Grants Hub Blog

Guides, tips and insights on finding and winning UK grant funding.

A jazz trio playing on the small low stage of a London jazz club, a saxophonist at the microphone behind a music stand, a drummer and a pianist beside him, seen from among the wooden pub chairs under red and blue lights

26 October 2026

PRS Foundation Grants: Which Fund Fits Your Music, Your Stage and Your Next Step

PRS Foundation is the UK's leading charitable funder of new music, with grants from £3,000 for early-career composers to £25,000 a year for talent development organisations. This guide explains each open fund, who it is for, how the deadlines work, and which rounds come up next.

A scientist in a white lab coat, seen from behind, working at a laboratory bench of glassware, reagent bottles and wired test equipment, under an overhead rail of UK three-pin sockets

16 October 2026

Life Sciences and Health Innovation Grants for UK Businesses: From £12,000 Ideas to NHS-Scale Trials, and Six Open Now

Health innovation funding for UK businesses runs from £12,000 for an early idea to £4 million projects that prove a diagnostic test in the clinic. Here is how the money is organised, what each route expects, and six grants open at the time of writing.

Two boys in blue tops leaning on the Thames embankment wall, looking across the river at Westminster Bridge, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, a river boat passing under a cloudy late-afternoon sky

14 October 2026

John Lyon's Charity Grants: Which Fund Fits Your Charity or School in North-West London

John Lyon's Charity funds work with children and young people in nine London boroughs, from £500 training grants to multi-year Open Programme awards with no upper limit. This guide explains each fund, who can apply, how long decisions take, and the arts deadline coming up on 1 November 2026.

A row of electric cars plugged into tall black charging posts in a sunny workplace car park, with UK yellow number plates and trees behind

11 October 2026

Transport and Zero-Emission Vehicle Grants for UK Businesses: Chargepoints, Fleets and the Technology Behind Them

Transport grants in the UK pay for three different things: chargepoints at your premises, cleaner vehicles for your fleet, and research to build the next generation of vehicle technology. Here is which one fits your business, with the schemes open at the time of writing.

A green tractor ploughing a field at Sutton Bridge in Lincolnshire on a misty morning, a flock of seagulls following the plough, wheat stubble in the foreground and red-brick houses behind a hedge

10 October 2026

Lincolnshire Community Foundation Grants: County Funds, Wind and Solar Farm Funds, and What Closes Next

Lincolnshire Community Foundation runs close to 20 open funds, from a £35,000 East Lindsey scheme to £300 grants for Gainsborough schools. This guide explains the county-wide funds, the wind and solar farm funds tied to a few villages, the grants for individuals, and the deadlines coming up this autumn.

An engineer in glasses working on a laptop in a vehicle test lab, surrounded by wiring looms, a car door panel and a seat frame on metal test rigs

9 October 2026

Manufacturing Grants for UK Businesses: Invention, Scale-Up or Adoption, and Six Open Now

UK manufacturing grants come in three kinds: money to invent new materials and processes, money to scale up production, and money to adopt better technology on the factory floor. Here is how to tell which one fits you, and six grants open at the time of writing.

Royal Albert Dock in Liverpool on a sunny day, red-brick warehouses on both sides of the water, a small ferry boat on the dock and the Royal Liver Building in the distance under a blue sky

8 October 2026

Community Foundation for Merseyside Grants: Which Fund Fits Your Group, Borough or Cause

The Community Foundation for Merseyside runs dozens of named funds across the Liverpool City Region, from £15,000-a-year mental health grants to £500 bursaries for one town's young people. This guide explains the larger funds, the borough and town funds, what's open to individuals, and the rules that rule groups out before anyone reads their project.

A software engineer with long red hair working at her desk, lines of code on two monitors and an open laptop in front of her

7 October 2026

AI and Digital Technology Grants for UK Businesses: Building It or Adopting It, and Six Open Now

AI grants in the UK split into two kinds: money for companies building new AI, and money for businesses adopting digital tools. Here is how to tell which one fits you, and six grants open at the time of writing.

Two women at a desk going through printed papers beside an open laptop

6 October 2026

Grants Hub vs GrantFinder: Which UK Grant Database Fits Your Organisation?

GrantFinder from Idox is the long-established UK funding database used by councils and larger organisations, priced on request. Grants Hub is built for charities, small businesses and consultants, from £19.99 a month. Here is an honest side-by-side, with who each one suits.

