GrantRadar

Gloucestershire Community Foundation

Gloucestershire Freemasons Grant Programme

Grants of £250-£2,000 from the Freemasons Fund at Gloucestershire Community Foundation for small, local voluntary and community organisations in Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire working with older people, disabled people and young people facing disadvantage. The second 2026 round opens on 7 October 2026 and closes on 4 November 2026. Demand is high: the panel usually funds 4-6 applications a round (£7,000-£8,000 in total), a success rate of about 20-25%.

Apply on the funder’s site
You could get
£250 – £2,000
Closes in
17 days left
4 November
Effort
Light
short form, little evidence needed

Who can apply

  • Small, local voluntary and community organisations based and working in Gloucestershire or South Gloucestershire where a small grant makes a significant difference; most successful applicants have annual income under £350,000
  • You do not need to be a registered charity if your work has charitable aims and you have a constitution (set of rules), a management committee, a group bank account with at least two signatories, and a child or vulnerable persons safeguarding policy
  • GCF's grant-making policy also requires a committee or trustee body of at least three unrelated people and a written governing document setting out charitable purposes; it generally will not fund organisations with unrestricted reserves of nine months or more, or national organisations based in Gloucestershire with turnover of £5 million or more
  • The programme does not usually fund CICs (the panel has discretion)
  • Groups usually wait 24 months after a Freemasons award before reapplying, and after three consecutive Freemasons grants must seek funding elsewhere for at least one full calendar year

What it funds

Initiatives supporting:

  • Older people
  • People with disabilities
  • Young people facing disadvantage

The programme prioritises specific project costs or items of equipment.

Recent awards include a specialised summer playscheme for children and young people with disabilities, an inclusive and accessible woodland site for conservation and wellbeing activities for people with mental health difficulties, a peer mentor programme for disadvantaged young people, and equipment for older men with disabilities to do woodwork.

Core running costs not tied to a specific project (staff, premises, insurance, staff training), vehicles, conferences and exhibitions are usually low priority, though the panel can make exceptions.

GCF requires 75% of a capital project's budget to be already raised before it will consider an application.

What it will not fund

  • Individuals
  • General appeals
  • Statutory organisations or the direct replacement of statutory funding
  • Political groups or activities promoting political beliefs
  • Religious groups promoting religious beliefs
  • Arts projects with no community or charitable element
  • Sports projects with no community or charitable element
  • Medical research, equipment or treatment
  • Animal welfare
  • Projects that take place before an application can be processed
  • Activities intended to raise funds for other organisations
  • Low priority (usually): core running costs not related to a specific project, such as staff, premises, insurance and staff training
  • Low priority (usually): vehicles, conferences and exhibitions

How to apply

  1. Read the Freemasons programme guidelines and GCF's Grant Making Policy; contact the grants team if you want to discuss your project first
  2. Optionally draft your answers using the Word version of the application questions on the programme page
  3. When the round opens on 7 October 2026, click Apply Now on the programme page and complete the online application on GCF's portal (first-time users register as a new user), attaching your supporting documents
  4. Submit by the closing deadline of 4 November 2026
  5. GCF staff assess the application and may contact you for more information; a Grants Panel (a GCF trustee and leading Freemasons) decides
  6. If successful, sign and return the Conditions of Grant Offer letter and acceptance form, provide bank account evidence, and complete a monitoring report about six months after payment

The 2024 guidelines describe a two-stage process (expression of interest, then invited full application), but the current programme page describes a single full online application via Apply Now.

Only online applications are accepted; the Word form is for drafting only.

Have ready

  • Constitution, governing document or set of rules setting out your purpose and how you are managed
  • Most recent annual accounts or financial records (not needed if publicly available at the Charity Commission or Companies House; if you lack a full year's records, provide what you have)
  • Safeguarding policy (if you work directly with children or vulnerable adults)
  • Contact details of a referee who knows your work professionally but is not directly involved in it
  • If successful: a bank statement or other evidence of a bank account in the organisation's name with at least two signatories

The referee requirement comes from the 2024 guidelines and GCF's grant-making policy, not the current programme page.

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