Wherever you are in the UK, your organisation must be one of the following not-for-private-profit organisations or lowest tiers of local government:

• Unincorporated organisations that are intending to incorporate (for Project Viability Grants only)
• Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIOs or SCIOs)
• Charitable Companies Limited by Guarantee
• Charitable Community Benefit Societies
• Community Benefit Societies
• Not-for-private-profit Companies Limited by Guarantee
• Community Interest Companies (CICs) Limited by Guarantee
• Parish and Town Councils
• Independent secular organisations seeking to take ownership of a place of worship that will retain some religious use. Or an organisation associated with a worshipping community that is seeking to establish an independent secular organisation to take ownership of the place of worship, while the space will retain some religious use. Until ownership/long lease is confirmed, we will only fund governance and legal costs related to taking ownership or setting up an independent organisation to do so. In either circumstance, ongoing worship must account for less than half of the proposed use of the space. (Not valid in Northern Ireland, where we cannot support projects that will continue to include any regular worship activity.)

We will not generally fund:

• Private individuals
• Local authorities and other public sector bodies other than Parish and Town Councils (unless applying on behalf of an organisation still in formation)
• Universities, colleges and other mainstream educational institutions including independent schools
• For-profit companies, unless in a partnership led by a not-for-profit organisation
• Unincorporated organisations (e.g. charitable trusts and associations) that are not intending to incorporate
• Organisations with fewer than three Trustees or Directors. If there are only three Trustees/Directors, none of these should be spouses or otherwise related to one another.
• Limited liability partnerships
• Churches or other places of worship, where the building or the space within the building you are enquiring about will be used as an active place of religious worship – defined as hosting regular religious services or religion-based activities such as prayer or religious study – unless your application relates to establishing community ownership of the building, as described above. (Not valid in Northern Ireland, where we cannot support projects that will continue to include any regular worship activity.)

If you are unsure as to your eligibility, then please contact us for a discussion about your project and organisation in the first instance.

Applications of up to £15,000 in Scotland, and applications of up to £7,500 in Wales and Northern Ireland, can be submitted at any time. You will normally get a decision in 6 to 8 weeks and these applications are assessed at our monthly Grants Decision Meetings.

In Northern Ireland, Project Viability Grants for up to £10,000 and Project Development Grants for up to £20,000 can currently be made, with a focus on villages, and will be assessed on a monthly basis.

The quarterly Grants Panel considers applications from Scotland of more than £15,000, and all applications of more than £7,500 in Wales and Northern Ireland.

Applications of up to £30,000 in England can be submitted at any time, beginning with an Expression of Interest. You will normally get a decision 8 to 12 weeks after submitting a full application. These applications are assessed at our monthly Grants Decision Meetings.

Applications for England grants over £30,000 will be considered at a quarterly Grants Panel meeting.

Deadlines for submission of all grant applications to be considered at Grants Panel are: 

• 19 January 2026 for a decision in March 2026

Supporting Documents

Please click here for a list of documents we ask for when making an application.