Charities and Voluntary or Community Groups

• Any group working to improve life for people who live in Leicestershire and Rutland – urban and rural areas – is welcome to apply to us.
• You don’t have to be a registered charity – you just need to be a group with clear charitable aim and a set of rules (a constitution), and a bank account, with at least two signatories.
• We do monitor our giving to ensure it’s spent as promised, and has real local impact.
• For fairness, all giving from all Funds is done the same way - in the form of grants, and via the same application process.
• Our grants range from £500 to up to £50,000 or more – the higher the figure, the more information and evidence of need is required in the application.
• We cannot give to individuals or to general requests – but we will try to refer people in genuine need to an organisation that might be able to help.
• Our funds are of different sizes and each has different purposes and timescales, so do please speak to us or read the current funds (click through) carefully.
• Decisions are made four times a year by our Grants Panel, working with an advisory group drawn from rural and urban communities across the whole of Leicestershire and Rutland.
• Many of our Funds give perpetually, year after year. We keep track of each Fund we look after, and every year – usually in March - we calculate the income, and distribute it.
• Other funds spend down completely within a timescale, agreed with each donor or funder.

Click here for a list of our current funds.

To download or request an application form, or help to complete it, contact our Grants Officer Jane Avery on 0116 258 7326,
or e-mail.