Funding Opportunity: East of England Co-op Community Cares Fund Opens 1 June

26th May 2026

The region’s largest independent retailer, East of England Co-op, is inviting applications for grants of between £1,000 and £5,000 from charities and organisations that support people in its trading areas across Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire.  

The  East of England Co-op’s  Community Cares Fund  gives financial support to voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations, charities and parish councils that are providing services or activities that will have a positive impact in their communities. The fund looks to support work that helps people to play an active part in our communities to reduce barriers and inequalities and improve social contact and experiences.  

Fund Outcomes:

• Improved access to social activities for all  

• Reduction in feelings of isolation and improved wellbeing  

• Supported people into education or employment  

• Provided Information, advice or guidance to maximise income  

• Evidence of partnership working or alliance formation  

Your application should fit one or more of the five fund outcomes.   

Fund Criteria : 

• Your work must be delivered within a reasonable distance from an East of England Coop Store. They have stores across Colchester, Braintree, Maldon, Tendring.  Store finder – East of England Co-op   

•  East of England Co-op will only consider applications where they will be funding 30% or more of the overall costs.   

• The fund will not support the same organisation in consecutive years. If you’ve received a grant from the Community Cares Fund previously, there must be at least 12 months since your last end of grant report was received.   

The deadline to apply is 6 July 4:30pm.

Opens for applications on 1 June 2026 

Grant decisions will be made 14 September 2026 

How to apply: 

To apply, please fill out our online application form here.   

If you have any questions or would like to discuss your work in advance of applying, please call the ECF grants team on 01245 355947, or book a call with the team here.