Grants for CICs UK 2026: Who Actually Funds Them

About this page: Grantsights' search and report tools cover funding in the United States only, so this guide doesn't sell you anything. It points you to UK funders and the official pages behind each rule. Want a UK version? Tell us you're in the UK.

CIC Grants by the Numbers (2026)

There were 37,081 CICs on the public register at the end of March 2025, according to the CIC Regulator's annual report, after a record 8,376 approvals in 2024 to 2025. Here's how often the funders that publish open data actually gave to them.

Grantsights analysis of 360Giving data. Esmée Fairbairn figures leave out its social and impact investments. A zero means no recipient name in the file contained "CIC" or "Community Interest Company".

The honest reading: public and Lottery money is the main source of CIC grants. The two Lottery distributors and Sport England made 5,871 CIC awards between them in these files. The big private trusts made 263, and the largest of them by grant count, the Garfield Weston Foundation, made none, because its rules exclude CICs. Power to Change shows a high share because it funds community businesses, but its published data stops in January 2024.

Why Many Trusts Fund Charities Only

The Garfield Weston Foundation gave 8,831 grants from January 2023 to June 2026, and its application FAQs explain why none went to CICs. It says it can only accept applications from registered charities, CIOs and a small number of organisations exempt under Charity Commission guidelines. That's common among older trusts whose governing documents limit them to charitable recipients.

Three features of a CIC make some funders cautious, and you should be ready to answer each one:

• Directors can be paid. According to GOV.UK's CIC guidance, a CIC's directors can be paid or unpaid, like any company. The same guidance warns that paying directors more than they're worth to the CIC may breach the asset lock.
• Dividends are allowed in some CICs. A CIC limited by shares can pay dividends, but the dividend cap means total dividends can't exceed 35% of profits, so at least 65% is reinvested or used for the community.
• It isn't a charity. A CIC has to pass the Regulator's "community interest test", and a CIC can't also be a registered charity. Funders bound to give only for charitable purposes may still fund a CIC's charitable project, but some won't take the risk.

GOV.UK's guidance is unusually direct about the funding effect of your company type. It says funders tend to look more favourably on applications from CICs limited by guarantee, and a CIC can't switch between limited by guarantee and limited by shares once incorporated. If you haven't set up yet, that's the decision that matters most for grants.

The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation shows the middle ground. Its page says it supports constituted organisations, including charities and non-charities doing charitable work, but it won't fund organisations without measures to guard against disproportionate personal benefit, or work that isn't legally charitable.

National Lottery Funding for CICs, Nation by Nation

The National Lottery Community Fund is the biggest single source of grants for CICs, and the share varies hugely by nation. In its published grants from July 2025 to September 2026, CICs won 27.0% of awards in England but only 4.7% in Northern Ireland.

Grantsights analysis of 360Giving data published by the National Lottery Community Fund (two files covering July 2025 to September 2026), using the organisation type the Fund records for each recipient. Decision times are from each nation's Awards for All page.

Awards for All does most of the work. CICs received 3,243 of 11,443 Awards for All England grants (28%), 260 of 1,088 in Wales (24%), 158 of 1,734 in Scotland (9%) and 40 of 771 in Northern Ireland (5%). Every nation's programme offers £300 to £20,000, for projects of up to two years. In Scotland, arts or sports projects can get up to £10,000 for work lasting up to 12 months.

What the eligibility pages say about CICs, as read on October 17, 2026:

• England, Wales and Northern Ireland: a community interest company limited by guarantee or limited by shares can apply. If it's limited by shares, it must follow the CIC Regulator's guidance on sharing profits.
• Scotland: the page lists "not-for-profit company or Community Interest Company (CIC)" and excludes for-profit companies, including companies limited by shares. A CIC limited by shares in Scotland should check with the Fund before applying.
• All four nations: you need at least two board members or directors who aren't related, married, in a civil partnership or long-term relationship, or living together.

