Funding Opportunities

A community garden

Community Funding Opportunities

Fund your Community Project

You may be eligible to apply for funding to help reach your goals. We've compiled a list of some of the current local and national funding opportunities to help your group support wildlife. Find out what funding opportunities are available below.

Community Fundraising Guide

National Funding Opportunities

Funding opportunities available to community groups across the UK.

Alpkit Foundation

Location: United Kingdom

Funding amount: up to £500

Who can apply?

  • ​Community groups
  • Schools
  • Not-for-profit organisations

What can they fund?

  • Projects that champion education, participation, environment, diversity and health and encourage responsible outdoor activity

Deadline(s): no deadlines

Find out more

Aviva Community Fund

Location: United Kingdom

Funding amount: up to £50,000

Who can apply?

  • Charities or social enterprises (which includes community interest companies) with an annual income of less than £2,000,000

What can they fund?

  • Climate Action: promoting healthy, thriving communities by preventing, preparing for a protecting against the impacts of climate change
  • Financial Wellbeing: helping people take control of their wellbeing by giving them the tools to be more financially independent and ready for anything

Deadline(s): continuous rolling deadline

Find out more

Grow Wild Community Project Funding

Location: United Kingdom

Funding amount: up to £2,000 + training

Who can apply?

  • Community groups
  • Youth groups
  • Voluntary groups

What can they fund?

  • Projects which bring people together through activities that connect their community and celebrate UK native wildflowers, plants and/or fungi

Deadline(s): Applications opening soon for 2024 Community Programme

Find out more

Lush Charity Pot

Funding amount: from £100 up to £10,000

Who can apply?

  • Grassroots groups who often struggle to find funding

What can they fund?

  • Prioritise projects that create long-term change.
  • Working in the areas of Animal Protection, Environment and Human Rights (including social justice, peace and equality).

Deadline(s): Open

Find out more

Matthew Good Foundation

Location: United Kingdom

Funding amount: £15,000 shared between 5 shortlisted projects

Who can apply?

  • Local charities
  • Voluntary groups
  • Social enterprises that have an average annual income of less than £50,000

What can they fund?

  • Projects which make a positive difference to communities, people and the environment

Deadline(s): Quarterly application deadlines

Find out more

National Lottery - Awards for All England

Location: England

Funding amount: £10,000

Who can apply?

  • Voluntary and community organisations
  • Constituted group or club
  • Registered charity
  • CIO's
  • Not-for-profit company
  • CIC's
  • Schools 
  • Statutory body (inc. local authorities, town, parish, community council)
  • Community benefit society.

What can they fund?

3 key objectives:

  • Bring people together and build strong relationships in and across communities
  • Improve the places and spaces that matter to communities
  • Enable more people to fulfil their potential by working to address issues at the earliest possible stage

Deadline(s): no deadlines

Find out more

National Lottery Community Fund - Reaching Communities England

Location: England

Funding amount: £10,001 - £500,000

Who can apply?

  • Voluntary and community organisations
  • Registered, exempt or excepted charity
  • CIO's
  • Not-for-profit company limited by guarantee
  • CIC's
  • Schools
  • Statutory body (including local authorities, town, parish, community council)
  • Community benefit society
  • Co-operative society 

What can they fund?

Projects that can:

  • Test new approaches to issues in the community
  • Build strong relationships in and across communities
  • Improve the places and spaces that matter to communities
  • Help more people to reach their potential, by supporting them at the earliest possible stage

Deadline(s): no deadlines

Find out more

Naturesave Trust

Location: United Kingdom

Funding amount: up to £5,000

Who can apply?

  • Charities
  • Social enterprises
  • Grassroots community organisations

What can they fund?

  • Working with communities and organisations to protect wildlife and improve biodiversity
  • Projects which specifically address the promotion and implementation of sustainable development, environmental and/or conservationist improvement

Deadline(s): The next funding window opens in January 2024.

Find out more

Southall Trust

Location: United Kingdom

Funding amount: up to £5,000

Who can apply?

  • Charities that show creativity and innovation in their work.
  • Charities that promote social justice, inclusion and diversity.
  • Charities that challenge structural inequalities and injustice.
  • Charities making good use of volunteers.
  • Charities that are engaged with their local community and show clear evidence of support from within it (e.g. through local giving, volunteering and/or partnerships).

What can they fund?

  • Actions and activities that have a positive impact on the natural environment

Deadline(s): Open

Find out more

Tesco Community Grants

Location: United Kingdom

Funding amount: up to £1,500

Who can apply?

  • Schools
  • Registered charities
  • Not-for-profit organisations

What can they fund?

  • Priority given to projects that provide food and support to young people

Deadline(s): no deadlines

Find out more

The Tree Council - Branching Out Fund

Location: England

Funding amount: from £250 to £2,500

Who can apply?

  • Community groups
  • Small charities
  • Schools
  • Tennants/resident associations

What can they fund?

  • Provide funding for tree & hedge planting projects

Deadline(s): 3rd December 2023

Find out more

Woodland Trust - Free Trees for Schools and Communities

Location: United Kingdom

Funding amount: not specified

Who can apply?

  • Schools across the UK, plus nurseries, colleges, universities and outdoor learning centres
  • All kinds of different groups such as resident associations, sports clubs, parish councils, scouts, guides and many more
  • You don’t need to belong to an official organisation

What can they fund?

  • Schools: trees should be planted on either the school grounds, land the school has arranged regular access to or in an area that is publicly accessible
  • Community Groups: trees should be planted on land which is accessible to the public
  • You should also make sure that your local community is aware of your plans to plant and are happy for you to go ahead

Deadline(s): 2 deadlines per annum. The Woodland Trust is currently taking applications for tree packs to be delivered in March 2024. Applications are expected to close in January, or sooner depending on stock availability. 

