Grants are the provision of funds to an authority, organisation or individual for a specific purpose. They usually come from charitable trusts and foundations, public bodies and the corporate sector. The main sources of small grants are charitable trusts and the National Lottery There are a variety of different types of funding and funder including:

• Charitable trusts generally give something to around one in twenty of the appeals they receive each year. These range from small amounts such as £50 or £200, which require fairly simple and straightforward applications, to larger grants of £10,000 upward that require more detailed and structured applications.
• The National Lottery has committed at least a third of its funding to programmes that focus on local community needs.
• Public sector - local authority and government funding that may be distributed through grant programmes.

Before considering making applications for grant funding however, there are conditions that your group should consider to make sure that this income is the right source for you.