According to the National Lottery Community Fund's England page, the Fund usually funds around 1 in 3 Awards for All England applications, prioritises organisations with smaller incomes, and won't accept applications written for you by private businesses, consultants or bid writers. Our National Lottery Awards for All guide covers each nation's programme in more depth.

CICs aren't limited to small Lottery grants. In the same data, 167 CIC grants were over £100,000. A case in point is Treat Me Right CIC in Folkestone, which received £372,345 in July 2026 through the Fund's London and South East Reaching Communities programme.

Other Funders That Accept CICs in 2026

Beyond the Lottery, 4 more open routes named CICs, or funded them in volume, when checked on October 17, 2026. Each one has limits that rule many CICs out, so read the fine print before applying.

Sport England. According to Sport England, the Movement Fund (opens in a new tab) offers grants or crowdfunding pledges from £300 to £15,000 for community physical activity projects, invests more than £20 million a year, has no deadline, and usually decides within six to eight weeks. Send the application 12 weeks or more before activity begins. A crowdfunding pledge means Sport England gives half of what you need if you raise the other half from your community.

National Lottery Heritage Fund. The Heritage Fund's £10,000 to £250,000 programme (opens in a new tab) names community interest companies among the not-for-profit organisations it can fund, and has no deadline. Your governing document must stop you distributing income or property to members during the organisation's lifetime, and send remaining assets to another charitable or not-for-profit body on winding up. A CIC's asset lock is built for exactly that. The median Heritage Fund grant to a CIC since April 2023 was £38,751, well below its overall median of about £99,770, so CICs tend to win the smaller heritage projects.

Lloyds Bank Foundation. The Foundation's funding page says its Good Place to Live: New Beginnings Fund is open to charities, CIOs and CICs working to prevent homelessness, with four-year unrestricted funding. The Foundation covers England and Wales only. Its published data shows 30 CIC grants between March 2023 and September 2025, with a median of £75,000.

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. Esmée makes around 200 grants a year across 13 funding priorities, and its page says 5% of expressions of interest in 2025 went on to win a grant. A new CIC with turnover under £100,000 isn't eligible, and it doesn't fund capital costs.

If you're a small group still choosing a structure, our community grants UK guide compares unincorporated groups, charities and CICs side by side.

What the CIC Regulator Doesn't Tell You About Funding

The CIC Regulator's guidance covers the asset lock, dividends and the annual CIC34 report in detail, but it says little about money. It approved 8,376 new CICs in 2024 to 2025 and saw 3,832 dissolve, about 10% of the register, and the funding picture explains part of that.

• No Gift Aid. GOV.UK says you must be recognised as a charity or CASC for tax purposes to claim Gift Aid (opens in a new tab), which is worth 25p for every £1 donated. A CIC can't claim it, so public donations are worth less to a CIC than to a charity.
• Fewer trusts, not fewer Lottery grants. In the published data, the share of trust grants going to CICs was under 8% at every large trust except Power to Change, while the two Lottery distributors and Sport England gave CICs between 12% and 23% of their grants. A CIC's grant strategy should start with the Lottery, Sport England and the Heritage Fund.
• The company type is permanent. You can't convert a CIC limited by shares to limited by guarantee, or the reverse. The guidance says the only ways out are dissolving or converting to a charity or CIO.
• Annual reporting is extra work. Every CIC, including a dormant one, must file a CIC34 community interest report with its accounts each year. It's filed with your accounts, so a funder checking your company record can read it.
• Registration doesn't equal fundability. The Regulator approves a CIC if a reasonable person might consider its activities benefit the community. Funders then apply their own, stricter tests on governance, unrelated directors and private benefit.

CIC vs Charity: The Funding Trade-Off

Grantsights compared the eligibility pages behind this guide across 4 funding factors. Charities and CIOs win on trust access and Gift Aid, while CICs win on investment. Use the table to decide which structure fits the money you're likely to need, then take professional advice.

A CIC suits an organisation that earns most of its income from trading, contracts or social investment, and GOV.UK's guidance confirms its directors can be paid. A charity or CIO suits one that expects to rely on trust grants and donations. Many founders start as a CIC for speed and then find the trust doors closed. If that's you, the CIC guidance lists converting to a charity or CIO as one of only two ways out of CIC status, so take advice before you start.

