Funding Sources

Many organisations offer grant funding to parks and green spaces and community clubs and organisations.

Sport England has a number of funding programmes and the Big Lottery Fund operates across the UK. Sport England also has a funding guide with some other ideas.

The GrantFinder website holds information on thousands of grant-giving opportunities and features a search facility so that users can narrow down the options to those that best fit the project for which funding is being sought. Users need to register, which gives 90 days’ free access to the site. Full instructions are given on the website.

County Sports Partnerships are a useful source of information regarding funding opportunities. You can find your local CSP on their website.

You can download our funding guide, and bear in mind that membership of Fields in Trust entitles you to discounts from certain suppliers.

You could also start your search by trying the specific funding sources below:

(1) Tesco Community Grants

Started in 2016 as Bags of Help and now running as Tesco Community Grants, this scheme is administered by Groundwork and distributes monies raised through Tesco's carrier bag charges to community projects across Great Britain. Grants of up to £4,000 are available each month and are voted for by customers in local Tesco stores. Find out more and apply.

(2) FCC Communities Foundation

Local landfill companies are always worth checking as many contribute to funding programmes in return for claiming credit against their landfill tax liability. Once such scheme, formerly known as WREN and now FCC Communities Foundation operates in England and Scotland offering grants from £2,000 up to £100,000 in England and £40,000 in Scotland. You do need to be located within ten miles of an eligible facility in order to be eligible to apply, however. Find out more and apply.

(3) National Lottery Heritage Fund

Formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund, they fund projects which connect people and communities to local, regional and national heritage across the country. This could include nature, natural and designed landscapes, historic environments and more. A large range of funding amounts and timeframes are available. Find out more and apply.

(4) Awards for All

Also from the National Lottery but focussed on communities, the Awards for All scheme offers grants ranging from £300 to £10,000 across the UK. Grants can be used towards projects that "shape the places and spaces that matter to communities" as well as bringing people together. Find out more and apply.

(5) Fields in Trust Membership

We work hard to leverage funding to support spaces protected with ourselves, but don't currently have any general grant programmes open. You can, however, take advantage of discounts with leading play manufacturers through our Fields in Trust membership scheme. These can often provide a discount of greater than the cost of membership so it's worth checking to see if a manufacturer you're considering using is on the list. Find out more.

Finally, if you have Fields in Trust protected status don't forget to mention this on any funding application you are making. The protection in perpetuity gives the funder confidence that the project they are supporting will last well into the future!