There are are thousands of grant-making trusts in the UK. Here are some that may be relevant to grassroots groups in Bristol working for social justice and equality. You will need to look carefully at their criteria to see if you are eligible – most will want groups to be registered and some may only be open to applications from groups that have received some funding before.

Bristol funders

(supporting groups in the Bristol area only)

Bristol Charities – focus on the relief of poverty, providing grants to individuals facing appliance poverty

Bristol Pride Community Fund – for LGBT+ projects run by, and for the community. Open to individuals, collectives, organisations or small charities in Bristol and the surrounding areas

Bristol Water Better Futures Fund – for community groups involved with physical activity, education, health and wellbeing, and positive environmental impacts and for alleviating hardship

Denman Charitable Trust – supports a range of Bristol registered charities, working around homelessness, rehabilitation, children and young people, elderly, and support for the development of small charities and those struggling to raise funds

John James Bristol Foundation – funding in the areas of Children and Young People, Education, Health, Social Welfare, Older people plus support for community capital projects

National Benevolent Charity – focus on the relief of poverty, grants to not for profit organisations and individuals

The Nisbet Trust – supporting work in the areas of Children and Young People, The Arts, Prevention of Homelessness, Community Cohesion

Origin Foundation – a new initiative helping to create a brighter future for more young people in Bristol

Sarah Jayne Charitable Trust – support for small, under-represented and under-funded registered charities

St Monica Trust – work with individuals, organisations and communities to improve the lives of older people in the region, through joint projects and funding for organisations and individuals

Triodos Foundation – supporting charities and voluntary groups working in the areas of promoting quality of life and human dignity for all, enabling people who are excluded to live more fulfilling lives, children and young people, nature and environmental protection, contributing to a shift in the way the public or voluntary sectors support the local community

Van Nest Foundation – providing funds for organisations working for social change and caring for children and young people. Support community organisations trying include those who have become marginalised, those who want to promote a sense of place and environmental improvement and those whose work encourages the systemic change necessary to alleviate poverty and make us a more just and less unequal society.

Quartet Community Foundation – has a number of programmes, including the Express Grant which supports small-medium size local grassroot groups working with communities experiencing inequalities and disadvantage

Wessex Water Foundation – activities that aim to build stronger communities and improve the lives of local people, initiatives that aim to improve the environment and build more sustainable communities and activities that will benefit communities in the Avonmouth and Lawrence Weston Ward, including Shirehampton.

Other companies based in Bristol or with branches here that support local charities include Greggs Community Foundation, Co-op Local Community Fund, Persimmon Homes, Asda Community Foundation, Tesco, The Screwfix Foundation, Bristol Myers Squibb, Burgess Salmon, Warburtons and Wickes Community Programme.

National funders

AB Charitable Trust – promotes human dignity and defends the human rights of marginalised and excluded people

Baobab Foundation – fund dedicated to Black African/Caribbean and Global Majority collectives, organisations and individuals dismantling systems of oppression for our communities in their work

Baring Foundation – promoting human rights and inclusion – Strengthening Civil Society and Arts programmes

Barrow Cadbury Trust – seek long-term solutions by looking at root causes of inequality – Criminal Justice, Migration and Economic Justice programmes

Barry Amiel & Norman Melburn Trust – aims to advance public education, learning and knowledge in all aspects of the philosophy of Marxism, the history of socialism, and the working class movement

Ben and Jerry’s Foundation – supporting work to create systemic change and positive narrative change for refugees and asylum seekers. Groups with under £500k income lacking access to mainstream support

Blagrave Trust – supporting groups working towards a world where all young people have hope, access to the support they need, a stake in society and influence over their futures (focus on South East)

Bromley Trust – supporting human rights and prison reform

Children in Need – supporting projects in areas identified as having high levels of children and young people living in poverty

Civic Power Fund – a new fund for grassroots community organising

Comic Relief – Alleviating poverty and tackling the injustices that keep people in poverty. Investing in organisations led by and for communities experiencing inequity, exclusion and discrimination

Edge Fund – supporting small grassroots groups that challenges abuses of power and aims to bring an end to systems that cause injustice (a bit like Redistro but on a national scale)