For charity-only funders worth knowing about if you convert, see our grants for small charities guide. If your CIC is really a trading start-up, the honest answer is often loans rather than grants: see our start-up grants UK guide.

How to Apply as a CIC in 6 Steps

These 6 steps follow the eligibility rules funders published as of October 2026, so you don't lose an application on a technicality.

1. Check your company type. Find out whether your CIC is limited by guarantee or by shares on Companies House. That decides which Lottery and trust pages you can use.
2. Fix your board. Every Awards for All programme needs at least two unrelated directors or board members. A CIC run by a married couple doesn't qualify until it adds an unrelated director.
3. Have your asset lock and CIC34 reports ready. The Heritage Fund wants a governing document that blocks distributions to members and sends assets to another not-for-profit body on winding up. Your articles and asset-locked body nomination show that.
4. Start with the funders that say yes. Awards for All in your nation, Sport England (England) for physical activity, and the Heritage Fund for heritage projects. Leave charity-only trusts out of your list.
5. Write it yourself. The Awards for All pages for England, Scotland and Wales say they don't accept applications written for you by consultants or bid writers.
6. Apply early. Awards for All England says to apply at least 16 weeks before you need the money. Scotland and Wales say 12 weeks, and Sport England's Movement Fund also says 12 weeks.

Common Mistakes CICs Make With Grants

The most common mistake is applying to funders that can't fund a CIC at all. Garfield Weston's 8,831 grants since 2023 included none to CICs, and a CIC application to a charity-only trust is rejected before anyone reads the project.

• Assuming "not-for-profit" covers you. Some funders mean registered charities only. Check the exact list of eligible organisation types.
• Underestimating the unrelated-directors rule. Family-run CICs are a common red flag for Lottery eligibility.
• Ignoring the nation. Sport England covers England, Lloyds Bank Foundation England and Wales. Scottish CICs face a lower Awards for All share (9%) and different rules for companies limited by shares.
• Counting on Gift Aid. CICs can't claim it, so a donation appeal raises less than the same appeal by a charity.
• Skipping the CIC34. A late or thin community interest report is easy for a funder to find on Companies House.
• Paying for a bid writer the Lottery won't accept. The Awards for All pages for England, Scotland and Wales say plainly that they don't accept applications written for you by private businesses or consultants.

For a wider view of which UK funders give to smaller organisations, our charity grants UK overview compares the main funders across causes.

Sources Checked

Each source was opened and read on October 17, 2026.

• GOV.UK, Office of the Regulator of Community Interest Companies: Community Interest Companies guidance chapters (opens in a new tab) and CIC Regulator annual report 2024 to 2025 (opens in a new tab)
• GOV.UK (HMRC): Claiming Gift Aid as a charity or CASC (opens in a new tab)
• National Lottery Community Fund: Awards for All England (opens in a new tab), who can apply in England (opens in a new tab), who cannot apply in England (opens in a new tab), how to apply in England (opens in a new tab), Awards for All Scotland (opens in a new tab), Awards for All Wales (opens in a new tab) and Awards for All Northern Ireland (opens in a new tab), including each nation's who-can-apply and who-cannot-apply pages
• Sport England: Movement Fund (opens in a new tab)
• National Lottery Heritage Fund: National Lottery Heritage Grants £10,000 to £250,000 (opens in a new tab)
• Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales: Funding (opens in a new tab)
• Esmée Fairbairn Foundation: Apply for a grant (opens in a new tab)
• Garfield Weston Foundation: Application FAQs (opens in a new tab)
• 360Giving: the 360Giving registry of published grant files (opens in a new tab), including files from the National Lottery Community Fund (July 2025 to June 2026, and July to September 2026), Sport England, the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, the Garfield Weston Foundation, Lloyds Bank Foundation, the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, the Henry Smith Foundation, BBC Children in Need, Comic Relief and Power to Change