Grants & Funding

The key to any playground development project is your budget and identifying where the funding is coming from.

"Years of experience have shown us that it is fundamental that you are well prepared when looking for funding. It is also really important that you make us aware of the criteria for your funding before we get started. Schoolscapes can help in the preparation by providing you with a professional design and quotation. We can even assist with your presentation, allowing you to react quickly to any funding opportunities available". Nick Turner, National Sales Manager.

Please contact us today on 0845 163 8134 and talk to a member of our team about funding opportunities released in the past 7 days. We would be delighted to help you get your project started!

There are a number of outdoor play funding schemes available, which could help your dream playground become a reality. Here are some to get you started:

GRANTnet is a user-friendly free to use service which has been devised to assist community and voluntary groups, sports and other clubs, schools, social enterprises and small businesses in identifying funding opportunities for specific projects. Having identified the grants, it is then important to receive help and advice from people who are experienced in the grant application process. The database contains over 4,000 funding opportunities from United Kingdom and European Commission sources.

fit4funding is nationally recognised as a quality provider of training on all aspects of fundraising and commissioning involving Third Sector organisations. It is the link between national and local in funding advice and works across the UK, although its main focus is in West Yorkshire.

The Grants4Schools website is aimed at providing information on grant funding and sponsorship sources relevant to primary, secondary and special schools within both the state and independent sectors.

Woodenspoon aims to improve the quality and prospect of life for children and young people living in the UK and Ireland who are physically, socially or mentally disadvantaged. Grants are available to special needs schools, in the region of £20,000 to £100,000, representing 25-100% of total project costs.

Supermarket funding community projects

Charities, schools and community groups have the opportunity to apply for funding for local projects that require financial assistance to the ASDA Foundation. The ASDA Foundation trust was set up in 1988 to support local good causes chosen by employees and is funded by profits from the mid-week national lottery. Organisations can apply for funding for a wide range of projects as long as they have the support of local ASDA colleagues.

Some of the projects that the ASDA Foundation has supported in the past include:

Transforming a large tarmac playing ground at Haslingden Primary School, Lancashire, into a place where children can play, learn, enjoy, plant and grow, and most of all have fun.

The Foundation also provided funding for the Southglade Park community allotment, a non profitable initiative where the produce grown is used to educate young children and adults on healthy eating.

Potential applicants should contact their local Store or Depot in the first instance.

Support for community projects

The Garfield Weston Foundation offers support to organisations that are registered charities and excepted or exempt charities such as churches, hospitals, educational establishments, museums and housing corporations. Founded in 1958 the Garfield Weston Foundation is a UK based, general grant- giving charity that makes grants in the areas of the Arts, Community Education, Medical, Environment, Health, Religion, Welfare and Youth.

Applications are considered individually by the Foundation and the following issues are taken into consideration:
The financial viability of the organisation;
The degree of need for the project requiring funding;
The amount spent on administration and fundraising as compared to the charitable activities;

The ability to raise sufficient funding to meet the appeal target;

Whether the organisation has appropriate priorities and plans in place to manage its activities.

There is no limit on the size of grant.

There are no application deadlines.

Funding for local good causes from bakery company

Local Not for Profit Organisations such as charities, charitable companies, churches and schools can apply for grants of up to £2,000 through the Greggs Foundation regional grants programme.

The Greggs Foundation was established in 1987 by Ian Gregg, founder of the Greggs bakery retailer. The regional grants programme is administered by committees of volunteers from Gregg shops, bakeries and offices who are based in England, Scotland and Wales. They use their knowledge of the local area to make small grants to local organisations, in particular those that make a difference to people in need in the heart of Greggs' local communities.

The Greggs Foundation prioritises local organisations that help people in need in their local area. Many charitable causes can be supported through the programme. Most of the grants are to support an identifiable cause such as trips, activities and equipment.

Additionally the Foundation prioritises the following people:

People with caring responsibilities;
People with disabilities;
Homeless people; and
Older people.

Past recipients include:

£2,000 to the Grange Day Centre in Newcastle – the grant was used to provide outdoor activity sessions for older people; and
£2,000 to the Sunbeams Music Trust in Cumbria. This charity uses music as therapy for people with disabilities.

