GrantRadar

CHIP (Communities and Housing Investment in People)

Community Chest Fund

Grants of up to £5,000 a year from CHIP, the charity supported by the housing procurement consortium CHIC, for local community projects in areas where CHIC's social housing members operate across the UK. The distinctive condition is that applicants must be known to, and endorsed by, a CHIC member housing provider. Projects should deliver long-term social value in social and community development, health and wellbeing, crime prevention and justice, pre-employment education and skills, or environmental sustainability. On 28 Sep 2026 applications were closed, due to reopen at the end of September for the December trustees' meeting.

Apply on the funder’s site
You could get
Up to £5,000
Deadline
Not published
no closing date given
Effort
Moderate
full application with documents

Who can apply

  • Registered charities and community interest companies; voluntary community groups are considered if they are not for profit and can clearly show they are properly structured and managed
  • Sole traders and limited companies are not considered
  • The key condition: the group must be known to (and ideally have an existing relationship with) one or more social housing providers that are members of the Communities and Housing Investment Consortium (CHIC), and name at least one person within a CHIC member who endorses the application; the project must be in an area where CHIC has current fee-generating spend (member list at chicltd.co.uk)
  • Large organisations with income and reserves far exceeding the grant will not be funded
  • Applicants need latest published accounts (or a verified financial statement) and an independent referee

What it funds

Local projects and initiatives that benefit individuals, communities and neighbourhoods where CHIC members operate, with clearly identified objectives and long-term social value, promoting CHIP's objectives:

  • Social and community development
  • Health and wellbeing
  • Avoiding crime and promoting justice
  • Pre-employment support through education and skills
  • Environmental sustainability

There is no required project model.

Up to £5,000 per organisation per funding year, for one or several projects; salaries can form part of project costs but not the whole.

Projects must show positive impact and plan to measure it; CHIP assesses expected social return on investment.

Recent case studies include a good food partnership in Shropshire, construction careers for young people in London, digital exclusion work in Bolton, a girls' group, mindfulness sessions, community wellbeing in Toryglen, homelessness prevention in Wigan and Leigh, and urban farming in Stoke-on-Trent.

What it will not fund

  • Organisations without support for the application from a current CHIC member
  • Projects in areas with no current CHIC-derived fee-generating spend
  • Sole traders and limited companies
  • Large organisations whose income and reserves far exceed any contribution CHIP can make
  • Foodbanks (activities linked to foodbanks can be considered)
  • Projects made up of salaries alone
  • A project that has already benefited from the fund in the current financial year
  • Projects that cannot show positive impact on individuals' lives or have no intent to measure impact
  • Education and added curriculum support for primary and secondary children or schools
  • Projects with a predicted social return on investment below 1:15 (unlikely to be funded)
  • Umbrella or infrastructure charities and grant-making organisations (unlikely)
  • Charities registered overseas (unlikely)
  • Individuals (unlikely)
  • Religious and political activity (unlikely)

How to apply

  1. Check that a CHIC member housing provider working in your area knows your project and will endorse it (member list at www.chicltd.co.uk)
  2. Read the CCF Guidance Notes 2026-27
  3. Download and complete the Word application form (organisation details, structure, aims, project description, need and evidence, activities and outcomes, social value and environmental benefits, budget, project programme, CHIC endorser, independent referee and bank details)
  4. Email the completed form with your latest accounts to CHIP's Social Value Manager (emacaulay@chipcharity.org.uk)
  5. The Social Value Manager reviews it for fit; eligible applications go to the quarterly Board of Trustees (March, June, September, December)
  6. You are told the decision within two weeks of the trustees' meeting; successful applicants sign a Funding Agreement with milestones and reporting dates

On 28 Sep 2026 applications were closed; the page says they will reopen at the end of September for December. No closing date is published.

Only one approval per project per financial year; resubmissions are unlikely to succeed unless improved.

Have ready

  • CHIP Community Chest Fund application form (Word)
  • Latest audited or published accounts, or an appropriate verified financial statement

The form also asks for the CHIC member endorser's details and an independent referee. CHIP may ask for management accounts or further financial details.

More like this

Other grants open to organisations like yours.