GrantRadar

Hertfordshire Community Foundation

HCF Grants

Hertfordshire Community Foundation's main open programme, giving grants of up to £10,000 to charities and community groups for projects addressing identified need and deprivation among Hertfordshire residents, funded from the many individual, family and corporate funds HCF manages. The £5,000 rolling strand is currently closed; the £10,000 strand runs in committee rounds, and the 2027 round opened on 1 September 2026 with a deadline of 5pm on 11 January 2027. Priority goes to smaller, Hertfordshire-based grassroots groups - groups with income over £1m are rarely funded.

Apply on the funder’s site
You could get
Up to £10,000
Deadline
85 days left
11 January
Effort
Moderate
full application with documents

Who can apply

  • Charities and CIOs; community or voluntary groups with a written constitution or governing document; social enterprises, CICs and companies limited by guarantee (not shares); other non-profit forms such as Community Benefit Societies; and faith groups delivering community projects - for work benefiting people living in Hertfordshire
  • The governing document must include charitable aims and a dissolution clause or asset lock
  • The group must be run by a voluntary trustee or management committee of at least three unrelated members (CICs and companies need at least three unrelated registered directors), have a bank account in its own name with at least two unrelated signatories, have relevant policies including equality and diversity and safeguarding, and if affiliated to a national body must have a local Hertfordshire committee and its own bank account
  • Priority is given to smaller, Hertfordshire-based, grassroots, user-led groups; groups with annual income over £1m are rarely funded
  • Only one HCF Foundation Grant can be held at a time, and previous grants must be spent and monitored before reapplying
  • CICs must read HCF's additional company guidance

What it funds

Projects that:

  • Meet an identified need in Hertfordshire (evidenced with research, the group's own data and community knowledge)
  • Have clear objectives and outcomes
  • Are well thought through and costed
  • Are well connected to the communities they serve
  • Can spend the grant within 12 months
  • The Grants Committee considers:
  • Staffing costs
  • Capital equipment
  • Project costs
  • Volunteer expenses
  • Training costs
  • Contributions to overheads

Continuation funding is accepted, though repeated grants for the same project are taken into account.

Successful applications may be matched to specific managed funds (e.g. Friends of Bushey Seniors, Elliston Family Fund for Welwyn Garden City, The Frank Litchfield Trust near Royston, Harpenden Building Society), and applicants can name a fund they have in mind.

What it will not fund

  • National charities, or groups based outside the county, without a clear Hertfordshire focus
  • Businesses or Community Interest Companies limited by shares
  • Groups with more than one year's unrestricted reserves
  • Statutory organisations including schools, hospitals and parish councils (Special Schools may be considered via a 'Friends of' charity)
  • Playgroups and nurseries unless serving a disadvantaged group (e.g. SEND specific)
  • Community sports clubs unless serving a disadvantaged group (e.g. SEND specific)
  • Hospices
  • Organisations that cannot demonstrate public benefit
  • Individuals
  • Organisations currently holding an HCF Foundation Grant or with outstanding monitoring
  • General fundraising appeals or general contributions to a much larger project
  • Projects that do not benefit Hertfordshire residents
  • Medical research or causes
  • Promotion of religious or political causes
  • Retrospective funding
  • Animal welfare
  • One-off events
  • Overseas travel for groups
  • Fundraising events
  • Training and development costs that could be covered by HCF Training and Development's Workforce Development grants

How to apply

  1. Read the HCF Grants Criteria (October 2025), the Due Diligence Checks and, for CICs and companies, the Guidance for Companies
  2. Optionally call the Grants Team on 01707 251351 or email grants@hertscf.org.uk to discuss your project
  3. Preview the application questions using the published Application Form Questions document
  4. Register or log in on HCF's Fundseeker Portal and complete the HCF Grants application form
  5. Upload the supporting documents and agree to the grant terms and conditions, then submit by 5pm on 11 January 2027 for the up-to-£10,000 round
  6. The Grants Team carries out due diligence and may contact you; the Grants Committee decides (decisions for the 2027 round known March 2027)
  7. If successful, accept the grant offer and meet any conditions; payment is made by BACS, then complete the online monitoring form after the project ends or within 12 months

The up-to-£5,000 rolling strand is currently closed until further notice.

Funding decisions are final and cannot be appealed.

Read HCF's guidance on using AI in grant applications before applying.

Have ready

  • Constitution or governing document
  • Most recent annual accounts, signed and dated within the last 18 months (working or management accounts if no first-year accounts yet)
  • Full list of current trustees or management committee members (names and addresses)
  • Equal opportunities / equality policy (dated within the last 2 years)
  • Safeguarding policy (dated within the last 12 months)
  • Bank statement dated within the last 3 months showing the account name

All policies must show a review date; applications cannot be processed until the documents are provided.

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