Funding Opportunities & Resources

Barchester Healthcare Foundation

Maximum value £ 2,500

Grants are available for small local groups and small local charities to improve the quality of life and combat loneliness in older people as well as adults with a physical or mental disability in England, Scotland, and Wales.

Background

The Barchester Healthcare Foundation (also known as the Barchester Charitable Foundation) was established by Barchester Healthcare to reinvest into the communities it serves.

It is a registered charity with independent Trustees. The Foundation was set up in 2003 with an initial grant of over £250,000.  Barchester Healthcare continues to make further contributions to the Foundation.

Objectives of Fund

The Foundation aims to make a difference to the lives of older people and other adults with a physical, learning or mental disability; supporting practical solutions that lead to increased personal independence, self-sufficiency and dignity.

The aim of this fund is on connecting or re-connecting people with others in their local community. Applications that combat loneliness and enable people to be active and engaged will receive highest priority.

Grants range from £100 to £2,500.

Who Can Apply

Although most funding is awarded to individuals, small community groups and small local charities based in England, Scotland or Wales can also apply.

Eligible organisations must provide a breakdown of their budget and their latest annual accounts.

Support is mainly available to individuals in England, Scotland and Wales who are:

All applications for an individual must be supported by a third party sponsor, such as a health or personal care professional, social worker, charity or support group representative.

The focus for funding is connecting or re-connecting people with others in their local community. Applications that combat loneliness and enable people to be active and engaged will receive the highest priority.

Restrictions

The following are not eligible for funding:

Groups with financial of over £150,000 are unlikely to receive support.

Further funding is not available for three years following a successful grant award.

Eligible Expenditure

Funding is intended to help small community groups and local charities with the following:

Priority will be given to innovative projects that help older people and those with a disability to get active, meet people, and reduce isolation.

Location England, Scotland and Wales.

How To Apply

Applications may be submitted at any time.

Guidance and an online application form are available from the Barchester Healthcare Foundation website.

Documents & links

Contacts

For further information on how to obtain this fund, please contact the following:

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FUNDING

Sport England – Movement Fund

Sport England : Maximum value £ 15,000

Grants and other resources are available for community groups, local sports clubs and grassroots organisations across England with ideas of how to tackle inequalities and help get more people active.

The Movement Fund aims to help close the ‘significant activity gap’ between people based on where they live, how affluent they are, their sex, ethnic background or whether they have a disability or long-term health condition.

The launch coincides with the introduction of Sport England’s new Movement Hub pilot – which aims to make it easier to find existing tools and resources.

Objectives of Fund

The funding aims to get more people active and increase sports participation across England.

Priority will be given to projects where there is the most need.

There is particular interest in projects providing opportunities for groups facing barriers to activity, such as:

• People living on low incomes.
• Disabled people or those with long-term health conditions.
• Older people.
• People from culturally diverse communities.
• Pregnant women and parents with very young children.
• Girls aged 5-16.
• LGBTQ+ people.
• People who are in foster care.
• People who provide care without pay.

And in projects that address combined hurdles, such as people with long-term health conditions alongside caring responsibilities.

Priority will be given to projects in communities where there is a greater need.

Grants of between £300 and £15,000 are available.

Who Can Apply

Not-for-profit organisations working with people living in England can apply.

To be eligible, organisations must:

• Be formally constituted with a clear purpose.
• Have at least three non-related trustees or directors who do not live together.
• Ensure decision making and voting rights are equally distributed between their trustees or directors.
• Meet Sport England’s Tier 1 Governance Code requirements (if applying for more than £10,000).

Restrictions

The following are not eligible for funding:

• People living outside of England (costs for activities involving participants living outside England).
• Activities linked to statutory duties (costs for activities that are statutory responsibilities, such as funding activities that schools are already required to deliver, like PE classes).
• Projects for private gain.
• Organisations that will redistribute Sport England grants to others.
• Duplicate funding (costs already covered by another source of funding)
• High-risk sports and activities (the exception might be for recognised sports where the organisation/coaches are affiliated with the relevant national governing body).
• General running or existing staff costs (costs for general running of the organisation or existing staff).
• Recoverable VAT
• Retrospective funding.
• Children under five years old (projects focused solely on children under five are not eligible for funding. However projects may be eligible where children under five are part of a larger project where the majority of beneficiaries are over the age of five).
• Football Foundation projects.
• Artistic dance activities (artistic dance activities where the main purpose is for artistic or performance purposes will not be supported; however, if they may be considered if the focus is on getting people active).
• Projects with distant start dates (projects need to start within six months of the funding award confirmation)
• Project which will not be within 12 months of starting.