Three notebooks side by side on a table, one open on lined pages

6 October 2026

GrantMatch Alternatives: Six UK Grant Finders Compared

Looking for an alternative to GrantMatch? We compare six UK grant finders on price, who they're for and what they actually do, from free tools to paid platforms, with every rival's details taken from its own website.

Aerial view of Keswick in Cumbria at sunset, rows of grey slate houses beside a green park, with the fells behind lit orange under a blue sky

6 October 2026

Cumbria Community Foundation Grants: How to Find the Right Fund Among More Than 100

Cumbria Community Foundation runs more than 100 named funds, from the county-wide Cumbria Fund to wind farm funds that cover a few parishes. This guide explains how the funds are organised, which ones to look at first, what's open for individuals as well as groups, and the mistakes that cost applicants a grant.

Overhead view of two people working on laptops at a wooden table with mugs and a notebook

6 October 2026

The Best UK Grant Finding Tools in 2026: Free and Paid, Compared

A plain guide to the UK grant finding tools worth knowing in 2026: the free ones every charity and business should use, the paid matching platforms, and the big research databases. Prices and details taken from each tool's own website.

Shoppers walking down Buchanan Street in Glasgow on a sunny day, between red sandstone buildings, with street banners and trees along the pedestrian street

5 October 2026

The Robertson Trust Grants: Which Fund Fits Your Charity's Size

The Robertson Trust funds Scottish charities and community groups working on poverty and trauma, and which fund you apply to depends mostly on your annual income. This guide explains the seven funds open now, from Wee Grants of up to £5,000 to the Big Change That Lasts Fund, and the mistakes that sink most applications.

Three engineers gathered round a laptop in an automotive engineering workshop, working through a project together

5 October 2026

Horizon Europe for UK Businesses: How It Works Now, and Five Calls to Know About

UK businesses have been able to apply to Horizon Europe on the same terms as EU companies since 2024, and most still don't. Here is how the programme works for a UK company, what the consortium rule means in practice, and five calls open or opening soon.

A woman in a pink blazer discussing a 3D product design on a laptop across a workshop table, with 3D printers on the shelves behind

5 October 2026

Contracts for Innovation: How Public Sector Challenges Fund UK Businesses, and Five Open Now

Contracts for Innovation competitions pay businesses to solve a problem a public body has already named, usually at 100% of the cost. Here is how they differ from a grant, who can apply, and five challenges open at the time of writing.

The Tyne Bridge arching over the River Tyne on a sunny autumn morning, with boats moored along the Newcastle Quayside

4 October 2026

Community Foundation North East Grants: A Guide to the Funds in Tyne & Wear and Northumberland

Community Foundation North East runs dozens of separate funds, each with its own patch, its own size of grant and its own rules. This guide explains how they work, which funds are open now for groups and for individuals, and the mistakes that sink most applications.

Wind turbines on a hilltop above purple heather moorland in Scotland, under a bright sky with white clouds

3 October 2026

Foundation Scotland Grants: How to Find the Fund Meant for Your Community

Foundation Scotland isn't one grant programme. It runs well over a hundred separate funds, most of them tied to a single place, and a large share paid for by local wind farms. This guide explains how the funds work, who each kind is for, and five national funds any Scottish group can look at.

A smiling woman working on a laptop at a desk, with a notebook and printed plans beside her

1 October 2026

Find UK Grants Without a Subscription: Match Once, Pay Once

Grants Hub's grant match ranks your five best UK grants with no account needed. One is shown in full at no cost; your top four stay locked until a one-off £12.99 report unlocks them, with eligibility, amounts and deadlines. No subscription, nothing renews.

An engineer using a caliper over technical drawings, representing the technical uncertainty innovation grants fund

25 September 2026

Innovation Grants for UK Businesses: What They Fund, and Five Open Right Now

Innovation funding is the largest pot of grant money open to UK businesses, and the least understood. Here is what these competitions actually pay for, how the money works, and five that are open at the time of writing.

A support worker and an older woman laughing together, representing the community organisations the Henry Smith Charity funds

16 September 2026

The Henry Smith Charity: Grants From £500 to £185,000

Henry Smith runs everything from £500 holiday grants for children to multi-year funds worth six figures. This guide covers the programmes open now, who each one is really for, and the name change that makes them hard to search for.

