Skip to main content

Funding and grant opportunities in Westminster

Find out how to access funding if you're a voluntary or community organisation in Westminster.

Grants from £1,001 to £5,000

The Leathersellers' Company Charitable Fund

Charitable Grants are available to UK registered charities working within the UK. Whilst we prioritise those charities working for the benefit of people in Greater London, we do welcome and support applications from all corners on the UK. Fund is available for special projects, capital grants and core costs such as salaries, rent and utilities. You can apply for up to four years of funding. The Fund operate two grant giving programmes for charities:

  • the Small Grant Programme is a fast track grant assessment for one-off grants of up to £3,000. Applicants can expect a result within six weeks of making an application.
  • the Main Grants Programme is a far more thorough assessment for single and multiple year grants of £5,000 or more. A successful application can take up to nine months to receive a result.

The Fund particularly welcome applications supporting the use of leather within the fashion industry, education in leather technology and the leather trade.

Find out more about the Leathersellers' Company Charitable Fund

The Percy Bilton Charity

Capital grants are available to organisations and individuals in need throughout the UK.

Social workers may apply on the behalf of individuals who have a disability or mental health problem, or who are over 65, for grants to purchase basic furniture, equipment and clothing.

Organisation that may apply should be a registered charity in the UK whose primary objectives are to assist one or more of the following groups:

  • disadvantaged or underprivileged young people, under 25
  • people with disabilities - physical or learning disabilities or mental health problems
  • older people, aged over 60

They have two programmes for organisations:

  • Large grants: one off payments for capital expenditure of approximately £2,000 and over i.e. furniture and equipment; building/refurbishment projects. Please note that they do not fund running costs.
  • Small grants - Donations of up to £500 towards furnishings and equipment for small projects. This programme is more suitable for smaller organisations.

Deadline: applications may be submitted at any time and will be considered at the next appropriate Board meeting. Applications for Small Grants are considered monthly.

Find out more about The Percy Bilton Charity

Yapp Charitable Trust

The Yapp Charitable Trust offers grants only for core funding to registered charities with a total annual expenditure of less than £40,000 and are undertaking work that focuses on one of these priority groups: 

  • elderly people
  • children and young people aged 5 to 25
  • people with physical impairments, learning difficulties or mental health challenges
  • social welfare - people trying to overcome life-limiting problems of a social, rather than medical, origin (such as addiction, relationship difficulties, abuse, offending)
  • education and learning (with a particular interest in people who are educationally disadvantaged, whether adults or children)

The charity will fund running costs for up to three years. Grants are for a maximum of £3,000 per year. 

Applications are accepted at any time.

Find out more about the Yapp Charitable Trust

Cameron Grant Memorial Trust

Applications for a grant of between £100 and £2,500 will be considered. The grant can be used to trial a new service, create an asset, a technology, a performance, fund research, or otherwise experiment in any way that supports the treatment mental health. The emphasis will be on innovation – using new methods, channels, technology, ideas or approaches to reach out and effect change. Ideas should typically fit into one of the following categories:

  • destigmatising mental health
  • reducing barriers to mental health care
  • improving mental wellbeing

Note the grants are for project-based activities that demonstrate clear innovation. They will not be made to fund ongoing operational expenses or salaries.

Find out more about Cameron Grant Memorial Trust

John Lyon's Charity - School Holiday Activity Fund

The School Holiday Activity Fund is designed to enable organisations to deliver fun and accessible activities for children and young people during the school holidays.  This includes all half-term breaks, Easter, Christmas and the summer holiday. You may apply to the School Holiday Activity Fund once a year for a maximum of three consecutive years.

The Fund will pay for the running costs of holiday programmes that provide young people with activities in supportive and accessible environments. Up to £5,000 is available.

Organisations that are currently in receipt of a grant from John Lyon’s Charity for core services are also eligible to apply to this Fund as long as funds from the Charity are not already being used for holiday activities.  

Applications to the School Holiday Activity Fund can be submitted at any time, but must be received by the Grants Office by the following deadlines:

  • Summer holiday, 1 June
  • October half-term, 21 September
  • Christmas holiday, 16 November
  • February half-term, 18 January
  • Easter, 4 weeks before Easter Monday
  • May half-term, 25 April

Find out more about John Lyon's Charity - School Holiday Activity Fund

Tesco Bags of Help

Grants of up to £5,000 are available to support community projects that involve the development and use of open spaces. Projects that involve volunteer training, physical improvements of open spaces, equipment purchases, community events and sports and leisure activities are welcomed.

Three local community projects will be voted on in Tesco stores each month across Tesco regions throughout England, Scotland and Wales. In each region, the project that received the most votes from all stores in their region will receive a grant of up to £5,000. The second placed project receives up to £2,000 and third placed up to £1000. Every year, over 7000 projects will receive funding through this scheme.

Applications are now open on a rolling basis and will be accepted at any time.

Find out more about Tesco Bags of Help

Derwent London

Derwent London’s Community Fund 2021 – covering Fitzrovia and the West End and the Tech Belt. This forms part of the Group’s ongoing sustainability programme and commitment to nurturing community engagement.

Derwent London invites local community groups, residents, and local business owners to apply for funding for community projects.

For 2021, Fitzrovia and West End have a total allocation of £50,000. Registered charities can apply for funding up to £5,000. Non-registered groups, businesses and individual applicants can apply for a maximum of £2,000.

Find out more about Derwent London's Community Fund

People's Postcode Lottery Fund

Grants are available to smaller charities and good causes in London and south of England under the themes:

  • improving mental wellbeing
  • enabling community participation in the arts
  • preventing or reducing the impact of poverty
  • supporting marginalised groups and promoting equality
  • improving biodiversity and green spaces
  • enabling participation in physical activity
  • responding to the climate emergency and promoting sustainability
  • increasing community access to outdoor space

In 2022 funding rounds open at the start of each month from February to October. A limited number of applications will be accepted each month in line with the amount of funds available for that round.

The higher level of grant available, £25,000, is now open to Community Interest Companies and community benefit societies for the first time. The amount available to other types of non profit organisations has also grown to £2,500. 

Find out more about the People's Postcode Lottery Fund

The Happiness Fund

The Happiness Fund is available to enable and support projects which improve mental health and wellbeing, inclusion, learning and skills development in local communities. 

The fund is intended to support the setting up of new groups and activities, but to be successful, applicants will need to indicate how the activity or group can become self-sustainable or able to attract funding from other sources for the longer term. 

The funding available is £2,500 maximum per quarter per project.

Deadline to apply: 18 March

Find out more about The Happiness Fund

Published: 11 January 2022

Last updated: 12 October 2022