Change makers

We want to fund organisations that can support community leaders who are making change in and for their communities.

We want to fund work that:

• enables community leaders to shape the future of their communities

• involves community leaders across communities and organisations - including those from under-represented groups and those with lived experience

• helps community leaders make an impact on wider systems (known as systems change)

• shares what they learn with the sector and other projects we fund

Find out more about what we want to fund.

Who can apply

You can apply on your own or as a partnership.

If you're applying as a partnership, you must have worked together already.

Eligibility

To be eligible, you must already have:

• experience supporting community leaders

• experience working with places, people, and communities facing poverty, disadvantage or discrimination

• established relationships with organisations working at a local level

And on your own, or in your partnership you must:

• operate in at least 2 regions of England – for example, North West England, North East England and Yorkshire and the Humber

• have a combined gross annual income of more than £1 million

Find out more about who can apply.

How much you can apply for

Most projects we fund will:

• receive between £1 million and £5 million

• run for 5 years

In exceptional cases we will fund projects that run for 3 or 4 years.

We expect to fund up to 12 projects in total.

The deadline for applications

We close to applications at 12pm on 5 August 2026.