Find out more

Local Funding Opportunities

Funding opportunities available to community groups within Surrey.

Community Foundation for Surrey

Location: Surrey

Funding amount: average grant is £6,000

Who can apply?

  • Registered charities
  • CIO 
  • Charitable Trusts 
  • Voluntary and community groups
  • Faith groups, where the project clearly benefits the wider community
  • Educational establishments for exceptional projects that fall outside statutory support 
  • Organisations with a potential national reach
  • Community Benefit Societies with charitable status
  • CASC (Community Amateur Sports Club)
  • Not for profit organisations such as CICs 
  • Small and newly formed groups which are not constituted or cannot meet the eligibility criteria may apply under the umbrella of another group

What can they fund?

  • Charitable activities and projects
  • Core costs / essential running costs
  • New projects
  • Pilot projects
  • Existing projects
  • Repeat/continuation funding for projects
  • Staff costs
  • Full cost recovery to cover overheads which relate to projects
  • Small capital costs (typically items under £10,000 such as specialist equipment, tools and materials, IT kit etc.)
  • Emergency funding requests

Deadline(s): 4 per annum

Find out more

Downlands Trust

Location: Surrey

Funding amount: up to £3,000

Who can apply?

  • Not specified

What can they fund?

  • Promoting the conservation, protection and improvement of the countryside
  • Encouraging access to the countryside for all
  • Promoting the health and social benefits of becoming involved in a local practical conservation work group

Deadline(s): unknown

Find out more

Farnham Institute Charity

Location: Farnham

Funding amount: up to £5,000

Who can apply?

  • Not specified

What can they fund?

  • Work that benefits Farnham residents
  • Deliverable projects with a strong community link
  • Proposals involving young people and the elderly are encouraged
  • Does not fund routine running costs

Deadline(s): 5 deadlines per annum. Applications must be received by 10th January 2024.

Find out more

Farnham Town Council Community Grants

Location: Farnham

Funding amount: up to £2,000

Who can apply?

  • Any not-for-profit organisation

What can they fund?

  • Projects which promote the environment and/or community life for residents who live in Farnham and the town’s villages

Deadline(s): 1 deadline per year. The deadline for applications is Monday 4 December 2023.

Find out more

Godalming Town Council Grant

Location: Godalming

Funding amount: up to £1,000

Who can apply?

  • Not specified

What can they fund?

  • Local community projects and activities that benefit the residents of Godalming
  • Projects need to fit the Town Council’s vision and priorities
  • Priority will be given to groups with match funding or that can lever in other funds

Deadline(s): 5 deadlines per annum

Find out more

Guildford Aspire Community Grants

Location: Guildford

Funding amount: up to £1,000

Who can apply?

  • Charities
  • Social enterprises
  • Community groups
  • Voluntary organisations
  • ​Organisations receiving funding from the council through separate funding agreements are not eligible

What can they fund?

  • Projects that involve local communities actively working with partners to improve where they live, in ways that matter to them

Deadline(s): 1 deadline per year.

Find out more

Lower Mole Countryside Trust

Location: Mole Valley, north Surrey and Kingston upon Thames

Funding amount: up to £500

Who can apply?

  • Not specified

What can they fund?

  • The provision of a high quality countryside management service for north Surrey and Kingston upon Thames, through education and encouraging local people to become involved and promoting conservation by raising funds for countryside and access improvements
  • Projects must be in accordance with the aims of the Lower Mole Valley Countryside Trust
  • Projects should be visible to the public and/or of benefit to the public
  • If the proposal relates to conservation interest it must be in line with the relevant Habitat Action Plan or Species Action Plan
  • If the proposal improves public access it must not be detrimental to any conservation interest
  • Projects should be supported by the local community

Deadline(s): unknown

Find out more

Surrey County Council Community Improvements Fund

Location: Surrey

Funding amount: up to £50,000

Who can apply?

  • Voluntary or community organisations
  • Registered charities
  • Constituted groups or clubs
  • Community interest companies (CIC)
  • Social enterprises
  • Schools or statutory bodies (including towns, parishes or community councils)
  • Local businesses

What can they fund?

  • Funding is available for capital costs linked to community infrastructure projects
  • Some of the benefits have been: refurbished community venues, new park gyms, community led shops and coffee enterprises to help young people, extra resources for scouts/guiding groups, and education centres at wildlife hotspots 
  • Projects which emphasise the community focus/benefit

Deadline(s): 31st January 2025

Find out more

Surrey Educational Trust

Location: Surrey

Funding amount: up to £25,000

Who can apply?

  • Schools
  • Organisations
  • Educational projects

What can they fund?

  • Supports innovative and ambitious ideas that help children, young people and other learners in Surrey
  • Looks to fund projects that are particularly innovative, add the most value and demonstrate sufficient evidence of ongoing sustainability

Deadline(s): Unknown

Find out more

Surrey Heath Borough Council Community Fund Grant Scheme

Location: Surrey Heath

Funding amount: up to £25,000

Who can apply? 

  • Not-for-profit organisations

What can they fund?

  • Projects need to align with the Borough Council's 2020 strategy
  • They will pay for up to 50% of larger project costs

Deadline(s): 2 deadlines per annum in June and December

Find out more

Crowdfund Guildford

Location: Guildford

Funding amount: unspecified

Who can apply? 

  • Community groups
  • Guildford residents

What can they fund?

  • Locally-led ideas which could shape Guildford

Deadline(s): ongoing

Find out more