Grants ranging between £10,001 and £99,999 will vary hugely in terms of application length, detail and turnover time. The key information that is often asked for is a detailed budget, the purpose of the project and its potential benefits.

National Lottery Heritage Fund

The National Lottery Heritage Fund (was HLF) is one of the largest grant-making bodies in the UK. It relaunched all of it’s grant programmes in January 2019 (See their website for details)

Before starting an application for any of these programmes you are able to submit a Project Enquiry Form which allows them to review your project and tell you if it would be eligible for funding. This is not assessed and has no effect on any application you make.

Association for Industrial Archaeology Restoration Grants

The AIA have a fund available which can provide up to £20,000 for the restoration of historically, technically, architecturally, and/or archaeologically important industrial buildings, structures, machinery, vehicles and vessels within the UK.

The heritage asset in question must be:

• Covered by a Conservation Policy and/or Statement.
• Sustainably managed, displayed and interpreted for the public, therefore the  public must have full access to the asset.

The application will usually relate to a single, tangible structure or artefact and can be used either for new projects or ones which have begun but need further funding for completion; AIA’s contribution should be a significant part of the total project cost.

This grant has a deadline of 31st March and is reopened on an annual basis.

People’s Postcode Trust

The People’s Postcode Trust supports projects nationwide by giving grants between £500 and £20,000. 

It will fund the purchase of capital items, creation of community gardens/allotments, purchase and/or installation of energy saving devices/equipment, workshops that provide tangible results (such as qualifications or skills), conservation of wildlife and habitats and diversionary projects for youths.

The Trust funds certain regions during specific funding rounds each year. It is reccommended that you check the website to clarify when your region will be eligible to apply for funding.

John Ellerman Foundation

The John Ellerman Foundation awards grants of between £10,000 and £100,000.

It likes to support smaller organisations whose work has reach and significance across the UK.

It funds projects under three catefories. These are the arts, welfare and the environment. Within the environment category it funds projects relating to better managed habitats and protecting the seas. The Foundation states it is flexible within these categories.

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation was established in 1961 and is one of the largest charitable foundations in the UK, giving out millions in grants each year.

They will normally award grants between £5,000 – £500,000, but grants are occassionally given outside these limits.

They fund projects in the following categories:

• The arts
• Children and young people
• The environment
• Social change

The foundation operates a two stage application process. Stage one applications can be completed online via their website and, if successful, they will send out an invitation to complete the stage two application form.

For deadlines and more information see their website.

People’s Health Trust

The People’s Health Trust invest in local communities to help create fairer places to grow, live, work and age. They believe that where you live should not unfairly reduce the length of your life or the quality of your health.

They will award grants between £5,000 and £25,000.

The projects must:

• be small and local, for example, a few streets or a small village. They don’t give money to larger projects
• be designed and led by local people
• create stronger connections between people
• be in one or more of their fundable neighbourhoods
• enable people to feel they are doing something positive in their area, making a difference and feeling good about it

The current locations that are Wakefield, Leeds, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Stoke-On-Trent, Telford and Wrekin, Cardiff, Caerphilly, Newport, Torfaen, Monmouthshire, Blaenau Gwent, Merthyr Tydfil, Vale of Glamorgan, Rhondda Cynon Taf although these locations may change in the future.

Golden Bottle Trust/Bulldog Trust

The Golden Bottle Trust/ Bulldog Trust partnership will award grants between £1,000 – £30,000.

They have very lenient eligibility criteria, stating that they prioritise projects that utilise the grant to gain great charitable value, preferably long-term effects and showing value for money. Projects of many types, covering many different areas are accepted.

Each funding period will close once it has received a certain number of applications. Therefore it is reccommended you check the website and apply as early as possible in the funding period to ensure your application is accepted.

There is no application form. Instead they request that you write no more than 3 pages of A4 describing the charity, the project and why you require funding.

Please see their application guidelines for more information.

The Sylvia Waddilove Foundation

The Sylvia Waddilove Foundation makes grants for projects that involve the preservation of buildings of architectural or historical importance and the skills based training of young people.

For the preservation of buildings category, the Foundation will award grants of up to £12,500.
For the skills based training of young people see The Sylvia Waddilove Foundation entry on the small grants page.

The website lists a series of “desirable criteria” and the Foundation states they will fund applicants that fit best with this criteria.

You can apply using their downloadable application form and send it via email or post.

OneFamily Foundation Community Awards

The OneFamily Community Foundation awards grants of £5,000 and £25,000 to community projects across the country. They support projects that make a difference, including benefit to the local community.

Projects must be nominated by a OneFamily customer via an online application form. A OneFamily customer can be approached via their forums on the website.

Applications will open in September for the next round of funding.

Once the project has been nominated a public vote will determine which projects receive funding.

Morrisons Foundation

Morrisons Foundation will award grants to registered charities whose projects will improve the lives of people living in the UK.

The criteria is general and non-specific and no grant amounts are specified. However, previous grant awards have ranged from £5,000 – £20,000.

Applications can be made at any time and there are no deadlines and the application must be made using the downloadable application form on their website.

See their website for more details.

IGas Energy Community Fund

IGas Energy Community Fund is run by IGas Energy and gives grants up to £20,000 for a wide range of different projects.

The project areas they support are:

• Community
• Children and Young People
• Vulnerable People
• Community Regeneration
• Self-help Groups
• Environmental and Wildlife Projects
• Education and Skills Development
• Health
• Heritage
• Sustainability

They will only support projects that are within 5 miles of their operational facilities. The full list of locations can be found on their website, along with their other eligibility criteria.

You can apply via their downloadable application form which they prefer to be submitted electronically.

The MacRobert Trust

The MacRobert Trust has donated millions of pounds since it began. It awards bewteen £5,000 and £25,000 to registered charities under the following themes:

Services and sea, education and training, children and youth, science engineering and techology, agriculture and horticulture, tarland and the local area.

More details about what is eligible under each theme can be downloaded from their website.

You can apply via a downloadable application form which must be submitted by post.

South Yorkshire Community Foundation – Wind Farm Funds

A number of funds are available in the South Yorkshire area, for projects that fall within a three kilometre radius of planned wind farms. The funds vary in size but maximum grant value is usually set between £10,000 and £15,000.

Preference is likely to be given to projects with an emphasis on improving the environment or the local community.

Further information can be found on the South Yorkshire Community Fund website as SYCF are managing all the individual funds. Some examples of the funds are listed below, but more are available:

• Routh Wind Farm Community Fund
• Goole Fields Wind Farm Community Fund
• Lissett Community Wind Farm Fund
• Park Spring Wind Farm Community Benefits Fund
• Tween Bridge Wind Farm Community Benefits Fund
• Withernwick Community Wind Farm Fund

Charles Hayward Foundation

The Charles Hayward Foundation is a grant-making charitable trust which makes grants to charities which are registered in the U.K.  At present its funding priorities include Heritage and Conservation.

Heritage Sub Categories:

• Purchase of land or reclamation of recently purchased land to be used for nature reserves where these will be maintained in perpetuity
• Conservation and preservation of pictures, manuscripts, books and objects for public display, use and interest
• Development of libraries, museums and galleries
• Adaptation of former Industrial Heritage sites to creative and educational spaces

Heritage and conservation grants typically range from £25,000 to £50,000.