A mixed-ability hula hooping session in a sports hall, including a wheelchair user, representing UK disability organisations

16 September 2026

Grants for Disability Organisations: Where the UK Funding Actually Is

More than 200 live UK grants relate to disability, spread across 85 different funders — national foundations, local community funds and research programmes. This guide maps where the money sits and how to search it without drowning in the word 'disability'.

Older men laughing together at a community walking football session, representing the kind of local organisation the Garfield Weston Foundation funds

16 September 2026

Garfield Weston Foundation: One of the UK's Most Flexible Funders

Garfield Weston funds core costs, projects and capital work across almost every charitable category, with no deadlines and a one-page-ish application. This guide covers what it really funds, the two grant routes, and why 'we'll fund your running costs' is rarer than it sounds.

A river winding through British woodland and meadow, representing the nature and climate work the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation funds

16 September 2026

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation: Grants From £30,000, and What It Takes to Get One

Esmée Fairbairn makes unrestricted and core grants from £30,000 upwards, with no deadlines and no small-grants route. This guide covers its three aims, what 'unrestricted' really means here, and why the first stage is the one that matters.

A community choir rehearsing in a village hall, representing the grassroots, community-led organisations Comic Relief funds

16 September 2026

Comic Relief Grants: Strategic Funds and the £5,000 Community Route

Comic Relief funds far more than Red Nose Day suggests — large multi-year strategic programmes, and a community fund of up to £5,000 for grassroots organisations under £250,000 income. This guide covers both, and how to tell which one you're eligible for.

Founder working on a new business plan in a small UK workshop

8 September 2026

Start-Up Business Grants UK: What New Businesses Can Actually Get

Search for start-up grants and you'll find a lot of pages promising free money to start a business. The honest picture is narrower, more specific, and more winnable than that — if you know which of the three routes you're actually eligible for.

Engineers testing prototype equipment in a UK research and development laboratory

8 September 2026

Innovate UK vs UKRI: Which One Actually Funds Your Business?

People use the two names interchangeably and then apply to the wrong one. Innovate UK is part of UKRI — but the money they hand out behaves completely differently, and only one of them is really built for a company with a commercial product.

UK government building in Westminster representing public business funding

8 September 2026

Government Business Grants: Where the Money Is Actually Published

"Government business grants" is one of the most searched funding phrases in the UK, and one of the worst served. The money is real — it's just scattered across several official services that don't talk to each other, and most searches never reach any of them.

Belfast city waterfront representing business and enterprise in Northern Ireland

8 September 2026

Business Grants in Northern Ireland: What Invest NI Actually Funds

Northern Ireland businesses searching UK-wide funding sites see a lot they can't apply for. Most support here is devolved and published separately — and Invest NI's programmes are more accessible to small and early-stage companies than their reputation suggests.

1 September 2026

4,000+ UK Grants From 1,500+ Funders: What's Changed on Grants Hub

Grants Hub now tracks over 4,000 live UK grants and funding programmes from more than 1,500 funders, refreshed daily. Here's what's behind that number, and what we're building next: matching that explains itself using nearly half a million historic UK grant awards.

Community sports facility in Scotland with people taking part in outdoor physical activity

6 August 2026

Sportscotland Grants: Funding for Sport and Physical Activity in Scotland

Sportscotland's Sport Facilities Fund offers up to £250,000 for capital projects, while Awards for All gives out £300-£10,000 on a rolling basis. Here's how Scotland's national sport agency actually funds clubs, facilities, and coaching — and the deadline coming up on 1 September.

Welsh dragon sculpture in front of the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay

31 July 2026

Arts Council Wales Grants: Funding for Creative Individuals and Organisations

Arts Council Wales doesn't run one grant — it runs a spread of funds from a £500 individual bursary up to a £50,000 lottery-funded award, each with its own eligibility and timing. Here's what's actually open right now and which fund fits which kind of applicant.

Traditional Scottish musicians performing live on stage in Edinburgh

28 July 2026

Creative Scotland Grants: Funding for Arts and Culture

Creative Scotland runs a whole ecosystem of funding — not one grant, but separate open funds for individuals and organisations, multi-year core funding for the sector's biggest names, and targeted programmes for touring, youth music, and screen. This guide breaks down which one actually fits your project.

