Funding Sources

1989 Willan Charitable Trust

This Trust funds charitable activities benefitting residents of Tyne & Wear, Northumberland, County Durham and Teesside. Priority is given to applicants which: Ease social deprivation and/or enrich the fabric of the local community and the quality of life of individuals within that community.

The 1989 Willan Charitable Trust’s grant making in the North East region is supported by the Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland, which receives and vets applications for the trustees. Full details of the application process, which is different to the Community Foundation’s usual process, can be found on the foundation’s website. 

Arts Council England

National Lottery Project Grants is the open access funding programme for individuals and organisations that use the arts in their work. Grants range from £1,000 to over £100,000. There are no specific deadlines for applications; applications below £30,000 receive a decision within 8-weeks and those over £15,000 within 12 weeks.

Full details are available online here. 

Ballinger Charitable Trust

The Ballinger Charitable Trust was founded in 1994 and supports charities, voluntary and community organisations in North East England through the provision of grants. The focus of the trust is to: support the health, development and wellbeing of young people; and support for older people; There are no specific deadlines for applications and decisions are made on a regular basis. Although there are no set limits on the amount that can be applied for, the range of grants varies from a few hundred pounds to £500,000.

Full details and initial application form is available online here.

The Barbour Foundation

The Barbour Foundation was founded in 1988 and focuses on making grants to institutions who deal with community welfare, housing and social deprivation issues, mainly in the North East of England. Grant amounts range from a few hundred pounds to around £50,000, although there are no set limits.

The foundation does not have its own website. Further details can be found on the Charity Commission website: http://beta.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regid=328081&subid=0 Application is by letter to: Mrs A Harvey, PO Box 21, Guisborough, Cleveland, TS14 8YH

BBC Children in Need

A new grants programme launches in Autumn 2022. Details and application here.  

National Lottery Community Fund

The three main programmes to be aware of at the Big Lottery Fund are both responsive to meeting the needs identified by the community:

• Awards for All is the small grants scheme that funds local community-based projects in the UK. Grants of between £300 and £10,000 are available to help make a real difference in your community, for projects that last no more than 12-months.
• Reaching Communities is a large grant scheme, providing grants of over £10,000 for projects that can last for up to 5 years.
• Partnership Funding provides grants of over £10,000 for organisations which work together with a shared set of goals and values.

To find out more about the BIG Lottery and all its funding programmes, please visit their website.  

Catherine Cookson Charitable Trust

The Catherine Cookson Charitable Trust receives royalties from the sale of books and other materials written by the prolific author, these royalties enable the trust to donate around £1m each year. The Trust supports a wide range of activities including education and training, environment and conservation, arts and culture as well as general charitable purposes. The Trust’s principal aim is to identify and meet the local needs of the area in which Dame Catherine was brought up and resided. In particular the Trust supports work with young or disadvantaged people. Grants awarded are between £250 and £100,000.

Full details are available on the Trust’s website.

Comic Relief

Comic Relief’s vision is ‘a just world free from poverty, where everyone is safe, healthy, educated and empowered’. A new programme will open in 2022 – more here. 

Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland

The Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland manages a variety of different funds that are intended to support local groups who ‘deliver valuable opportunities, support and help to the people in their communities’ in Tyne and Wear and Northumberland. Funding is available for general running costs, specific projects or activities, or for the costs of capital developments or equipment.
You can make a general application at any time, which could be considered by a range of funds managed by the foundation, or make an application in response to a specific call for applications. The average grant size is around £4,500 but many grants are much lower than this. Full details are available on the Community Foundation’s website.

E C Graham Belford Charitable Settlement

The E C Graham Belford Charitable Settlement makes grants to smaller charities throughout Northumberland. The charity awards around £100,000 per year to charities in Northumberland with the maximum grant size of £10,000.

Application is by letter and contact details are available on the Charity Commission Gov.uk site.

Garfield Weston Foundation

One-off grants are available to charitable organisations in the UK for a wide range of projects in the arts, community, education, welfare, medical, youth, religion, and environment. The Foundation funds a wide range of charitable projects, including contributions to running costs. On average, approximately 1,500 charities across the UK benefit each year from grants made by the Foundation ranging from the smallest community and volunteer projects through to large national organisations.
There are no limits to the size of grant and each application is considered on its own merit. Typically the Trustees prefer to see that a significant proportion of a project’s costs have been secured before considering an application and that a robust fundraising strategy and business plan are in place.

More information is available on the Garfield Weston Foundation‘s website.

Greggs Foundation

The Foundation’s major grants programme is called the ‘North East Core Fund’. This fund makes grants to organisations to support core running costs. Grants of up to £15,000 per year for up to three years are available and the programme tends to support organisations that work in the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods in  North East England, or organisations that support otherwise disadvantaged people, particularly those that support the following priority groups: people with disabilities; homeless people; voluntary carers; older and isolated people.

More information on the foundation website.

Hadrian Trust

Grants are to help social welfare and charitable organisations working to improve the lives of people in the North East of England. Applications are considered under the following headings: Social Welfare; The Disabled; Youth; Ethnic minorities; Women; The Elderly; Arts; Environment; Education.

Grants usually range from £500 to £2,000 and may be for a specific project or part of a project, purchase of equipment or as a contribution to running costs. The Trustees meet on a quarterly basis and letters of application need to be with them three weeks before the meeting date.