Applications can be submitted at any time.

Funding for a wide range of projects in the community

The Marsh Christian trust supports a wide range of projects/general charitable purposes. Areas which have been funded include: social welfare; literature, arts and heritage; environmental causes; conservation and animal welfare; healthcare and medical research; education and training; and overseas appeals.

Grants are only made to registered charities that are experienced in their chosen field of work with particular consideration given towards charities displaying a Christian emphasis.

There is no deadline for receipt of applications. The Trustees meet monthly, but due to the volume of appeals received responses to new appeals may take up to three months to arrive. However, a response is made to every appeal. Grants are given towards core-funding and range between £250-£4,000 with new applications at the lower end of this scale.

Funding for a wide range of projects to benefit community life

Clore Duffield Foundation’s Main Grants Programme does not fund individuals, but it can match lottery funding, support capital redevelopments and learning space initiatives, and provide project, programme and revenue funding.

Application procedures are straightforward, and the Foundation continues to maintain a balance between supporting large-scale projects, with far-reaching effects, and small-scale community endeavours. Grants range from below £5,000 to in excess of £1m.

All grants are awarded at the Trustees meeting, held twice a year. As there is no fixed schedule for these meetings, applications are reviewed on an ongoing basis.

The Foundation welcomes submissions to the Main Grants Programme for projects from the following sectors:

Museums, galleries and heritage sites (particularly for learning spaces)
The arts
Education
Health, social care and disability
Jewish charities with interests in any of the above areas

Learning Spaces

The Clore Duffield Foundation has funded museum, gallery and heritage learning spaces across the UK for over 15 years, from £2.5m Clore learning centres in national museums, to donations of less than £5,000 for single rooms in local history heritage buildings.

In light of this experience, the Foundation provides learning space applicants with basic guidance on cost; lighting levels; location, use and nature of space; dimensions; programming; display; architect's plans; and best practice examples (small- and large-scale).

Applicants should also read Space for Learning: A Handbook for Education Spaces in Museums, Heritage Sites and Discovery Centres (2004), which can be downloaded on the website before applying for funding.

For more information or to apply to this fund, please see

Football Facilities Grant

The Football Foundation has announced that its Facilities Grant Scheme is now open for applications for projects that improve facilities for football and other sport in local communities.

Organisations that are eligible to apply for funding include football clubs, multi-sports, local authorities, all educational establishments, registered charity organisations & not for profit organisations.

Grants of up to £500,000 are available to support projects that:

sustain or increase participation amongst children and adults, regardless of background age, or ability; and
help children and adults to develop their physical, mental, social and moral capacities through regular participation in sport.

The types of facilities the fund provides grants for include:

grass pitches drainage/improvements;
pavilions, clubhouses and changing rooms;
artificial turf pitches and multi-use games areas;
fixed floodlights for artificial pitches.

Before submitting applications, the foundation strongly recommends submitting an expression of interest form. For example, St Augustine’s RC High School received a £117,446 grant from the Football Foundation towards seven grass pitches. The new pitches allow St Augustine’s, a school with a strong tradition of sporting achievements, to continue to produce successful sports teams. The vastly improved site now contains two 11-a-side pitches, one full-size dual rugby/football pitch, two junior 11-a-side pitches, two Mini Soccer pitches and training grid areas.

Applications can be submitted at any time.

Grants for enhancing quality of life for those in need

Individuals in need and charities that work to enhance the quality of life for people in need (specifically the mentally and physically disabled) can apply for funding the ACT Foundation's grant programme.

The Foundation makes grants to support:

the modifications to homes, schools, hospices etc;
the provision of specialist equipment such as specialised wheelchairs, other mobility aids and equipment including medical equipment to assist independent living; and
financial assistance towards the cost of short-term respite breaks at a registered respite centre.
Grants can range from £100 to several millions.

Examples of grants that the ACT Foundation has made are:

Woodlands School – Hydrotherapy pool for disabled children; and
Whizz Kids – Mobility aids for children.

Applications can be made at any time.

