GrantRadar

The Clothworkers' Foundation

Open Grants Programme

The Clothworkers' Foundation's Open Grants Programme gives capital grants (buildings, equipment, vehicles and digital infrastructure) to UK charities and asset-locked not-for-profits where at least half the people benefiting are in one of ten disadvantaged groups. Small Grants go up to £15,000 (applicant income under £2 million) and Large Grants over £15,000, typically not more than £150,000 (income under £10 million). It is rolling with no deadlines; in 2025 it awarded more than £8.65 million across 438 grants, with a 28% success rate for eligible applications.

Apply on the funder’s site
You could get
Up to £150,000
no fixed round
Deadline
Rolling
apply any time
Effort
Moderate
full application with documents

Who can apply

  • Organisations operating in the UK that are UK-registered charities (including CIOs), CICs limited by guarantee without share capital, exempt charities (with details of principal regulator or HMRC exemption) including Community Benefit Societies, or special schools; a constitution alone is not sufficient proof of eligibility
  • Annual turnover must be under £2 million for a Small Grant (£15,000 or less) and under £10 million for a Large Grant (over £15,000); organisations over £2 million cannot apply for a Small Grant
  • The organisation's work must fit one or more of the ten programme areas and at least 50% of service users benefiting from the project must be from those groups
  • Community buildings must be in an area of high deprivation (roughly the most deprived 50% of neighbourhoods by national indices)
  • Young organisations should normally wait until they have accounts
  • Only one application at a time; past grantees wait five years from their award letter; declined applicants wait six months and cannot resubmit the same project

What it funds

Capital costs only, as a single type of project per application:

  • Buildings (purchase, construction, renovation or refurbishment)
  • Fittings, fixtures and equipment (e.g. office equipment and furniture, sports/gym, digital/audiovisual, garden and specialist therapeutic non-medical equipment)
  • Digital infrastructure (one-off costs such as CRMs, websites, apps, digitising processes
  • Must be ready for development, not at brainstorming stage)
  • Vehicles (minibuses, cars, caravans, people carriers, 4x4s, boats
  • Unlikely to fund the full cost of a new vehicle)

The organisation's work must fit, and at least 50% of the project's service users must come from, one or more programme areas: communities experiencing racial inequalities; Disabled People (including mental health and visual impairment, and special schools); domestic or sexual abuse; economic disadvantage; homelessness; LGBT+ communities; older people facing disadvantage; prison rehabilitation; substance misuse and addiction; young people facing disadvantage.

Priority goes to organisations embedding lived experience in decision-making and to projects making significant change to delivery, reach or sustainability (e.g. owning a building or first vehicle).

Grant size depends on organisation size and project cost; you do not request a specific amount.

For balances over £100,000 the Foundation aims to fund at least 10% of the balance; for projects of £15,000 or less it aims to fund all or a significant part.

Match funding need not be in place, but Large Grant applicants must explain how they will raise the rest.

What it will not fund

  • Salaries and overheads
  • Volunteer expenses
  • Training
  • Rent
  • Costs associated with leasing property or equipment (including vehicle leasing)
  • Project management costs
  • Marketing, leaflets and other literature
  • Equipment for one-off use, or given to service users for personal use permanently
  • One-off events
  • Consumables with a short shelf life (e.g. clothes, some sports equipment and kits, toys, stationery)
  • Retrospective costs or completed projects
  • Vehicles for organisations whose core offer is community transport, or vehicles bought from a private seller
  • Projects whose primary purpose is heritage or culture
  • Capital costs for arts and education projects unless they work exclusively with people from the programme areas
  • Medical research or equipment
  • Setting up or refurbishing charity shops
  • General and emergency appeals
  • Political projects
  • Projects overseas
  • Village halls or community centres/hubs not operating in an area of high deprivation
  • Organisations that received a grant offer from the Foundation in the past five years
  • Organisations declined in the past six months, or reapplying for a previously declined project
  • Organisations that promote religion or proselytise, or only serve people of one religion
  • Organisations promoting a political party or seeking to influence votes
  • Organisations with income over £10 million (subsidiaries judged with their parent)
  • Second-tier or infrastructure organisations (e.g. CVSs, membership bodies) unless the project relates to their front-line services
  • Hospices and NHS charities
  • Grant-making organisations
  • Schools, colleges and universities (except special schools), PRUs and alternative provision
  • Special schools in a multi-academy trust with income over £10 million (Large) or £2 million (Small)
  • Almshouses

How to apply

  1. Read the Applying for a Grant page, FAQs and Application Guidance (including sample forms and budget templates)
  2. Complete the online Eligibility Quiz; if eligible you get a unique link to the correct Small or Large Grant form
  3. Create an account on the grants portal (YourCause) and complete the application, uploading your accounts and project budget
  4. Small Grants (up to £15,000): one-stage form, reviewed on a rolling basis with a response aimed within 12 weeks; decided by the Foundation Director
  5. Large Grants (over £15,000): submit a first-stage form, with a response aimed within six weeks; the highest-scoring against the Impact Framework are invited to submit a full application within four months
  6. Large Grant full applications are assessed by the Grants Team (who may call or visit) and decided by the Grants Committee or Trustee Board, aiming within six months
  7. If successful, accept the emailed offer letter; payment is made once your fundraising for the project is complete

No deadlines; applications are assessed as received. Do not request a specific amount; the Foundation decides the grant size.

One capital project type per application; mixed applications will be asked to prioritise one component.

Queries via the Contact Us form or foundation@clothworkers.co.uk.

Have ready

  • Most recently published annual accounts (or a record of income and expenditure for the last year, or since set-up if under a year; schools and 'Friends of' groups attach the school's accounts)
  • Project budget (templates in the Application Guidance)
  • Evidence of not-for-profit status (e.g. details of principal regulator or HMRC exemption for exempt charities)
  • Optional: existing documents showing lived experience in your organisation (e.g. recruitment policies, lived experience strategies)

Building projects are asked about ownership, lease terms and planning permission; applications cannot be processed without accounts and budget.

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