GrantRadar

Built by Nature

Built by Nature Fund

A philanthropic grant fund from a Dutch foundation that pays for projects accelerating the shift to timber and biobased materials in construction - amounts are in EUROS, up to €500,000 per initiative, and significant co-funding from other funders is expected. The UK is one of six European countries in scope, alongside the Netherlands, France, Germany, Spain and Italy, plus a regional network across Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Be aware of the front door: the funder states that applications are BY INVITATION ONLY, and the only open route in is an Expression of Interest form that can be submitted at any time; if Built by Nature sees alignment they invite you to a call and then to develop a proposal. This is a technical built-environment sector fund, not general charitable funding - projects must benefit the public good rather than any one company, and must serve at least one of the 'big seven' stakeholder groups: contractors and builders, developers, designers, investors, insurers, asset owners and city governments.

Apply on the funder’s site
You could get
Amount not specified
no fixed round
Deadline
Rolling
apply any time
Effort
Heavy
budgets, references, often several stages

Who can apply

  • Organisations working on timber and biobased construction in one of the countries where Built by Nature supports a frontrunner network: the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain and Italy, plus a regional network spanning Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania
  • Non-profit organisations can apply
  • For-profit organisations can also receive grants, but only where they can clearly demonstrate that the initiative is geared to the public good and that no profit will be made from or supported by the project
  • The funder does not publish UK-specific legal-form requirements
  • Successful applications must show the gap or barrier in timber and biobased adoption they are addressing, demonstrate intent to contribute to the public good, target one or more of the 'big seven' demand-side stakeholders (contractors-builders, developers, designers, investors, insurers, asset owners, city governments), align clearly with the relevant network's priorities, and secure co-funding from other funders to demonstrate buy-in
  • An organisation may apply as many times as it wishes

What it funds

Projects that address key barriers to the adoption of timber and biobased materials in the built environment, as prioritised by the local frontrunner network in each country. Current priority topics are:

  • Expanding the business case for timber buildings (cost efficiencies, benefits)
  • Risk management and safe timber construction (fire safety, moisture risk, access to insurance)
  • Connecting policy and practice so good practice is picked up in codes, standards, regulations and policy
  • Deepening supply chain integration for responsible timber construction (carbon accounting, links between responsible supply and construction, circular supply chains, traceability)

The funder says this list is not exhaustive, that themes are not in priority order, and that themes and the angles taken vary by region - alignment with a theme does not guarantee funding.

Recent grants shown on the page range from roughly €48,600 to €104,081 over periods of about 12 to 20 months.

What it will not fund

  • Anything that gives competitive advantage to the parties involved rather than benefiting the sector, industry or market as a whole
  • For-profit organisations pursuing bringing their own solution to market or scaling their venture - Built by Nature is explicitly not a venture capital investment fund
  • Projects outside the countries where Built by Nature runs a frontrunner network

the funder expects organisations to build financial sustainability and not to rely on Built by Nature funding for more than two to three phases of a piece of work

How to apply

  1. Contact your local (UK) network lead to check your idea against current regional priorities before doing anything else
  2. Submit the Expression of Interest form on the fund page - this can be done at any time and is the only open route in
  3. Wait for the Built by Nature team to review; they say they try to respond even when the answer is no, but because of the volume of submissions they cannot always reply to everyone
  4. If there is alignment you are invited to an introductory call
  5. You are then invited to draft a full proposal, developed over about 5 to 8 weeks with feedback and iterations from the Built by Nature team
  6. A risk assessment and due diligence run in parallel with proposal development
  7. Submit the proposal - proposals over €50,000 must meet a fixed quarterly deadline set by the Investment Committee; proposals under €50,000 have no fixed deadline and skip to CEO review
  8. Proposals over €50,000 go to the Investment Committee and then the Board; proposals under €50,000 go to the CEO
  9. Contracting and grant kick-off

the funder states plainly that applications to the Built by Nature Fund are by invitation only - the Expression of Interest is how you seek that invitation

the whole process typically takes 4 to 6 months from Expression of Interest to grant kick-off

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