical or learning disabilities. Pupil referral units and alternative provision are not funded.

The 10 programme areas

Your organisation's work must fit at least one of the programme areas, and at least 50% of the people who benefit from the capital project must come from one or more of these groups:

• communities experiencing racial inequalities
• Disabled People, including people with mental health needs and people who are blind or vision impaired
• domestic or sexual abuse
• economic disadvantage
• homelessness
• LGBT+ communities
• older people facing disadvantage
• prison and rehabilitation
• substance misuse and addiction
• young people facing disadvantage

The detail matters. Under young people facing disadvantage, for example, the Foundation says general educational organisations, wildlife and outdoor education charities, sports organisations and youth arts organisations are not eligible unless at least 50% of those benefiting fall within one or more programme areas. If you work with disabled young people, it asks you to apply under both the disability and young people areas. Read the description for your area before you start.

How decisions are made

The Foundation receives more eligible applications than it can fund, so it uses what it calls an Impact Framework to choose between them. It prioritises:

1. Organisations embedding lived experience. Organisations that build the lived experience of the issues they tackle into decision-making at all levels. The Foundation says there are no fixed thresholds, such as a set number of trustees with lived experience, and the form asks about this in your own words.
2. Projects that lead to significant change. Projects that make a big difference to your delivery, reach or sustainability, such as owning your own building, a refurbishment that lets you serve more people, owning a vehicle for the first time, or digital infrastructure that significantly increases what you can do.

It says it may fund applications that score highly on one of these, but is very unlikely to fund those that score highly on neither. It also ring-fences Small Grants funding, so small projects are compared with other small projects.

The Foundation also publishes the most common reasons it turns applications down. These include an ineligible organisation type, a weak fit with the programme areas, financial need that was not clearly shown, concerns about the organisation's finances, a request for non-capital costs, a fundraising plan that does not look able to cover the project, a request for retrospective costs, a project so large that the Foundation cannot make a meaningful grant, and an organisation without enough track record.

How much you can get

The Foundation asks you not to request a specific amount. Instead, the form asks for the full budget for the eligible costs and the balance you still have to raise, and the team decides the grant size. Its FAQs say that generally the larger the project, the larger the grant; for projects with a balance of more than £100,000 it aims to fund at least 10% of the balance, and for projects of £15,000 or less it aims to fund all, or a significant amount, of the remaining balance.

In most cases it does not fund the total cost of a project. You do not need other funding in place before you apply, but for larger projects it will ask how you plan to raise the rest. Our guide on how to find match funding can help with that plan, and other capital funders such as the Wolfson Foundation and Garfield Weston Foundation are often part of the mix for bigger projects.

How to apply

There are no deadlines, so you can apply at any time. The process is:

1. Take the Eligibility Quiz. Everyone starts here. If you are eligible, you are given a unique link to the right application form. The Foundation says you cannot create an account or start a new application without completing the quiz.
2. Small Grants: one stage. One form, reviewed on a rolling basis. The Foundation aims to respond within 12 weeks. Decisions are made by the Foundation Director.
3. Large Grants: two stages. The first form covers your organisation, your project and its intended impact, and the Foundation aims to respond within six weeks. The applications that score highest against the Impact Framework are invited to a second, fuller stage, which is expected within four months. The Foundation aims to respond to the second stage within six months, and decisions are made by its Grants Committee or Trustee Board.

The Foundation publishes Application Guidance with a preview of its forms and budget templates. It is worth reading before you start, so you can gather your accounts, quotes and figures in advance.

If you are offered a grant, the Foundation pays once your fundraising is complete. That can be straight away if its grant covers the full or remaining balance; otherwise it asks you to keep it updated on your fundraising.

Tips for a stronger application

• Check the 50% rule honestly. Work out who will use the building, vehicle or equipment, and what share of them fall within the programme areas.
• Show the change. Explain what the project will let you do that you cannot do now, in numbers where you can: more people, new services, lower running costs or a more secure future.
• Describe lived experience as it really is. The Foundation asks for your own words and warns against generic answers, especially on lived experience.
• Show your finances are sound. Two of the common reasons for decline are concerns about the organisation's finances and a weak fundraising plan, so make both clear.
• Get realistic quotes. The Foundation suggests getting quotes from contractors that pay the real Living Wage before you apply, so the budget reflects it; it cannot take increased costs into account after a grant is made.

After a decision

If your application is successful, you can apply again five years after your grant award letter. If it is unsuccessful, you cannot reapply for the same project, but you can apply for a different project after six months. All unsuccessful applicants get brief feedback by email.

GrantMatch lists capital grants and other funding for charities working with the groups Clothworkers supports. Browse grants for charities, or see live listings for disability charity grants, older people grants and youth grants. Create a free profile and we will match you with funders that fit your project.