Grants & support for London’s charitable sector

Shaping the Future: funding to support leadership in the migration sector

This new fund from Global Dialogue has been co-created with sector experts to address the growing need for leadership capacity and capability in the refugee and migration sector.

The fund provides offers targeted support to grassroots organisations and individuals with lived experience of migration, with the aim of fostering holistic, sustainable leadership development.

Applicants can apply for funding for up to two years. There are three funding pots are available:

• Individuals: Grants of up to £10,000 to support personal leadership development
• Organisations: Grants of £10,000–£60,000 to strengthen leadership within organisations
• Collaborative partnerships: Grants of £60,000–£100,000 to support collaborative initiatives that foster leadership across networks

Application deadline: 5pm on Wednesday, 12 March 2025.

Learn more: www.global-dialogue.org

Grants for community support and family support projects

This funding from Trusthouse Charitable Foundation is open to applicants based or working in the 15% most deprived urban districts of the UK, or the 50% most deprived rural areas.

One year Community Support grants of between £2,000 and £10,000 are available for core costs, salaries, running and project costs.

You can apply for a maximum of 50% of your total costs. There is a preference is for front line organisations working directly with people in need.

One year Family Support grants of between £10,000 and £50,000 are also available for core costs, salaries, running and project costs. Multi-year grants are available for a maximum of three years, not to exceed £100,000 in total. There is a preference is for front line organisations working directly with families in need.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

Learn more: www.trusthousecharitablefoundation.org.uk

Match funding for small charities

From 23 to 30 June 2025, the Small Charity Week Match Funding campaign will help small charities sustain their work across the UK by providing vital financial support.

NCVO is partnering with Big Give and Global’s Make Some Noise to launch a match funding campaign that will provide crucial financial support to small charities.

Through this campaign, donations made to participating charities via Big Give, the UK’s largest match funding platform, will be doubled thanks to the generosity of Global’s Make Some Noise and other Champion funders, including players of People’s Postcode Lottery.

This means every pound donated will have twice the impact in supporting small charities’ vital work. Eligible charities must have an annual income of between £5,000 and £1 million.

Application closing date: Wednesday, 2 April 2025

Learn more: www.ncvo.org.uk/news-and-insights

Grassroots sports funding for people living with disabilities

The Active Lives programme from the Peter Harrison Foundation can support sports and physical activity opportunities for individuals living with disabilities in the most deprived areas in the UK.

The Foundation is focussing on applications that work with people living with disabilities in the top 10% of areas of deprivation. You will need a track record of working with this population and have a robust plan for wider impact of the project through dissemination, training etc.

They will consider applications for capital, project or core funding. Grant amount: £5,001 – £30,000, over one to three years. Application deadline: Tuesday, 1 April 2025

Learn more: www.peterharrisonfoundation.org

Small grants for young individuals to champion UK native plants and/​or fungi

Young people aged 16–25 can apply for a £500 Grow Wild grant to bring their nature projects to life this summer.

Grow Wild are calling on young individuals to come up with a project idea to champion UK native plants and/​or fungi.

Whether you’re into sowing or sewing, photography or video making, science or cooking – if you’ve got an idea, they want to hear from you. You don’t have to be an expert, Grow Wild are primarily looking for enthusiasm and interesting project ideas.

Apply by 3pm on Wednesday, 19 March 2025.

Find out more at: www.growwild.kew.org/apply-grant/youth

Project grants to support people disadvantaged as a result of long-term ill-health, disability and poverty

This funding from London Catalyst can support new initiatives and service developments in Greater London

Eligible organisations will have an income of £500,000 or less. Maximum grant for one year is £10,000. Grants are available for one to three years.

Next application deadlines: Saturday, 15 March and Monday, 15 September 2025.

See: www.londoncatalyst.org.uk/grants

Local Community Skills Fund: grants for local projects

The Local Community Skills Fund aims to fund innovative local and community-led projects that may not be eligible for traditional funding sources.

The Fund can support projects that are:

• Seeking funding for projects or activities that will be delivered in the UK
• Supporting people 16+ who are facing barriers
• Supporting the development of skills required to move towards or into employment

Projects could include anything from setting up a community garden to running a digital skills workshop. The fund also seeks to help disadvantaged people develop the skills they need to find employment by providing training and support.

You can apply for a grant of up to £10,000 and most grants will be around £6,000. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

Learn more: www.cityandguildsfoundation.org/what-we-offer

Small grants for young volunteers

Jack Petchey Foundation’s Individual Grants for Volunteering programme can provide grants of up to £500 to young people who are volunteering within the UK and abroad.