Eligible Expenditure

The funding is intended for local not-for-profit groups and organisations whose projects promote physical activity, including active travel, walking, cycling, dance, fitness and sporting activities.

The funding could cover, for example:

• Equipment: support purchasing new or improved equipment that’s required for the delivery of the activity.
• Refurbishing or upgrading facilities: support to improve or create spaces that can provide opportunities to get more people active.
• Developing new capabilities and leadership skills: providing formal training for staff and volunteers to improve their skills and leadership abilities to help improve how the group tackles inequalities and gets more people active.
• Delivery costs: paying for the people and facilities needed to deliver the project, where these are new costs to the project.
• Emergency relief: helping with costs during a crisis, like damage from extreme weather, that could not have been avoided or insured.

Projects and activities need to address Sport England’s four ambitions:

• Encouraging positive experiences of sport and physical activity.
• Involving the community in planning and delivery.
• Prioritising environmental sustainability.
• A good use of public money.

How To Apply

Documents & links

• Sport England - Movement Fund
• https://www.sportengland.org/funding-and-campaigns/our-funding/movement-fund

Contacts

For further information on how to obtain this fund, please contact the following:

WCIT – IT4Good Grant Programme

Maximum value £ 15,000

Application deadline 18/08/2025

Grants are available for not-for-profit organisations across the UK to deliver IT projects and activities that support the themes of education, inclusion, IT for charities, and understanding of IT.

Objectives of Fund

This fund aims to support IT projects and activities that relate to one or more of the following priority areas:

• Education.
• Inclusion.
• Tech for charities.
• Public understanding of Technology.

Value Notes

Grants over £15,000 may be considered in exceptional circumstances.

Who Can Apply

Registered charities and organisatoins with a formal not-for-profit constitution, such as community interest companies (CICs), can apply.

Applicants must provide:

• A document proving charitable state.
• A copy of their most recent audited annual accounts.
• A copy of their current safeguarding policy
• A copy of their Person with Significant Control Register (for CICs and companies limited by guarantee).

Applicants for grants over £5,000 and less than £15,000 must also provide contact details of an external referee who can provide a reference on the charity’s effective project or service delivery. This contact must be external to the organisation and be happy to be named. They should not be related to any applicant staff or volunteer.

Applicants for grants over £15,000 must also provide:

• Their most recent annual report or minutes of AGM. If the organisation is new, the minutes from the meeting when the constitution was formally adopted are acceptable.
• Contact details of two external referees who can provide a reference on the charity's effective project or service delivery. The contacts must be external to the organisation and be happy to be named. They should not be related to any applicant staff or volunteer.

Restrictions

The following are not eligible for funding:

• Individuals.
• Private companies.
• Start-up organisations that are less than a year old, or with no income or accounts.
• Organisations with an annual income or reserves of over £1 million.
• Commercially available off-the-shelf products for staff use.
• Apps or websites for income generation or staff administration.
• Networking or telephony costs.
• Existing projects or services.
• Projects benefitting fewer than 25 people directly.
• Projects where the service cost per beneficiary is over £300.
• The financial request is less than 25% of the entire project budget.
• Schools (other than existing partner schools).
• Core running costs.
• Political or lobbying work.
• Local authorities or councils.
• Loans/debt repayments.
• Retrospective costs.
• Consultancy costs.
• Projects that seek to build an endowment.
• Large national charities.
• Projects whose beneficiaries are abroad.

Eligible Expenditure

Projects that are more likely to be funded include:

• The development and delivery of new services, solutions, training, apps, analytics, AI, robotics, or accessibility features/hardware.
• Projects where WCIT is a material or sole funder.
• Projects where WCIT is the sole funder of the IT component of a larger project.
• Organisations that could benefit from pro-bono support.

Proposed projects should demonstrate an innovative use of IT, be scalable for wider replication, and be sustainable over time.

How To Apply

Guidance notes and an online grants portal are available from the WCIT Charity website.

Documents & links to apply online

• WCIT Charity
• Home - WCIT Charity

Contacts

For further information on how to obtain this fund, please contact the following:

1. Enquiries
   WCIT
   39a Bartholomew Close
   London
   EC1A 7JN
   Email: charity@wcit.org.uk

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Rosa - Rise Fund

Maximum value £ 40,000

Application deadline 23/06/2025

A limited number of grants are available to support organisational development for Black and minoritised-led women’s and girls’ organisations in the UK so that they are in a stronger position to survive, thrive and grow into the future.

Background

Rosa, a registered charity, was launched in June 2008, following more than a decade of research and development in response to a need for greater recognition and financial support for women's organisations and projects supporting women in the UK.

The first round of the Rise Fund was in 2022. It funded 35 organisations, with 12,451 women and girls supported.

