A grant for every goal

In 2023, The Wesleyan Foundation is working even harder. On top of our original community grants for charities earning under £500,000 a year, we've introduced five new grants that are open to charities with any income.

Through each grant, we're supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This means we're funding charities that work towards climate action, quality education, gender equality, health and wellbeing and reducing inequalities.

Discover our new grants

Ready to apply for funding? Find the grant that best aligns with the work of your charity.

  • Climate Action Grant: Open 28th February - 14th April 

    The grant for protecting and improving the environment and combatting climate change.

    You can apply for funding for:

    • Climate action and environment education projects
    • Activities to remove carbon from the atmosphere (tree planting, heathland restoration or supporting algae farms)
    • Remediating polluted areas (litter picking or clean-ups)
    • Research or development work to enhance or protect biodiversity
    • Improvement of public community spaces to help people get outdoors
  • Equality Grant: Open 1st May - 18th June

    Our equality grant is aimed at driving greater equality for disadvantaged groups in our society. 

    As an inclusive grant, our goal is to help a wide variety of communities, where they face a struggle for equality such as BME, LGBTQ+, Disability, Women’s and Men’s rights groups. 

    You can apply for funding for:

    • Mentoring
    • Skill building
    • Educational workshops
    • Employability
    • Peer support groups
    • Advocacy groups
    • Health support
    • Assistive technology

    Apply for funding PDF

    Equality grant factsheet PDF

  • Flexible Grant: Open 1st January - 31st August

    The grant for responding to emerging needs

    This grant is for charities who aren’t eligible for our community grants programme. For example, if you earn more than £500,000 a year. This grant allows us to respond to situations that need funding as they arise, such as projects impacted by the cost of living crisis.

    Apply for funding PDF

    Flexible grant factsheet PDF

  • Mutuality Grant: Open 25th July - 10th September

    The fund that allows our members and colleagues to nominate a charity.

    If you have a charity that's close to your heart, you can nominate them to receive funding as part of our Winter of Giving. The charity will have to follow our eligibility criteria and you must be a Wesleyan member or colleague to nominate.

    Find out more and apply

  • Wellbeing Support Grant for doctors, dentists and teachers: Open 1st February - 31st April 

    You can apply for this grant if your charity offers wellbeing activities designed to support doctors, dentists or teachers.

    You can get funding for:

    • Peer support groups
    • Webinars
    • Workshops
    • The development of technology
    • Projects which will improve the working practices/wellbeing of our professions

Frequently asked questions

  • What's the eligibility criteria for the five new grants and the Community Grants Programme 

    On top of the specific funding activities, all our grants have the following criteria: 

    • Applications must fall in to one of the following categories: registered charities, community groups, social enterprises/community interest companies, a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee, constituted community groups, an educational institution such as school or college.
    • All the above must be able to provide two years of accounts and will need to pass due diligence checks. 

    We will not fund:

    • Individuals or sole traders, organisations who have indicated poor management of any previous grants or who present poor financial health.
    • Activities that are being undertaken to offset carbon footprints or applications to buy carbon credits on behalf of that organisation.
  • How are applications approved?

    We have different grant panels that assess and approve applications. During the application process, you may be asked clarification questions or to present to a panel.

  • How will I know if my application has been approved?
    You'll hear from either the Wesleyan Foundation or the appropriate Community Foundation once a decision has been made. We'll provide feedback if your application is unsuccessful.
  • Who do I contact with a query?
    For questions about our Community Grants, you can visit your local Community Foundation website. For any other queries, contact the Wesleyan Foundation.
  • What if my location isn't listed?

    Unfortunately, we can't help every area in the UK. If your location isn't listed for the Community Grants Programme, then you can't apply for a grant at this time. However, you may be eligible for our Flexible Grant.