Small Grants

Two Ridings Community Foundation’s Small Grants Fund is aimed at supporting small voluntary and community groups, small charities, and other types of not-for-profit organisations (e.g. CIC’s and CBS’s) with a turnover under £150,000.

Priority will be given to organisations that support those that are most disadvantaged either because they are based in an area of disadvantage or because they work with a community disadvantaged for some other reason. Priority will also be given to work which addresses needs identified by local people.

What the grant can be used for

You can apply for grants between £200 and £2,500 for ongoing project costs, pilot projects, small capital expenditure or development needs of your organisation that will allow it to better meet the needs of beneficiaries and / or support overheads to enable this.

Grants can be used for projects / overheads for up to 24 months. Please note that you can only hold one active Small Grants Fund award at a time.

Examples of the type of project that might be funded include:

  • Volunteer recruitment
  • Volunteer training
  • Pilot project for an activity you may hope to then generate your own income from
  • Purchase of equipment to extend activities to increase participation
  • Activity costs for young people in an area of disadvantage
  • Staff or freelance support / training to increase the capacity of the organisation
  • Building improvement projects to make venues more accessible for users
  • Publicity materials
  • Organisational running costs (overheads)

This list is not exhaustive but gives an overview of the types of projects which may be a good fit with the current aims of the fund.

Please note specific guidance for projects, overheads, and events in the Small Grants guidance notes document.

 

What we need to know

What you would like to do and how will you do it?

  • Tell us more about who will benefit from it.
  • How is your project accessible and inclusive?
  • What frequency and level of support will you offer?

How does your project meet the fund priorities?

(Supporting ongoing project costs, pilot projects or development needs of your to allow it to better meet the needs of beneficiaries and / or support overheads to enable this.)

What difference do you hope your project / activity, organisational development, small capital expenditure or support towards overheads will make?

How will you make sure people know about it?

How you plan to learn from it and use this learning to shape future projects.

Size of grants

You can apply for grants between £200 and £2,500 for ongoing project costs, pilot projects, small capital expenditure or development needs of your organisation that will allow it to better meet the needs of beneficiaries and / or support overheads to enable this.

Grants can be used for projects / overheads for up to 24 months. Please note that you can only hold one active Small Grants Fund award at a time.

We expect around 50-75% of successful applications to be addressing quality of life (e.g. supporting long term individual wellbeing, health, engagement with environmental work, youth volunteering or extracurricular education projects). Around 25-50% will meet urgent community social needs (e.g. provision of clothes, food, bedding, urgent mental health support etc).

Who can apply?

Your organisation must:

  • Be either a small voluntary organisation, community group, small charity or other type of not-for-profit organisation provided that the purpose of the grant is wholly charitable. (Please see our FAQs for additional requirements for CIC’s and CBS’s – these were updated in April 2025.)
  • Be based in East Yorkshire, Hull, North Yorkshire or York
  • Have a governing document (also known as a constitution, rules, memorandum, or articles of association) in the name of their organisation outlining charitable objectives and with a charitable dissolution clause
  • Have a bank account in your group/ organisation’s name with at least two signatories, who are not related to one another
  • Have an annual income of under £150,000 per annum

Please see the guidance notes for specific exclusions of who or what cannot be funded.

How to apply?

Before applying, please read the new Small Grants Guidance Notes – May 2025 document for this grant scheme carefully. Even if you have applied before, please read them carefully. This is because we may have updated them.

Then follow the link below to apply.

Finally, attach your supporting documents to your application. Alternatively, you can email them to the office. Your application is only complete when we have received all your supporting documents.

Please note: If you are sending your supporting documents in the post, please can we ask that they are NOT stapled. Thank you so much!

Need more support?

After reading the Guidance if you are still unsure, please contact the Grants Team. We are happy to help.

When to apply?

We are currently open for new applications.

You can apply at any time. We aim to give you a decision within six weeks after all supporting documentation is received.

It is unlikely that we will be able to offer any individual group more than one small grant in a 12 month period.

Apply here

Areas covered