Fund Aims
The Making Local Life Better Fund is made up of money from private donor grant-giving funds that the Community Foundation manages. Donors’ funds are like their own charitable grant-giving foundations; they choose their aims, and usually the grants they give. We summarise for them, and they can see your application.
Donors choose different charitable aims, but all support local communities, and many particularly want to support smaller* grassroots community, voluntary and charitable groups improving the lives of local people, particularly who are vulnerable, under-represented or disadvantaged.
*Charities with large free reserves, surplus income, or over £1M income may be considered lower priority.
Many donors are keen to support groups who are responding to emerging and known needs in the community, or who are providing services or support at low or no cost to people who wouldn’t otherwise be able to access the services provided. Your application will be stronger if you can show how your group is doing this.
Available Funding
You can apply for a grant for work anywhere in Leicestershire and Rutland, for between £1,000 and £3,000. You need to spend the grant within a year of receiving it. You can apply to cover costs such as:
- Core costs
- Staffing
- Training and skills development
- Rent, hire, premise cost
- Volunteer expenses
- Equipment and materials (that directly benefit people or your project: please note that larger items such as furniture or vehicles are rarely selected by donors)
Deadlines:
Applications are reviewed 3 times a year, and you will always be notified of the outcome. All grant applications are first fully assessed by a trained assessor. They are then reviewed by a panel and/or a donor directly. This can take time, so we provide open, close and notification dates to help you plan (these can be found on the website). We recommend your project starts 1 month after the notification date.
| March 2025 Round CLOSED | Application window opens Monday 25th November 2024 9am |
| Application window closes Monday 20th January 2025 9am | |
| Notification of outcome by end of March/mid-April 2025 | |
| July 2025 Round OPEN (Current Round) | Application window opens Monday 17th February 2025 9am |
| Application window closes Monday 19th May 2025 9am | |
| Notification of outcome by end of July/mid-August 2025 | |
| November 2025 Round | Application window opens Monday 9th June 2025 9am |
| Application window closes Monday 22nd September 2025 9am | |
| Notification of outcome by end of November/mid-December 2025 |
Before submitting an application, please ensure you read the full eligibility guidelines and guidance notes
If you have any questions, please contact the grant team via
Email: grants@llrcommunityfoundation.org.uk
or telephone: 0116 262 4805
Please note that the inbox and phone are not monitored on Fridays or weekends.
