GrantRadar

The Fore

The Fore Grants Programme

Unrestricted grants of up to £45,000 over one to three years for small UK-registered charities, CICs limited by guarantee and asset-locked Community Benefit Societies with annual income under £500,000, in any sector or location. The money is meant to make a 'transformational' step change to the whole organisation (growth, structure, sustainability or efficiency) and can cover core and capital costs. Applicants write a three-page application, long-listed ones get an hour-long 'ideas testing' meeting with a Strategic Applicant Consultant, every applicant gets feedback, and grantees get pro bono and skills support. Entry is by a one-week registration window three times a year, with places allocated at random if oversubscribed.

Apply on the funder’s site
You could get
Up to £45,000
Deadline
47 days left
4 December
Effort
Moderate
full application with documents

Who can apply

  • Registered charities (including charitable trusts, charitable unincorporated associations, CIOs and charitable companies limited by guarantee), Community Interest Companies limited by guarantee, and Community Benefit Societies that are charitable or non-charitable with an asset lock
  • Registration must already be approved (not pending)
  • Annual income must be under £500,000 in the previous completed financial year
  • Any sector and any location, including work overseas, but the organisation must be registered and based in the UK
  • No need for national scaling ambitions
  • Current grantees cannot apply until after their final grant closure call; unsuccessful applicants can reapply
  • Applications from organisations working with underserved communities, and those who have struggled to access trust and foundation funding, are encouraged

What it funds

Unrestricted funding designed to have a transformational impact on your whole organisation, supporting growth, structure, sustainability or efficiency:

  • Growing, increasing internal capacity, serving new beneficiary groups, or becoming more sustainable or more efficient
  • Core costs, where you can show they will move the organisation forwards rather than enabling 'business as usual'
  • Capital funding
  • Fundraising posts, as part of a well-considered strategy with a realistic plan for success
  • Charitable activities across England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and overseas (the organisation must be registered in the UK)

grantees also receive pro bono professional support (strategy, HR, IT), workshops, impact measurement courses and networking

What it will not fund

  • CICs limited by shares
  • Non-charitable Community Benefit Societies without an asset lock
  • Companies limited by guarantee that are not also registered charities or CICs
  • Organisations whose registration is still in process
  • Organisations with annual income of £500,000 or more in the previous completed financial year
  • Current grantees who have not had their grant closure call
  • Follow-on funding (not currently offered)

less likely to progress: ongoing forecast deficits the ask doesn't fix; no or very low reserves; changes that can't be sustained after the grant; a small part of a much larger capital project; continuing or expanding previously funded work; a fundraising role without a credible plan

How to apply

  1. Register your interest on the Apply for Funding page during the one-week registration period (next: Spring 2027 round, 12pm Wednesday 25 November to 12pm Friday 4 December 2026); it takes 2-3 minutes and only one registration per organisation is accepted
  2. Give the key contact's details; the organisation's name, legal form and registration number; address, phone, annual income for the last complete financial year, sectors and areas of work; and whether you have applied to or been funded by The Fore before
  3. Wait for confirmation of a place on the round (Monday 7 December 2026); if more register than there are places, places are allocated at random
  4. If given a place, submit the full application through your personalised link within about three weeks (deadline 5pm Monday 11 January 2027): a few factual questions (FTE staff, amount requested, number of years), a three-page application document including the financial table, and your latest accounts
  5. Stage 2: about 30% of applications are long-listed for an online 'ideas testing' meeting with a Strategic Applicant Consultant
  6. Stage 3: shortlisted applications are written up by the Consultant and taken to a funding panel of portfolio charity leaders and nominees of corporate partners

Spring 2027 timetable: Stage 1 outcomes mid-February 2027; funding decisions early May 2027

The Fore runs three rounds a year (Spring, Summer, Autumn); the Summer and Autumn 2026 rounds have closed

Have ready

  • Three-page A4 application document (Word or PDF) covering your organisation, its leadership, the amount and years requested, the transformational impact, and a few simple targets
  • Financial table using The Fore's Excel template (three years historic and three years forecast, plus restricted and unrestricted reserves), pasted within the three pages
  • Latest signed-off annual accounts, uploaded separately

if signed-off accounts are not available, upload management accounts or another recent financial report; no detailed budget is required

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