Objectives of Fund

The Rise Fund aims to achieve the following outcomes:

• Women and girls will be supported by women’s and girls’ organisations led by and for Black and racially minoritised women, ensuring women and girls can be safe, healthy and equal.
• Women’s and girls’ organisations will be empowered and strengthened, meaning that they will be in a stronger position to survive, thrive and grow into the future.

The funding is for organisational development work relating to areas such as strategy, governance, leadership, alliances and partnerships, funding, demonstrating impact and systems and processes.

This means organisations will be able to report one or more of these changes:

• A clearer strategy.
• More effective governance.
• More effective leadership.
• A stronger voice within the women’s movement.
• Stronger alliances with other women’s organisations.
• More able to attract funding from other sources.
• More able to demonstrate the impact of their work.
• More effective systems and processes.

Value Notes

Two-year grants of between £10,000 (£5,000 per year) and £40,000 (£20,000 per year) are available.

The grant will be paid in two instalments:

• 50% of the grant will be paid in December 2025, after receipt of the signed grant agreement.
• 50% of the grant will be paid in December 2026.

The grant should be spent by December 2027.

Who Can Apply

Applications will be accepted from not-for-profit organisations run by, for and with Black and minoritised women and girls in the UK, including:

• Registered charity
• Community Interest Company (CIC) limited by guarantee.
• Company limited by guarantee.
• Constituted community organisation.
• Charitable incorporated organisation (CIO)/Scottish charitable incorporated organisation (SCIO).
• Industrial and provident community benefit society

To be eligible, applicants must:

• Have the principal objective of working with and for Black and minoritised women and/or girls.
• Have Black and minoritised women and/or girls as the majority of their beneficiaries both now and in the future.
• Have at least 75% of their senior management team and trustees/governing body as Black and minoritised women and/or girls.
• Ensure their activities are charitable, legal and for the benefit of Black and minoritised women and/or girls.
• Have an income of between £30,000 and £300,000 from their last set of annual accounts.
• Have unrestricted reserves of no more than 12 months expenditure.
• Have a written governing document, e.g. a constitution or set of rules.
• Have a governing body with at least three unrelated members.
• Have a UK-based bank or building society account in the name of the organisation, with at least two unrelated signatories.
• Have an appropriate safeguarding policy in place (every organisation that delivers charitable activities has a duty to safeguard volunteers, staff members, participants and donors).
• Deliver all their work in one or more of the four UK Nations: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Priority will be given to organisations led by and for Black and racially minoritised women, which are also:

• Operating in the top 20% of the most disadvantaged areas in the UK-based on the Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD);
• Based in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland;
• Led by and for disabled women and girls;
• Led by and for LGBTQ+ women and girls.

Organisations which meet more than one of the above priorities will be given higher priority than those that meet one priority.

Rosa is especially keen to fund organisations which are created from and connected to the communities they serve, designing their services based on direct, lived experience and involving their beneficiaries in decision-making.

In addition, organisations that have not previously been funded by Rise Fund will be prioritised

Restrictions

The following are not eligible for funding:

• Organisations that do not meet the eligibility criteria including Rosa’s definition of a women’s and/or girls’ organisation led by, for and with Black and racially minoritised women
• Responsibilities of statutory agencies
• Profit-making work
• Party political activity
• Activities promoting religious beliefs
• Work outside the UK
• Applications from individuals
• Overseas travel
• Interest payments on loans
• Building purchase
• Costs that have already been incurred (‘retrospective costs’).

Eligible Expenditure

The funding is for organisational development work relating to areas such as strategy, governance, leadership, alliances and partnerships, funding, demonstrating impact and systems and processes.

The grants can be used for the following:

• Direct staff costs
• Associated staff costs
• Volunteer costs
• General running costs, which could include rent, utility costs, insurances and any other costs related to the day to day running of the organisation. Up to 25% of the total request can be general running costs.

How To Apply

Applications are now open with a deadline of 23 June 2025 (16:00).

Guidance notes and the online forms can be found on Rosa's website.

The application process has two steps:

• Registration form and eligibility check.
• Application form.

Rosa will be hosting ‘How to Apply’ webinars to help applicants develop their applications:

• 5 June (12:00 to 13:00)
• 10 June (16:30 to 17:30)

The registration links can be found on Rosa's website.

Contact Rosa for further information.

Documents & links

• Rosa - Rise Fund
• The 2025 Rosa Rise Fund - Rosa

Contacts

For further information on how to obtain this fund, please contact the following:

1. Enquiries
   Rosa
   c/o Sayer Vincent
   110 Golden Lane
   London
   EC1Y 0TG
   Email: grants@rosauk.org