£125 Million to improve the performance of the lowest performing schools

The Government has awarded £125 million to the Sutton Trust as the lead charity in partnership with Impetus Trust to establish a new major programme to boost the attainment of some of the country's most disadvantaged children. A new charity will be established by the Sutton Trust to deliver the Education Endowment Fund (EEF) which will be used to both initiate grants and seek innovative and bold proposals from schools, teachers, local authorities and charities, to help them improve the performance of poor pupils in the country's lowest performing schools and narrow attainment gaps in the classrooms. For the first two years of the Fund, applications will only be accepted from, or in partnership with, underperforming primary and secondary schools in England. Information on eligibility and criteria is expected to be available from early summer when the new charity will officially be launched, and the first round of grants will be made in the Autumn. The programme is expected to run for the next 15 years, delivering as much as £200 million.

Supporting environmental education in the UK

Not for profit organisations and organisation with a charitable purpose can apply for funding through the Mark Leonard Trust. The Mark Leonard Trust is one of the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts and focuses on environmental education in the UK.

In particular the Trust seeks to support projects that focus on:

finding practical ways of involving children and young adults;
sustainable agriculture and bio-diversity;
sustainable transport, energy efficiency and renewable energy; and
youth work that supports the rehabilitation of young people involved in anti-social or criminal activities.

Projects supported in the past have included:
a grant of £10,000 to the Federation of City Farms and Community gardens towards a pilot project in Coventry to develop food growing activities in schools; a grant of £10,000 for ‘Web of Hope’, towards the Youth Prints environmental learning project with disadvantaged young people in Worcester; and a grant of £10,000 to Plumpton College to complete the construction of an environmentally friendly classroom.

Applications to the Trust can be submitted at any time.

The Equitable Charitable Trust is an education charity.

It makes grants totaling up to £1 million each year towards projects for children and young people under the age of 25 who are from disadvantaged backgrounds or disabled.

The Priorities of the Equitable Charitable Trust are:

Education projects or services that support the learning and development of disabled children and young people;
Formal education projects for disadvantaged children and young people that support delivery of the National Curriculum (i.e. curriculum enrichment projects) or that deliver accredited vocational learning that will increase employability;
Education projects that will help increase participation in, or improve the quality of, education for disadvantaged or disabled children and young people in developing countries.

Projects that relate to the PSHE and Citizenship curriculums are a low priority, and are very unlikely to be funded.

For overseas projects, Trustees particularly wish to support projects with potential to deliver benefits over the medium to long term.

Grants can be made for project costs, capital expenditure, equipment and/or the salary costs of a post.

The majority of projects funded by the Trust take place at local or regional level, though national projects and those benefiting children or young people overseas (in developing countries only) are also supported. Grants for overseas projects are only made through UK registered charities.

The length of funding can range from one to three years with grants of more than one year paid in annual installments, with installments beyond the first year dependent on receipt of progress reports that are satisfactory to the Trustees.

The size of grants ranges from £2,500 to £30,000. Most are for sums between £5,000 and £20,000. It is rare for a multi-year grant to exceed £10,000 p.a. and most multi-year grants will be for sums between £5,000 and £7,500 p.a.

Applications can be submitted at any time and are considered monthly by the Trustees. The Trust does not have an application form, but recommends that organisations follow the guidelines on our website.

Support for a wide range of project including support for the environment and countryside projects

Registered charities, schools and not-for-profit wishing to encourage young people's interest either in the countryside and the environment, the arts or aiming to raise levels of literacy and numeracy can apply for funding to the Ernest Cook Trust (ECT).

The Trust operates two grant making programmes:

The small grants programme (under £4,000) supports state schools and small registered charities which would like to undertake projects which meet the Trust's objectives and require a small amount of pump-priming in order for such projects to take place.
The large grants programme (Grants over £4,000) is aimed at more comprehensive education programmes.

In 2008/09, the ECT Trustees gave £1.7m to support over 450 educational projects. Grants awarded range from supporting children’s literacy and numeracy, to teaching young people how to manage money in London schools, to helping to keep the ancient craft of coppicing alive by supporting apprenticeships in the North West.

Grants are normally awarded for one year only. Trustees meet several times a year to consider applications.