The grant supports young people aged 11–25 to increase their personal development, life experience and social skills, whilst undertaking valuable community-based volunteering projects.

Applications open on a rolling basis.

Learn more: www.jackpetcheyfoundation.org.uk

The Deutsche Bank Awards for Creative Entrepreneurs

This programme aims to enable and celebrate talented entrepreneurs to make positive social impact through their creative ventures.

Five winners will receive up to £20,000 investment to start or grow their enterprise, and 12-months of business support.

You will need to have a strong idea or existing business in, or in support of, the creative industries. And you’ll be looking to create positive social impact through your enterprise.

Applications close on Monday, 31 March 2025.

Learn more: www.dbace.org

Grants to help youth mental health charities gather and analyse data

New funding from the Prudence Trust aims to help eligible organisations bolster their capacity to do quality data collection and to make use of that data effectively.

Open to registered charities and Community Interest Companies with an annual income of £250,000 or over. Eligible organisations will offer at least one direct mental health intervention and already collect data on mental health or wellbeing.

A total budget of £1 million will be shared between five or six grants, of different sizes. Grant term: Up to three years. Example of eligible costs include: salaries, software, consultancy fees, and training.

Expressions of Interest must be submitted by 4pm on Monday, 3 March 2025.

Learn more: www.theprudencetrust.org/what-we-fund

Small grants for improving access to the arts and refugees and asylum seekers

Upcoming grants from the Austin and Hope Pilkington Trust

The Arts: Improving Access

• Grants of £5,000 available in April 2025. Applying charities must have a minimum operating income of £1m. The focus will be on performing arts projects – theatre, dance or music – that improve audience access and participation.

Refugees and Asylum Seekers

• Grants of £1,000 available in July 2025. Applying charities must have a minimum operating income of £100,000.
  
• Grants of £5,000 available in September 2025. Amount £5,000. Applying charities must have a minimum operating income of £1m.

These projects must focus exclusively on refugees and/​or asylum seekers as beneficiaries, without extending services to other groups.

Learn more: www.austin-hope-pilkington.org.uk

Funding for local collaborations

A second round of Lloyds Bank Foundation’s local collaborations funding will be opening soon to applications.

Through this fund, the Foundation will award grants to 15 collaborations across England and Wales looking to influence change around one of three themes:

• accommodation
• social security
• support for refugees and asylum seekers

Collaborations can apply for £100k over two years initially and will be able to access development support.

Keep an eye on the Lloyds Bank Foundation website and sign up to their newsletter for more information.

Learn more: www.lloydsbankfoundation.org.uk/funding

Resilience funding for organisations working with young people affected by racist or Islamophobic violence

The Resilience Fund from Berkeley Foundation aims to support small-to-medium sized organisations to invest in organisational development and build resilience for the future.

The Foundation is looking to support up to six organisations that are working to build leadership skills in young people affected by racist or Islamophobic violence, empowering them to positively impact their own lives and the communities in which they live.

Eligible organisations will need to demonstrate that young people have a clear role and voice at every level of the organisation.

Successful organisations will receive up to £90,000 over three years to build organisational resilience (not frontline delivery).

Application window: Opens at midday on Monday, 3 March and closes at 5pm on Friday, 28 March 2025.

Learn more: www.berkeleyfoundation.org.uk/resilience-fund

Our Funder Plus offer for funded organisations

Every organisation funded by City Bridge Foundation can apply for free, additional support that goes beyond funding. This is our Funder Plus offer.

For instance, we can provide fee support your organisation’s development and governance, fundraising or business planning.

Eligible funded organisation can benefit from free access to training courses, attendance at conferences, and/​or peer-to-peer learning. Many more support options are available. City Bridge Foundation offers all of this at no financial cost to your organisation.

Learn more at www.citybridgefoundation.org.uk/funder-plus

Spokesperson Leadership Programme – now open

Sounddelivery Media’s unique leadership programme returns for its fourth year. Be part of a movement of lived experience leaders shaping the future.

Developed collaboratively with a network of leaders with lived experience, this seven month development programme is for grassroots leaders to amplify their experiences and expertise with purpose and power. It aims to build the confidence and skills of our network to drive change.

The programme will equip a new cohort of 14 leaders with the skills, confidence and networks to share their experience, have their expertise heard more widely and ultimately drive change for their communities.

The programme is free and travel expenses to any in-person workshops will be covered by Sounddelivery Media. Applications open until Friday, 21 March 2025.

Learn more at: www.sounddelivery.org.uk/spokesperson-network

Charity meetings and webinars — risk of online harm

There is an increasing risk of charity webinars being sabotaged by outside interference, including hate speech and attacks by multiple AI bots.

