THE WOODROFFE BENTON FOUNDATION SMALL GRANTS PROGRAMME
Grants of between £500 and £2,500 are available to smaller UK registered charities with a focus on projects that improve the quality of life and social engagement for people with severe physical and/or learning disabilities.
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o Application deadline: SUNDAY 31st AUGUST 2025. The programme opens on Friday 1st August 2025 but normally closes once 150 applications have been received, which is fairly soon after the round opens. Early application is therefore advised.
o Funder: The Woodroffe Benton Foundation (founded 1988. Charity number 1075272. Total charitable expenditure during the year ended 2nd December 2024: £768,562 (2023: £468,370)).
o Who can apply: UK registered charities. Applicants to the Small Grants Programme must have an annual income of under £750,000.
o Key words: Core Funding, Young People Aged 18-25, Natural Environment, Improving Employability, Social Engagement, Quality of Life, Relief of Hardship, Education, Health, Physical Wellbeing, Disability, Disadvantaged, Conservation, United Kingdom.
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The Woodroffe Benton Foundation supports smaller UK registered and exempt charities with an annual income of under £750,000 that are providing services in the UK in a range of areas. It is particularly interested in providing core funding, as well as support for specific projects, and in helping smaller charities where a modest grant is likely to be of greater benefit.
The Foundation’s next Small Grants Programme funding round opens on Friday 1st August 2025 with a deadline for applications of Sunday 31st August 2025 or as soon as 150 applications have been received, whichever is the earlier. The funding round has a focus on projects that “focus on projects that improve the quality of life and social engagement for people with severe physical and/or learning disabilities in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland”.
The Foundation does not fund larger charities, branches of national organisations or individuals. Its specific areas of interest are support for:
o Education and youth development
o Environmental conservation/preservation/
o Improving physical wellbeing.
o The provision and/or maintenance of care and accommodation for the sick and elderly, and
o The relief of persons in need, hardship or distress by reason of disaster or as a consequence of social or economic circumstance.
UK registered charities with an annual income of under £750,000 may apply for a one-off grant of between £500 and £2,500. There is no specific requirement for matched funding.
During the year ended 2nd December 2024 the Foundation’s total charitable expenditure was £768,562 (2023: £468,370).
The Foundation doesn’t post its annual accounts with the Charity Commission for England and Wales. However, details of some of the Foundation’s principal beneficiaries can be found on its website.
Funding is not available for:
o Animal welfare organisations whose primary purpose is not conservation of the environment except for those that help the survival of wild species in the UK.
o Bodies affiliated to or a local branch of a national organisation, unless they have a separate charitable number and receive no financial support from the national charity.
o Charities with an annual income of more than £1 million.
o Educational organisations based outside the Derbyshire region – although the trustees may choose to consider these.
o Individuals.
o Multiple grants to the same charity in a 12 month period.
o Museums, historical or heritage organisations.
o Organisations that are not registered with the Charity Commission.
o Organisations that have operating for less than 24 months and therefore do not have at least one full set of accounts.
o Organisations that operate primarily outside the UK or for the benefit of non-UK residents.
o Palliative care.
o Places of worship seeking funds for restoration or upgrade of facilities, or
o Students requesting a grant for tertiary education or a gap year.
Further information, guidance and details about how to apply is available on the Foundation’s website.
The programme opens to applications on Friday 1st August 2025 and is scheduled to close on Sunday 31st August. Notwithstanding the end of August deadline, the window will close as soon as 150 applications have been received, which is likely to be shortly after the round opens on 1st August. Early application is therefore advised.
Contact details for the Foundation are:
Mrs Joanna Noles
Secretary to the Trustees
Woodroffe Benton Foundation
PO Box 309
Cirencester
Gloucestershire
GL7 9HA
Email: secretary@
(The Foundation does not advertise a ‘phone number and prefers to be contacted via the Contact Form on its website.)