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Samworth Brothers Community Opportunity Fund (registered charity 1155782, funded by Samworth Brothers)

Samworth Brothers Community Opportunity Fund

A charity funded by food manufacturer Samworth Brothers that gives grants to clubs and organisations near Samworth Brothers' sites. It funds work with young people under 18, especially from disadvantaged and hard-to-reach groups, including disabled young people. It has two strands: sport, and food, nutrition and cooking skills. Most awards extend capacity (more coaches or volunteers trained, new sessions, new locations) and last one year; a few are multi-year, usually for no more than three years. In 2025/26 it awarded a record £577,000 to about 60 organisations. Trustees meet monthly.

Apply on the funder’s site
You could get
Amount not specified
no fixed round
Deadline
Rolling
apply any time
Effort
Moderate
full application with documents

Who can apply

  • Clubs, associations and organisations working mainly with young people under 18, particularly those from hard-to-reach and disadvantaged groups, including young people with disabilities
  • Only projects in areas where a Samworth Brothers business is an integral and important part of the local community are supported
  • The funder links to its list of business sites for this: Melton Mowbray, Leicester and Leicester Forest East (Leicestershire), Callington (Cornwall), Shoreham-by-Sea (West Sussex), Worksop (Nottinghamshire) and Trafford Park (Manchester)
  • Sport applicants must belong to their sport's governing body or hold Club Mark or equivalent status
  • All recipients must have the right safeguarding, welfare and insurance policies
  • Applicants need a plan to sustain the funded activity after the grant ends
  • No income limit is published

What it funds

  • Clubs and organisations where sport is the starting point and main focus
  • Clubs, associations and organisations focused on food, nutrition and cooking skills. Examples:
  • Teaching young people where food comes from (plant to plate / field to fork)
  • Cooking and nutrition skills in the community
  • Developing allotments

The Fund prefers projects that extend capacity: getting more people qualified or trained, new events or sessions for different age groups, genders or ethnicities, expanding to new locations to reach more young people, and other schemes that improve young people's experience of sport and recreation or of food, nutrition and cooking.

Examples funded: accessible facilities at a children's dance school, starter blocks for a kids' swimming club, coaching qualifications for an under-12s girls' football team, and kit bags for a kids' cricket club.

Most awards are for one year; some are multi-year, not usually beyond three years.

What it will not fund

  • Fundraising appeals
  • Sponsorship
  • Individuals (only clubs, organisations etc. are supported)
  • Expeditions or fundraising challenges
  • Projects that directly replace statutory funding (e.g. in schools)
  • Property or ground rent
  • Funding for adults
  • Projects outside areas where a Samworth Brothers business is an integral and important part of the local community

How to apply

  1. Check your project meets the criteria on the fund page (young people under 18, sport or food/nutrition focus, near a Samworth Brothers site, governing body membership and safeguarding in place)
  2. Use the 'Request an Application form' web form on the fund page (name, email, phone, message) to ask for the application form
  3. Complete and submit the application by the 25th of the month for it to be considered at the next monthly trustees' meeting
  4. Trustees may follow up with phone calls or a visit if they need more information
  5. If successful, accept the award and provide updates on the project; the Fund visits funded projects to present a plaque

Samworth Brothers employees can put forward clubs they are involved in through a separate Colleague Sponsored Award (grants up to £1,000)

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