Grassroots Grants (Groundwork and People’s Postcode Lottery)

Groundwork is delivering the programme for a third year, providing unrestricted funding of up to £2,000 to 700 small, local organisations in England, and states plainly that the funding is unrestricted and can be used where it is most needed.

If your whole organisation runs on less than a decent website costs, this is aimed at you.

• What they fund: Nothing specific, which is the point. The money can go on staff and volunteer costs, equipment, or core, ongoing running costs of the organisation such as rent, utilities and other general running costs. A website sits comfortably in that.
• Typical grants: £500 to £2,000, one-off, spent within 12 months, with a decision within 10 weeks of applying.
• Who can apply: Voluntary and community organisations in England, including registered charities, with an annual income of no more than £25,000 in the last financial year. CICs qualify if they’ve operated for at least two years with an asset lock.
• The angle: Because the grant is unrestricted, the application is about your organisation and who you serve, not a project plan. Priority goes to organisations supporting communities in the top 15% of the English Indices of Deprivation and those working with marginalised or vulnerable groups, and your aims need to align with one of the Postcode Lottery funding themes, so name the theme and the community, then let the money do what it needs to.
• Worth knowing: Groundwork has confirmed the fund will not close early and funding is not given out on a first come, first served basis, so a September application is as good as a January one. Sports and physical activity projects are excluded. Around 700 grants are being made this year, which makes it one of the better-odds funds at this size.