Two Ridings Community Foundation

Small Grants Fund

Two Ridings Community Foundation's Small Grants Fund gives £200-£2,500 to small voluntary and community groups, small charities and other not-for-profits (including CICs and CBSs) with income under £150,000, based in York, North Yorkshire, Hull or East Yorkshire. Grants cover project costs, pilots, small capital items, organisational development or overheads, used over up to 24 months. It is open all year, with priority for work with the most disadvantaged and needs identified by local people.

Apply on the funder’s site

You could get: £200 – £2,500; no fixed round
Deadline: Rolling; apply any time
Effort: Light; short form, little evidence needed

Who can apply

Small voluntary organisations, community groups, small charities and other not-for-profit organisations such as CICs and Community Benefit Societies (which must meet Two Ridings' additional criteria, including an asset lock and at least three unrelated directors with equal control), provided the purpose of the grant is wholly charitable
Organisations must be based in and/or delivering activities in York, North Yorkshire, Hull or East Yorkshire; have annual income (turnover) under £150,000; have a governing document with charitable objectives and a charitable dissolution clause; and have a bank account in the organisation's name with at least two unrelated signatories
Two Ridings' general criteria also require local leadership (local branches of national charities can apply) and at least three unrelated trustees or committee members, and it usually expects groups to have been active for at least three months
You can hold only one active Small Grants award at a time, and must have completed reporting on previous Two Ridings grants

What it funds

Ongoing project costs, pilot projects, small capital expenditure, or development needs of your organisation that help it better meet beneficiaries' needs, and/or overheads to enable this, used over up to 24 months. Examples:

Volunteer recruitment and training
A pilot activity you may later generate income from
Equipment to extend activities and increase participation
Activity costs for young people in an area of disadvantage
Staff or freelance support or training to build capacity
Building improvements to make venues more accessible
Publicity materials
Organisational running costs (overheads)

Organisational development can include changes to strategy, structure or processes.

Events must show community reach and benefit beyond the day.

Grants can fund 100% of costs or be part of a funding package, but priority is unlikely where the grant would be under 20% of the total project cost.

Around 50-75% of awards are expected to address quality of life (e.g. long-term wellbeing, health, environmental engagement, youth volunteering, extracurricular education) and 25-50% urgent community social needs (e.g. clothes, food, bedding, urgent mental health support).

What it will not fund

Private businesses or individuals
General appeals or sponsorship
National organisations and their affiliates (locally constituted and managed branches can apply)
Work which has already started or taken place (retrospective funding)
Work normally funded from statutory sources
Work undertaken by or on behalf of statutory bodies as part of their statutory activities
Prize money
Purchase of gifts
Work of a political nature
Loans, deposits or on-granting
Work undertaken by or on behalf of schools, colleges or universities as part of their statutory curricular activities
Teacher training
Payment of commission-based fundraisers / fundraising
Work where the main beneficiaries are animals
Work which does not directly benefit people living in the area of benefit
Overseas holidays or trips
Organisations that mainly give funds to other organisations or individuals
Work for the advancement of religion (religious groups can apply if the main focus is not proselytising)
Work normally undertaken by infrastructure organisations
Organisations with substantial unrestricted funds (contact Two Ridings if this may apply)
Previous grant recipients with outstanding reporting information
Trading activity, or overheads/general running costs, of CICs, companies or Community Benefit Societies
Organisations that already hold an active Small Grants Fund award (only one at a time)

How to apply

Read Two Ridings' How to Apply page and the Small Grants Guidance Notes (Jul25), even if you have applied before
Click 'Apply Now' on the fund page and register your email; follow the emailed link to the online form (you can save drafts)
Complete the form (what you will do, who benefits, accessibility, fit with fund priorities, difference made, publicity, learning) and attach your supporting documents, or email them to the office
An assessor may phone or meet you; a funding panel then decides
If successful, send a recent bank statement within 4 weeks of the award email, and complete an end-of-grant report when the project finishes

Open all year round, with no deadline.

If applying for overheads, say what percentage you are requesting and how you will cover the rest; if the grant is part of a larger project, say what other funding is secured.

Have ready

Constitution / governing document / set of rules
Contact details (address and email) of your management committee, trustees or directors
Most recent annual accounts or financial records showing balance of funds, income and expenditure (management accounts if you do not have a full year's records)
Safeguarding policy (if you work directly with children or vulnerable adults)
If successful: a bank statement dated within the last three months, or a paying-in slip, in the organisation's name (no transaction lists or screenshots)

Applications are only processed once all documents are received; contact Two Ridings if you are missing any.

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