Sussex Community Foundation

Grants available for: Not for profit groups based in Sussex
Size of grants available: up to £10,000
Next deadline: 17th October

Aims of Fund

The Sussex Community Foundation was set up in January 2006 to build a substantial, permanent fund to support charities and communities across Sussex.

They are an umbrella organisation which manages funding on behalf of lots of other funding organisations. This means that you can fill in one form to apply to several funders at once. Sussex Community Foundation will look at your application and decide whether your project meets the criteria of any of their funds.

Who can apply

Any local charity or not-for-profit group can apply, as long as you have a constitution or set of rules. Community Interest Companies can only be funded if a majority of the directors are unpaid. They are particularly keen to support small local groups (you must have an income below £2 million to apply). Some of the funds they manage can only be awarded to registered charities.

There is a brief eligibility checker on their website.

How much and what can you apply for?

The Foundation is currently managing funds on behalf of a wide range of individuals and companies. This means you can send them one General Award application, and they will put you forward to the funder they think you are most suitable for. Most grants are for between £500 and £10,000.

They also administer some specific grant schemes, separate to their General Award. These are listed on their website and change from time to time.

You can only receive one main grant a year through Sussex Community Foundation. If you applied in September 2024 and were successful, you can reapply in the September-October 2025 application window.

They have four key priorities:

Tackling Poverty: Reducing poverty and disadvantage in our communities.
Improving Health: Helping people live longer, better lives.
Reaching Potential: Providing life-changing skills, education and training.
Acting on Climate: Taking local action for the climate

You can find more details about their funding priorities here.

How to apply

These guidance notes give details about the application process.

To apply for a main grant, you need to apply via their application portal. You will need to create an account and log in.

If your group has applied for a grant previously but you want to change the name of the individual who is named on the account, you will need to contact them by email or phone (01273 409440) before logging in.

The application process has two stages: an initial Expression of Interest, and a later stage where more information may be requested.

To submit your Expression of Interest, log in on the Portal, then choose ‘Funding programmes’. Choose ‘Main Grants’ from the list of available programmes, then fill in the online form. You can save the form and return to it as you go along. They have published a preview of all the questions in the form. The form asks for details of:

Your organisation and contact details
Your organisation’s income in the last financial year
How many staff, volunteers and members you have
the names of management committee members, with cheque signatories identified
Bank account details
Details of a referee who is not a member of your group but knows about your work
What you plan to do with the funding (200 words maximum)
Who will benefit and why they need support (200 words maximum)
What will change as a result of your project (200 words maximum)
Where your beneficiaries live and which ethnic group they are in
Which Sussex Community Foundation funding priority your project fits with (you can choose up to two of the four priorities)
How you will measure the success of your project
A budget for your project

You will also need to upload supporting documents via the portal. These can be added after submitting your Expression of Interest:

a bank statement from within the last three months
a signed copy of your most recent set of accounts
a signed copy of your constitution or set of rules (if you are a CIC, please also supply your CIC 34 report).
if applying for a grant to purchase equipment, copies of written estimates or catalogue pages
Your equal opportunities policy, covering both the Equality Act 2010 and the nine protected characteristics.
Your child protection or safeguarding policy if this is relevant for your work

You can also apply for their other funds through the same portal, but these have different application forms.

After submitting your Expression of Interest, you should hear within a month whether they will:

offer you a grant, based on the information you have submitted
put your application through to the second stage – they will ask for more information about your project
not offer you funding at this stage – you can reapply in the next round. They will offer feedback if your application is unsuccessful. They will also keep your Expression of Interest on file for 12 months and may match it with a funder during that time.

Deadlines for application

Next deadline: 17th October 2025

There will be several funding rounds per year, with the next one in early 2026.

Contact details

15 Western Road
Lewes BN7 1RL
Phone number: 01273 409440
email: [email protected]

[email protected]
website:https://sussexcommunityfoundation.org

Page updated 22/9/25 DA

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All Resource Centre information is available for free because we know small community groups have small budgets. However, we are a small charity, so if you are in a position to make a donation, it will help us to keep running this service into the future.

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