Details are available on the Hadrian Trust’s website.

Heritage Lottery Fund

The Heritage Lottery Fund offers a range of different grant programmes, with grants from £3,000 to over £5million. In assessing applications, the outcomes for heritage as well as the people and communities that a project will achieve will be taken into account.

Find detail on all grant programmes here. 

The Joicey Trust

This trust provides support to registered charities to carry out charitable projects within Northumberland and Tyne and Wear. Grants range up to £10,000. Most grants awarded are under £2,000.

Trustees meet twice a year and applications need to be submitted by 30th November and 31st May in order to be considered by the trustees at their meeting, which can be two months later than the deadline. More information on the application procedure can be found on their website.

People’s Health Trust

Funded by the 51 society lotteries that are managed by the health lottery, the People’s Health Trust provides funding to address health inequalities and create fairer places in which to grow, live, work and age. They provide funding for specific local areas within Northumberland. The maximum grant is £50,000 over two years.

Find more information at the trust website.

People’s Postcode Lottery

awards funds through a number of different trusts:

• Postcode Dream Trust – more information here.
• Postcode Neighbourhood Trust – more information here.

Northumberland County Council

Northumberland County Council provides or manages a range of potential funding sources:

• Community Chest – The aim of the Community Chest Scheme is to support community groups and organisations to deliver activities which contribute to achieving the Council’s ambition for Northumberland. The maximum grant is £5,000 but for projects covering the whole of the county the maximum grant will not normally exceed £10,000.
• Members’ local improvement schemes – Each County Councillor has an annual budget of £15,000 for local projects in their area. This is predominantly for capital projects.
• Housing Developer Fund – Section 106 agreements are sometimes entered into with housing developers to fund sport and play in some areas of Northumberland.
• Northumberland Climate Change Fund – The Council has established the Community Climate Fund to enable community organisations to develop their own schemes to contribute to the goal of net zero carbon by 2030.

Visit the County Council’s website for full details. 

R W Mann Trust

The Trust’s objectives are wide ranging but it exists mainly to help improve the lives of people and communities in the North Tyneside, South Northumberland and East Newcastle area of the North East. The Trustees may award grants outside these areas if they believe that a project or group offers exceptional value and is within the Tyne and Wear and South Tyneside areas.

Grants made have varied between regular annual contributions, small one-off donations and grants for capital projects. The Trust has made grants of between £100 and £10,000 but the average size of grant awarded is £1000.
Visit the trust’s website for more details.

The Rothley Trust

The Rothley Trust gives small grants to assist groups with charitable work in the north east. The Trust focuses on the needs of children and young people in areas of disadvantage. It also supports community development and the groups which help people with disabilities. The trust meets on a quarterly basis to consider applications.

Application is by letter. Please see the website for details on what to include when making an application.

Sir James Knott Trust

The aim of the Sir James Knott Trust is to help improve the conditions of people living and working in the North East of England. Grants are awarded in the following areas: Arts and Culture; Service Charities; Public Services; Housing; Heritage; Health and Sport; Education and Training; Environment; Community Issues and Events; and Maritime.

Applications for funding under £1,000 may be made all year round and will be presented to a Trustee usually within four to six weeks. For funding over £1,000, applications must be submitted for consideration at Trustee meetings, usually held in spring, summer and autumn. For the ‘Under £1,000’ scheme the average grant is £500 and for the ‘Meeting’ grants the average is £4,500. Full details are available on the Sir James Knott Trust’s website.

Sport England

Sport England distributes money from the National Lottery. As you would imagine, they fund both elite and amateur sport in England and also fund projects that help people to get active even if it isn’t directly through sport.

You can keep up to date with the open programmes by visiting their website (some funds are ongoing and some have deadlines): 

Town & Parish Councils

Some Town and Parish Councils have their own community grant scheme with set deadlines, criteria and application forms, whilst a larger number respond to requests from the community or further afield. It is always worth keeping in contact with your local council and finding out how they provide community grants and when they make decisions. The Northumberland Association of Local Councils has a directory of Town & Parish Councils.

Trusthouse Charitable Foundation

Providing three categories of award: 

• Small Grants – single year grants between £2,000 and £10,000 for core costs, salaries, running and project costs. Projects must have a focus on Community Support
• Major Grants (single year) – grants between £10,000 and £100,000 for core costs, salaries, running and project costs or,
• Major Grants (multi-year) – grants for a maximum of 3 years, not to exceed £100,000 in total over this period, for core costs, salaries, running or project costs. 

Organisations should have a focus on Family Support

More details are available on the Trusthouse’s website.

Wind Farm Community Benefit Schemes

There are three organisations that manage grant programmes on behalf of windfarm operators:

• The Community Foundation – Currently manages funds at Barmoor, Middlemoor, Kiln Pit Hill, Green Rig, Sisters & North Steads and Blyth Offshore wind farms. More information here. 
• Community Action Northumberland – Manages Wingates Wind Farm Fund, which covers the parishes of Brinkburn & Hesleyhurst, Longhorsley, Netherwitton, Nunnykirk, and Rothley & Hollinghill. More information here. 
• County Durham Community Foundation – Manages a number of funds covering County Durham and the Boundary Lane Wind Farm, which includes parts of Northumberland. More information here.