The Grocers' Charity
Background
The Grocers’ Charity awards approximately £1 million each year to UK-registered charities. It typically provides one-off grants and receives over 1,000 applications annually, awarding around 14%.
Objectives of Fund
The charity supports programmes that reduce the disadvantages people experience due to their circumstances or a lack of financial means. It funds work across the following categories:
- Relief of Poverty: Training, facilities, parenting support, homelessness support, and work in areas of high deprivation.
- Youth: Building young people's strengths, empowering them to achieve goals, and supporting well-being through peer support or group activities.
- Older People: Services that end social exclusion, befriending programmes, and support to enhance daily life at home.
- Disability: Tackling barriers to inclusion and providing front-line support for disabled people.
- Health & Well-being: Ethical medical research, purchasing equipment, and supporting those with mental health concerns.
- Military Veterans: Innovative programmes for employment, education, and emotional well-being of service people and their families.
- Arts & Culture: Developing creative talent for artists with financial challenges or disabilities, and engaging marginalised audiences.
- Heritage & History: Conserving and restoring historic buildings (excluding places of worship) and historical objects or paintings.
- Environment: Protecting habitats, enhancing biodiversity, educating on behavioural change, and countering pollution and climate change.
Value Notes
One-off grants of up to £5,000 are typically awarded.
Who Can Apply
Applications are only accepted from charities registered with the Charity Commission of England and Wales, the Scottish Charity Regulator, or the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland.
- For Medical Charities, the turnover limit is £15 million.
- For all other categories, the turnover limit is £500,000.
Location
United Kingdom. The charity's beneficiaries must be within the UK.
Restrictions
The following are not eligible to apply:
- Charities with a turnover over £500,000 (except Medical Charities, where the limit is £15m).
- Non-UK registered charities (e.g. Community Interest Companies, Mutual Societies).
- Charities whose beneficiaries are overseas.
- Individuals.
- Places of worship.
- Educational establishments (schools, colleges, universities).
Other specific exclusions are listed under each funding category on the website.
How To Apply
Applications are only accepted via the online application form on the Grocers' Charity website. This is a two-stage process:
- Initial Application: Submit via the online form by the deadline.
- Notification: Up to 3 weeks after the deadline, applicants are informed if they will proceed to the second stage.
- Deadline for initial application: 1 September 2026.
- Unsolicited information sent by post or email is not accepted. Due to capacity, the charity is unable to provide feedback on unsuccessful applications.
Contact The Grocers' Charity for further information.