Esmee Fairbairn Foundation – aiming to improve our natural world, secure a fairer future and strengthen the bonds in communities in the UK

Friends Provident Foundation – offering grant funding to support projects and organisations, who are working to shape a fairer, more sustainable economy

Garfield Weston Foundation – supporting a wide range of charities that make a positive difference, working in different sectors in the UK. These include welfare, youth, community, environment, education, health, arts, heritage and faith

Groundwork Grassroots Grants – funding for communities that rank as being within the top 15% on the English Indices of Deprivation and organisations that work with and support communities classed as marginalised or vulnerable

Henry Smith Foundation – Supporting families to give their young children a strong start, Helping young people move into adulthood with confidence, skills and hope and Supporting people to rebuild their lives after abuse, displacement or prison

Hilden Charitable Fund – funding smaller registered charities to support social justice and to tackle disadvantage. Focus on Asylum Seekers and Refugees and projects that support prisoners (especially women)

John Ellerman Foundation – aim is to advance wellbeing for people, society and the natural world – by supporting work that builds greater trust and connection, reducing polarisation within society and increasing the levels of participation and influence in the political process, and advancing equity and justice for marginalised communities

Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust – supports people who address the root causes of conflict and injustice, including the Rights and Justice programme that supports those who uphold equality and human rights in support of racial and religious minorities

Lloyds Bank Foundation – partner with small and local charities working towards a more just and compassionate society, including groups led by Deaf and Disabled people and people who are experiencing inequity because of their race or ethnicity. Funded by the profits of Lloyds Banking Group.

Matthew Good Foundation – funding for small (annual income under £50k) local charities, voluntary groups or social enterprises that are making a big impact on communities, people or the environment. Looking for innovation, potential to grow and strong leadership

National Lottery Community Fund – funding a broad range of projects that support people and communities across the UK to thrive. Often a first step in funding for small groups

Open Society Foundation – give thousands of grants to groups and individuals that work on issues we focus on—promoting justice, equity, and human rights

Orange Tree Trust – aims to advance citizenship and community development by supporting projects that give voice to marginalised groups and communities and to advance the well-being, education, culture, health and social needs of refugees, the homeless and those suffering from mental health issues

Postcode Local Trust – supports smaller charities and good causes in West of England to make a difference to their community for the benefit of people and planet, including supporting marginalised groups

Phoenix Way – dedicated to non-profit organisations working with Black and racially minoritised young people at risk of violence

Polden Puckham Charitable Foundation – working to influence policy, attitudes and values with particular consideration to organisations that are youth led, organisations with an intersectional justice approach to their work and their practice, and small, pioneering headquarters organisations with a bold vision

Project Tallowah – an emerging Black Feminist resourcing and community initiative based in the UK

Rosa – supporting the women and girls sector, including the Rise Fund supporting Black and racially minoritised-led women’s and girls’ organisations and Voices from the Frontline funding campaigning and influencing work

Sir Halley Stewart Trust – fund innovative Social projects where the Trust tends to be a ‘first funder’, primarily awarded for under-funded causes, rather than those with higher profiles that gain a lot of public attention and may find it easier to attract funding

Sported – small grants for projects and initiatives that address local need, promote social inclusion, and strengthen the communities in underserved areas

Thirty Percy Foundation – providing direct and unrestricted investment to individuals – activists, social justice warriors, artists, thinkers and dreamers who are committed to creating alternative systems and visions, generating new knowledge and cultivating community

Tudor Trust – advancing racial justice by resourcing power in communities. Supporting communities building power, changing systems, and creating deep, long-term change

Unbound Philanthropy – seeking to contribute to a vibrant, welcoming society and an immigration system rooted in justice

UnLtd – funding and support for founders of the social ventures. At least 50% of Awards support social entrepreneurs who come from a disabled and/or Black, Asian or minority ethnic background

Wainright Trusts – wide range of charitable projects with an emphasis on social reform and tackling the root causes of social inequity, also gives grants for political and pressure group work that a registered charity could not support

Woodward Charitable Trust – grants to registered charities and CICs supporting disadvantaged families with young children up to age 11, and organisations that work directly with children of the same age group (0-11 years)