How to write a great grant application
What you need to succeed in your application and gain the funding you need.
We help donors to give more impactfully and charities to build their resilience so they can do more of their life-changing work.
From one-off donations to long-term giving, or designing your personal philanthropic strategy, we work together to help you realise your giving ambitions.
DISCOVER OUR PERSONAL GIVING SOLUTIONSYou have the vision for making a difference. So do we. We help you plan how to give based on your goals.
DISCOVER OUR CORPORATE GIVING SOLUTIONSHelping your charity or social enterprise become more resilient.
DISCOVER HOW WE SUPPORT CHARITIESDiscover the latest insights for donors and charitable organisations to help create a greater impact
ExploreWe are a leading charity, working at the centre of the giving world. We help donors to give more impactfully and charities to build their resilience so they can do more of their life-changing work.
Find out more about CAFWe run a range of programmes on behalf of our clients, awarding grants of various sizes, across many cause areas within the UK and internationally.
Key to our mission at CAF is building the resilience of social purpose organisations.
A number of our programmes include one-to-one CEO coaching, tailored advisory support, webinars and networking opportunities to provide peer learning and make sure we are funding organisations for success.
Most of our programmes are
by invitation only. When we have open grant programmes, we will list them here.
We are not currently seeking applications for our live grant programmes.
Find out how Doncaster Housing for Young People’s organisational resilience was strengthened through a grant and support from the CAF Resilience Fund.
Grant programmes have a clear criteria – make sure you read these first. And when you answer the eligibility questionnaire, try to be as objective as you can. You’ll save yourself a lot of time and effort if you avoid programmes that aren’t a good fit, and instead focus on those that are.
These include a summary of the information you’ll need to provide and some common questions. All of this is there to help you, so make the best use of it.
Make a list of what is asked for, and check everything off the list as you go. If you miss out a document, it can slow down your application – or it might even mean you miss out on a grant.
Funders want to know how you’ll meet the needs of the people or causes you support. What’s gone well that you may develop in future?
Have you consulted anyone along the way? Do you have any evidence?
There’s almost nothing more important: make this clear, and put it at the heart of your application. How will you use the grant? What difference will it make to you and the people and causes you support? And perhaps most importantly, how will you measure your impact?
Funders look for evidence that you’ve thought about the long-term sustainability of your charity and what needs to change in the future. This will include having the right policies in place to carry out your work, and good financial management.
Is your budget clear and linked to the activities you’ve planned? Funders want to know you can manage a grant, so they’ll look for evidence. Does your application reflect the impact you want to achieve? Does it give the funder value for money?
What you need to succeed in your application and gain the funding you need.
Discover our resources for attracting new funding for your charity.
How to get funding from your donors to strengthen your long-term resilience.
For more grant opportunities, please visit dedicated funder portals such as:
Our dedicated team provide expert advisory services to help build capacity, resilience, and effectiveness. Find out how we could help your organisation.
Explore charity advisoryA choice between charity impact and financial resilience?
Everything you need to know about repayable finance and how charities are using this form of funding to reach their goals.
Building resilience for a charity supporting youth employability in BAME communities.