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Welcome to our new website. You may still see some pages from our old site as we move things over.

Who can apply

What types of organisation can apply

You can apply if your organisation works with communities and is a:

  • constituted voluntary or community organisation

  • registered charity

  • charitable incorporated organisation (CIO)

  • not-for-profit company limited by guarantee

  • community interest company (CIC)

  • community benefit society registered with the Financial Conduct Authority

  • co-operative society registered with the Financial Conduct Authority

  • university registered as a charity or company

  • union registered as a charity or company

If applying as a partnership

You can also apply as a partnership, but only if you’ve worked together before on projects that support communities to lead change and address the root causes of inequality.

All organisations in the partnership who will receive funding must meet the eligibility criteria. You can contact us if you’re unsure about whether your partnership is eligible.

As the lead organisation, you must make sure the project and partners meet our terms and conditions.

Board or committee member requirements

To apply, your organisation must have at least 2 board or committee members who are not related. If you're a company, you must have at least 2 directors who are not related.

We consider people to be related if they are:

  • married or in a civil partnership

  • in a long-term relationship or live together

  • related by blood or through a partner

What kind of experience we’re looking for

To make the biggest impact, we recognise that other kinds of experiences are equally important as lived experience.

This includes:

  • learned experience, such as academic study or research

  • professional experience, from working on an issue over time

We’ll ask how your organisation brings together different kinds of experience in your work.

We fund organisations of different sizes

There’s no minimum size or income to apply. But you should be able to show that your organisation can manage large, long-term funding.

Building on what you already do

We’re especially interested in work that builds on what you already do or have learned, and that shows potential for long-term change. We’re unlikely to fund projects that are completely new or unrelated to your existing work.