If you run a charity, community group or parish council in Cumbria, Cumbria Community Foundation is very likely the most useful funder you can get to know. It's also one of the hardest to read at first glance, because it doesn't run one grant programme. It runs well over a hundred.
When we wrote this, well over a hundred of its funds were listed as open. Some cover the whole county. Some cover one town, one valley, or the few parishes within a few kilometres of a wind farm. Some are for groups, some are for individuals, and a handful are for both.
That sounds overwhelming, but it's actually good news. The more specific a fund is, the fewer people apply to it. The work is in finding the two or three that were written for somewhere like yours.
How the Foundation is organised
A community foundation holds money on behalf of lots of different donors: families, local businesses, legacies, energy companies and public bodies. Each donor's money sits in its own named fund with its own rules. The Foundation runs the application process for all of them through one online portal, and a grants team assesses applications against whichever fund fits.
That's why you'll see names like the Brian & Ann Clark Fund, the Johnson Fund or the Ullswater Trust Grassroots Fund. They're not separate organisations. They're pots of money with a donor's name on them, all managed in the same place.
In practice the funds fall into a few groups:
- County-wide funds for charitable organisations anywhere in Cumbria
- Place-based funds for one town, district or area of benefit
- Wind and solar farm community benefit funds for the communities closest to an energy site
- Theme funds for a cause, such as older people, young people, disability, flooding or the arts
- Funds for individuals, from winter fuel help to bursaries and business start-up grants
Most organisation grants are small. The typical figure on the fund pages is £1,000 to £5,000 over one year, with a smaller number going up to £10,000 or £15,000.
The funds to look at first
These were all listed as open when we wrote this. Fund rules change, and some funds open and close in rounds, so read the fund's own page on the Foundation's website before you apply.
The Cumbria Fund: up to £10,000
This is the Foundation's main county-wide fund, paid for by many donors together, and it's the natural starting point for most charitable organisations. Grants are normally up to £10,000 over one year, and multi-year funding is possible for some projects.
It funds against two themes taken from the Foundation's own research on local need. Improving Lives covers reducing poverty, helping people reach their potential, improving health and tackling social inequality. Strengthening Communities covers building a sense of place and acting on climate change.
One detail worth knowing: the Cumbria Fund says it will prioritise revenue costs, meaning day-to-day running costs, over capital costs like buildings and equipment. If your bid is mostly kit, you may have a better chance with a different fund.
Matson Ground Fund: £1,000 to £15,000
One of the larger grassroots funds, for small charitable, not-for-profit and volunteer-led groups based in Cumbria. It backs community-led projects that bring people together, with a particular interest in young people in rural areas, volunteering, and environmental projects.
It will fund core costs, but only where your organisation's aims closely match the fund's. Larger county-wide charities can apply only if their approach is a close fit, and it won't fund planned building improvements.
Cumbria Community Resilience Fund: up to £12,500
For voluntary and community groups and parish and town councils that help their area prepare for and recover from emergencies such as flooding, power cuts, extreme weather and being cut off. It can pay for shared equipment like batteries, radios and satellite phones, as well as planning, training and outreach.
There's a condition people miss. You need an emergency or resilience plan already, or to be a recognised community emergency hub, or to commit to developing one as part of the project. Funded groups also agree to act as a local point of contact in a future emergency.
The separate CiFR Community Flood Resilience Fund (up to £10,000 a year) has a similar test, specific to flooding: a registered community emergency plan that covers flood risk, or registration as a Community Emergency Hub.
Cumbria Young People's Fund: up to £10,000 a year
For charitable organisations helping young people aged 14 to 22 build life skills and confidence. The examples given include youth group activity and counselling for young people living in homeless hostels. There's also a separate individuals' version of this fund, up to £2,000.
Westmorland Community Fund: £500 to £10,000
Set up by the family behind Tebay Services, this one covers named communities only: Appleby-in-Westmorland, Brough, Kirkby Stephen, Penrith, Stainton, Shap, Tebay and Kendal. It favours projects for young people, mental health, and local food, farming and craft, and it's looking for groups that want an ongoing relationship with the company's staff, not just a cheque.
Closing soon: Fibrus Community Fund
Most Cumbria Community Foundation funds don't carry a fixed closing date in the information we hold. The Fibrus Community Fund Cumbria is an exception. It closes on Friday 16 October, with the panel meeting on 19 November.
It funds charitable organisations tackling digital exclusion, particularly for people aged 60 and over and young people aged 18 and under, and projects must benefit people in a list of named postcodes across the north, west and south of the county. Check the fund page for the full postcode list before you start.
Wind farm and energy funds
Cumbria has a lot of these, and they're some of the least competitive money in the county because only a few communities can apply. Hellrigg, Kirkby Moor, Winscales Moor, Fairfield and Tallentire each have a community benefit fund, typically offering up to £10,000 over one year.
The catch is geography. Each fund has a defined area of benefit, often a radius around the turbines or a list of parishes, and an application from outside it won't be considered. Several also work to fixed deadlines published on the Foundation's deadline dates page rather than accepting applications all year, so check that first.
Funds for individuals
Unlike many funders, Cumbria Community Foundation has a real spread of funds for individuals, not just groups:
- Winter Warmth Fund: usually £250, or £350 in exceptional cases, for people aged 60 and over in Cumbria who struggle to heat their home. Applications go through Age UK South Cumbria or Age UK North Cumbria, not the Foundation directly.
- Lakeland Disability Support Fund: £100 to £5,000 for people with physical disabilities in the former South Lakeland district, for items such as mobility scooters, hoists, adapted furniture and respite. It won't pay for anything the NHS or social services should provide.
- SWEF Enterprise Fund: up to £2,000 for people aged 18 to 30 in Cumbria running a business under three years old with at least £500 a month in sales, plus a smaller start-up grant of up to £500.
- Cumbria Cultural Fund: £500 to £2,000 for artists from or living in Cumbria. Until April 2027 it's only considering visual arts applications.
Old district names still matter
Cumbria's six districts were replaced in 2023 by two councils, Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness. Many fund pages still describe their area using the old names, like "the former South Lakeland district" or "Eden District". If a fund names an old district, that's the boundary to check your project against, not the new council area.
Mistakes that cost applicants a grant
- Applying to the wrong fund. Read the area of benefit and the "who can apply" section before anything else. A strong project from outside a fund's area won't be funded.
- Missing the fund's own exclusions. Every fund lists what it won't support "in addition to our normal exclusions". Both lists apply.
- Leaving out the local evidence. Funds like Matson Ground and the Cumbria Fund are looking for projects that come from community need. Show who asked for it and how local people shaped it.
- Ignoring rounds. Some funds are open year-round, others work to a closing date and committee meeting. Note both.
- Not asking. The grants team lists a phone number on most fund pages, and talking to them before you apply is the quickest way to find out which fund fits.
Finding Cumbria grants on Grants Hub
Cumbria Community Foundation is one of many funders in Grants Hub. We track 3,900+ open UK grants from 1,400+ funders, checked daily, so you can see the Cumbria funds alongside national programmes that would also cover your project. Search by location and cause to find the handful worth your time, instead of reading a hundred fund pages one by one.