Cellnex Community Fund
Grants for community projects including biodiversity, conservation, waste reduction, repair, reuse and the circular economy.
Cellnex Community Fund (cellnex.com)
Climate Action Fund - Food Systems
Large-scale partnership funding for projects transforming food systems while delivering significant climate, environmental and nature benefits.
Climate Action Fund - Food Systems (tnlcommunityfund.org.uk)
Community Energy Fund (CEF)
The Community Energy Fund (CEF) is a grant scheme for urban and rural communities to develop energy services to benefit their local area.
The funding will help to kickstart clean energy projects including small-scale wind farms and rooftop solar partnerships, as well as battery storage, rural heat networks, electric vehicle charging points. It can also be used to fund fuel poverty alleviation schemes such as energy efficiency, retrofit, and advice projects.
The CEF aims to empower local people to take control of their energy future by:
- increasing the number of community-owned low-carbon energy assets
- supporting communities to reduce energy cost and demand
- generating local income through community-owned energy assets
- reinvesting income locally and kickstarting private investment
- supporting local jobs, growth and volunteering opportunities
- enabling places to benefit from clean, renewable, local energy
The fund will achieve its aims by supporting early development stages of community energy projects.
Community Energy Fund (midlandnetzerohub.co.uk)
DWF Foundation
Grants for registered charities working in areas including the environment and sustainability.
DWF Foundation (dwfgroup.com)
Energy Redress Scheme
Energy Saving Trust has been appointed by Ofgem to distribute payments from Ofgem regulated companies who may have breached rules. Registered organisations, in England, Scotland and Wales, can apply for grant funding to deliver energy related projects that meet the scheme priorities. Successful projects are selected with input from an independent panel of experts.
Registered charities and Community Energy organisations with the following legal statuses can now apply to all funding streams:
- Community Interest Companies
- Co-operative Societies
- Community Benefit Societies
Energy Redress Scheme (energyredress.est.org.uk)
Case Studies - Energy Redress scheme (energyredress.org.uk)
Energy Resilience Fund - Energy Audit Grants
Small grants towards energy audits to help eligible community and social enterprises identify energy-saving improvements.
Energy Resilience Fund (sibgroup.org.uk)
Groundwork Grassroots Grants
Small grants for grassroots community organisations, including green-space improvements and environmental volunteering.
Groundwork Grassroots Grants (groundwork.org.uk)
Loans for village halls and community buildings
A loan could be an attractive option for improving your building’s heating or lighting efficiency, where the payback times are relatively short.
Loan funding will most likely require a robust business plan as well as a legally recognised body to manage to project and be held accountable should anything go wrong.
The following offer loans for projects that have environmental or social impact:
Matthew Good Foundation - Grants for Good
Small grants for organisations making a positive difference to communities, people or the environment.
Grants for Good (matthewgoodfoundation.org)
National Lottery Awards for All England - Environment
Funding for community-led environmental projects, including green spaces, nature, food growing, reuse / repair and energy-saving improvements.
National Lottery Awards for All England - Environment (tnlcommunityfund.org.uk)
National Lottery - Reaching Communities England
Larger grants for community projects, including work helping communities become more environmentally sustainable.
Reaching Communities England (tnlcommunityfund.org.uk)
npower Business Solutions Foundation
Funding for eligible not-for-profit and educational organisations delivering projects that help create greener and more sustainable communities.
npower Business Solutions Foundation (npowerbusinesssolutions.com)
Rural Community Buildings Loan Fund
The Rural Community Buildings Loan Fund provides loans of up to £20,000 to fill temporary gaps in funding, either for specific projects or for urgent work connected with a building.
It’s managed by Action with Communities in Rural England who also run a nationwide advice and information service for the volunteers who manage village halls.
With a network advisor in every English county, they can support with funding applications and more.
Find your ACRE advisor here (acre.org.uk)
Rural Community Buildings Loan Fund Leaflet (acre.org.uk) (pdf 241kb)
Severn Trent Community Fund - New Project Funding
Funding for new community projects across the Severn Trent region, including projects benefiting the environment.