Other funders
Below is a list of other funders that award grants to voluntary and community organisations, either specifically in Essex or UK-wide, which you may wish to contact as well as speaking to a Member of the ECF grants team.
This page is added to regularly and although it is not a complete list of grants potentially available to your organisation, we hope it acts as a useful resource.
An alternative to grant funding is social investment, which is typically repayable finance. If you are interested in knowing more then Good Finance is a collaborative project to help improve access and information on social investment for charities and social enterprises, click here.
Active Essex
Active Essex is run by Essex County Council and offers grants to sports clubs and voluntary organisations that help to provide sport and fitness activities to local people. To find out more, click here.
Braintree Community Grants Scheme
The Braintree District Councillors’ Community Grants Scheme allows councillors to give up to £1,500 in their ward to organisations and groups running local support projects and initiatives that will benefit the people of Braintree District. To find out more, click here.
Colchester Catalyst Charity
Colchester Catalyst awards grants to help voluntary groups that provide services to people with medical conditions or disabilities living in North East Essex. They specifically support those based in a CO post code, including CO8 and CO10 which were previously excluded. To find out more, click here.
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
They are one of the UK’s largest grantmakers and support work that focuses on the Arts, Children and Young People, the Environment, Food and Social Change. To find out more, click here.
Fowler Smith and Jones
The Trust distributes, on average, £500,000 every year to around 130 voluntary or community organisations principally for projects within Essex. Average grant size is around £2,000 – £3,000. For more information, click here.
Hervey Benham Charitable Trust
The Hervey Benham Charitable Trust assists talented individuals or groups in Colchester and Tendring, who would otherwise be under funded to enable them to develop individual skills or, in the case of groups, their roles in the community. To find out more, click here.
Jack Petchy Foundation
The Jack Petchey Foundation was set up to inspire and enable young to achieve their full potential. They award grants to young people aged 11-25 across London and Essex. To find out more, click here.
Lloyds Bank Foundation
They are an independent charitable trust funded by the profits of Lloyds Banking Group. They partner with small and local charities helping people overcome complex social issues such as mental health, homelessness, and domestic abuse. To find out more, click here.
National Lottery Community Fund
They award money raised by National Lottery players to fund great ideas that help communities to thrive. There is the option to apply for under £10,000 as part of their Awards for All programme or over £10,000 for their larger grants programme. They fund registered charities, constituted groups or clubs, Community Interest Companies, schools (as long as your project benefits and involves the communities around the school) and statutory bodies including town and parish. To find out more, click here.
Office for Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner for Essex (OPFCC)
The OPFCC manage a few grants programmes, supporting voluntary and community organisations that help to prevent and tackle crime and anti-social behaviour in Essex. One of these is the Community Safety Development Fund which offers grants of up to £20,000. To find out more, click here.
Rosca Trust
The Trust supports a wide range of organisations covering social welfare and the local community; the elderly; disadvantaged; disabled; ethnic groups; asylum seekers; refugees and young people. They will only consider applications for charitable purposes within the geographical area covered by Southend on Sea, Rochford and Castle Point local authorities. To find out more, click here.