Small Grants

Support for projects and organisations that focus on greening and growing, working with older people, working with Deaf and Disabled people, working with the LGBTQIA+ community, and working with migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. Small Grants are for charities with incomes under £200,000.

With these grants, we want to give smaller organisations easier access to funding in the following five strands:

1) Environmental, greening and growing

2) Working with older people

3) Working with Deaf and Disabled people

4) Working with the LGBTQIA+ community

5) Working with migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers

Wherever possible, we seek to fund organisations and projects that actively involve the communities they serve when designing their services. We also seek to fund organisations and projects where the majority of staff and/​or leaders have direct, lived experience of the organisation’s area of work.

Please note that the following groups of people are eligible:

• Deaf and Disabled people
• People with specific diagnoses of mental health conditions that could be considered a disability

General wellbeing projects that do not work with one of the above groups are not eligible.

Applications and work under this strand can be for pan-LGBTQIA+ communities (that is, for the benefit of all communities that fall under the LGBTQIA+ umbrella) and/​or work that targets a specific part of the wider LGBTQIA+ community, such as queer women.

We are particularly keen to hear from organisations and Voluntary Constituted Organisations that are led by and for LGBTQIA+ people (by ​“led by and for”, we mean a majority of your board/​committee and senior staff are LGBTQIA+, or you are working towards growing the LGBTQIA+ leadership in your organisation).

We are also interested in funding trans-specific organisations and projects to further reach trans communities in London. We also welcome applications from organisations that take an intersectional approach to addressing issues that disproportionately affect LGBTQIA+ people (By ​“intersectional”, we mean work that seeks to support people who experience multiple forms of marginalisation e.g. LGBTQIA+ people of colour).

Examples of work:

• A youth organisation developing an advisory board to support young LGBTQIA+ people of colour to develop social and leadership skills.
• An older people’s lunch club targeting trans people over 60 to combat isolation.
• A peer support group for LGBTQIA+ people experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity in London.

There is no specific age criteria for what is considered ​“older people”, but the project / organisation must be explicitly targeted towards older people. 

Applicants are encouraged to showcase how their project addresses the unique requirements of older people, enhances their well-being, fosters social inclusion, or caters to their specific interests and concerns. 

Detailed discussions regarding the project’s alignment with the older population’s needs and benefits will take place during the assessment process.

To apply, your organisation’s annual income must be less than £200,000

Grants are awarded up to £20,000 per year for a maximum of five years and can cover project funding and/​or core funding.

A grant cannot amount to more than 50% of an organisation’s turnover / income in any one year. Organisations must be able to provide at least one set of legally compliant accounts.

Applicants can seek core funding from the Small Grants programme providing all the organisation’s work is eligible for the funding criteria they have applied for (eg 100% of the organisation’s work is focused on greening and growing or another of the funding streams).

Funding staff costs

We will not usually pay for staff costs beyond one full-time equivalent staff post. For example, we could pay for one full-time staff member, or two part-time staff, both working 17.5 hours a week. We will only fund staff posts that are paid the London Living Wage or above.

The following types of organisations can apply for the Small Grants programme:

All organisations that apply must meet our Small Grants eligibility criteria and Governance Standards for funding. Constituted Voluntary Organisations should ensure that they meet these criteria and standards by clicking on the link below.

If you would like to view our Small Grants application form without entering the online application portal, you can use our SAMPLE application form. This Word document is a copy of our online application portal and can be used to help you plan your application.

This SAMPLE application form cannot be used to make an application for funding. If you wish to make an application, all information must be entered on our online portal.

If your original Small Grant was for less than five years, you can apply for continuation funding to extend its duration up to a total of five years, as long as the project still meets our current funding priorities.

Small Grants: continuation funding closed to new applications on Tuesday, 8 October 2024.

We aim to provide a decision within 12 ‑16 weeks of the receipt of a fully completed application. However, at times of high demand this may take longer; we will let you know if that is the case.

We are unable to fund costs for any activity that has taken place before a grant is awarded.

City Bridge Foundation offers a range of free, additional support to every organisation we fund. This support includes:

Current Small Grants holders can follow the link below for further information.