UK community organisation staff planning a multi-year funded programme in a community centre

27 July 2026

Reaching Communities (TNLCF): Large Grants for Lasting Change

Reaching Communities is the National Lottery Community Fund's main England-wide programme for serious, multi-year funding — £20,001 up to £20 million, with most awards landing around £319,000 over 3 years. This guide covers who it's for, what the four funding missions actually mean in practice, and how it differs from the smaller Awards for All programme.

Small UK community group running a local event funded by a National Lottery Awards for All grant

25 July 2026

National Lottery Awards for All: Small Grants Up to £10,000

Awards for All is the fastest, most accessible route into National Lottery Community Fund money — £300 to £10,000, an 8-week decision, and one of the shortest applications of any UK grant programme. This guide covers eligibility, what gets funded, and how to avoid the most common reasons applications are declined.

Young social entrepreneur working on a laptop, representing UnLtd award funding for social ventures

24 July 2026

UnLtd Awards: Funding for Social Entrepreneurs

UnLtd funds individual social entrepreneurs — not just registered charities — with awards up to £18,000 plus personalised business support. This guide covers the two programmes, the Starting Up vs Scaling Up tiers, and who actually qualifies.

Children playing outdoors representing BBC Children in Need grant funding for children's charities

23 July 2026

BBC Children in Need: Grants for Children's Charities

BBC Children in Need funds thousands of small and mid-sized organisations working with disadvantaged children and young people across the UK. This guide covers the two grant tiers, who actually qualifies, what the panel wants to see in a case for support, and the safeguarding requirements that catch first-time applicants out.

Two researchers in a laboratory representing UKRI research council funding

22 July 2026

UKRI Funding: A Guide for Researchers and Institutions

UK Research and Innovation funds research and innovation across nine councils, from arts and humanities to quantum physics. This guide covers how the councils split up, who's actually eligible to apply, how full economic costing works, and why most UKRI applications fail before they're even assessed on merit.

Community sports group taking part in a grassroots physical activity session funded by Sport England

21 July 2026

Sport England Grants: Who Can Apply and What They Fund

Sport England funds grassroots sport and physical activity projects across England, with grants from £300 to £15,000 through the Movement Fund. This guide covers who's eligible, how the fund's two routes work, and the most common reasons applications don't succeed.

Historic UK building representing National Lottery Heritage Fund grant funding

20 July 2026

National Lottery Heritage Fund Grants: How to Apply and What They Fund

The National Lottery Heritage Fund is the UK's largest dedicated funder of heritage projects, distributing over £400 million a year. This guide covers every major grant programme, who can apply, what the Fund prioritises, and the most common reasons applications fail.

UK business team working on an innovation project eligible for Innovate UK funding

19 July 2026

Innovate UK Funding: A Complete Guide for UK Businesses

Innovate UK is the UK's national innovation agency, distributing hundreds of millions each year to businesses developing new products, processes, and services. This guide covers every major programme, who qualifies, and what makes a strong application.

Community volunteers working together on a UK funding project

18 July 2026

National Lottery Community Fund Grants: A Complete Guide for UK Organisations

The National Lottery Community Fund is the UK's largest community funder, distributing over £600 million a year. This guide covers every major programme, who can apply, what they look for, and common reasons applications are declined.

Professional meeting representing grant consultant services in the UK

15 July 2026

How to Find a Grant Consultant in the UK

A good grant consultant can significantly improve your chances of securing funding — but finding the right one takes more than a Google search. Here's a practical guide to what they do, what they cost, and how to find one that's right for you.

Person working at laptop writing a UK grant application

1 July 2026

How to Write a Successful Grant Application in the UK

Most grant applications fail for the same handful of reasons — and none of them are about the quality of the work. Here's a practical guide to writing applications that actually get funded.

Royal Albert Hall London representing Arts Council England arts and culture funding

24 June 2026

Arts Council England Grants 2026: How to Access Funding for Creative Work

Arts Council England distributes hundreds of millions in grants each year — but most applicants don't fully understand what the funder is actually looking for. Here's a clear guide to the main programmes and how to approach them.

Tower Bridge London representing UK small business and enterprise grants

17 June 2026

Small Business Grants UK 2026: What's Actually Available

Most small business owners assume grants aren't for them. That's often wrong — but the landscape is fragmented and easy to miss. Here's a clear breakdown of what's actually available in the UK right now.

UK Parliament and Big Ben, representing UK government and charity grant funding

16 June 2026

Welcome to the Grants Hub Blog

We're starting a blog to share practical guidance on finding and winning UK grant funding — for charities, businesses and the consultants who support them.