Having recently experienced such an attack, Charity Excellence Framework has put together a useful online guide.

Their simple, practical guidance is designed to keep charity webinars and online meetings safe, and includes the use of AI Assistants by charities.

See: www.charityexcellence.co.uk

What does it take to fund systems change?

A new briefing from London Funders brings together a wealth of insights, research and evidence gathered over recent months.

What does it mean to fund and work in ways that truly support systemic change? How do we translate big ambitions of change into tangible action? And what conditions are enabling, rather than hindering real changes to the systems we work in?

Learn more and download the report at www.londonfunders.org.uk/latest/news

Getting started with AI

A free self-serve course for charitable organisations from digital technology experts CAST

If you’re keen to get to grips with AI but not sure where to start, CAST’s new self-serve course is here to help! Every week for seven weeks, you’ll receive an email with a guided activity, designed to help you comfortably familiarise yourself with AI — and discover the ways in which it can help make your work life easier.

This friendly and accessible course aims to support, inform and inspire you as you explore the potential of AI. You don’t need any technical skills — just a laptop with internet access and a curious mind.

This is a self-paced course, so you can start whenever you want, learn at your own speed — and revisit the materials whenever you need to.

Learn more: www.wearecast.org.uk/our-work

Resilience in Motion: The State of London’s Black-led Impact Organisations in 2024

This powerful new report from Do it Now Now explores the challenges, successes, and unwavering resilience of Black-led impact organisations in London.

Packed with insights, evidence-based recommendations, and a call to action, this report is essential reading for all who are working to support Black-led impact organisations in building long-term resilience and success.

See: www.doitnownow.com/reports

Volunteers’ Week: Monday 2nd – Sunday 8th June 2025

Volunteer-involving organisations are invited to take part in this annual, UK-wide programme of celebratory activities and events.

Now in it’s 41st year, Volunteers’ Week is an opportunity to recognise the incredible impact of your volunteers.

A new website provides celebration ideas, free resources to help decorate your events and showcase your volunteers online, and so you can stay connected to what’s happening in your local area.

Learn more: www.volunteersweek.org

Access and inclusion for all

Need guidance and advice on how to manage access and inclusion in your building’s spaces?

If you’re a not-for-profit group or a charity based in London, the Centre for Accessible Environments is offering a free two-hour session through their Access and Sustainability Advice Service.

The session covers:

• Accessibility under the Equality Act
• User needs
• Making adaptations to existing buildings to improve access

Get expert advice and share your thoughts with other organisations. The next session is on Wednesday 26 March from 10am to 12pm.

Sign up here: www.forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx

New legal hub for organisations supporting sponsored migrant workers

The Work Rights Centre has launched a new legal hub and training programme for frontline workers.

From February 2025, with support from the Baring Foundation, they will be offering practical training sessions for frontline advisers supporting sponsored workers. A new strategic legal action group will also challenge the exploitative system as a whole.

The training is free for small non-profit organisations with fewer than 10 full time equivalent (FTE) members of staff, and for organisations led by black and ethnic minorities who centre their work on racial equity.

Learn more: www.workrightscentre.org

Charity websites: understanding online accessibility, usability and inclusivity

This two-hour webinar is aimed at charities, community foundations, CIC’s and any other good cause who wants to improve the accessibility of their website and make their website more accessible, usable and inclusive for everyone.

You don’t need to be an expert or a designer to take part in this webinar. Hopefully you will come away with invaluable information to help improve your website, make your content more accessible to all, and subsequently improve the user experience of your website for everyone.

See: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a‑web-for-all-accessibility-usability-and-inclusivity-online-tickets-1214818487799

No More Week 2025: the global campaign to end sexual and domestic violence

Taking place from 2 to 8 March, the focus for this year’s campaign is No More Silence.

As the UK home of the campaign, charity Hestia has put together a No More Week Partner Toolkit, which has some simple ways you can help.

From conversation starter cards to social media posts, blogs and downloading the Bright Sky app — a really helpful app in terms of understanding domestic abuse, supporting someone who may be going through it, and getting help quickly.

Hestia is one of the largest providers of domestic abuse refuges in London and the South East.

See: www.hestia.org/no-more-week-2025

Follow us on social media

We’re not posting much on Twitter (X) any more, but you can find us on Bluesky. If you’re there as well, come and find us!

We already post a lot on LinkedIn. If that’s your channel, follow us there for all our latest news and useful updates.

And we’re also on Instagram, where we post about our bridges, heritage and culture. Maybe we’ll see you there?