Due to the very nature of what we do – connecting people to the energy we all use – National Grid is at the heart of communities and each year we make a significant charitable investment in the UK.
National Grid’s Community Grant Programme is aimed at community organisations and charities in areas where National Grid’s Electricity Transmission work is impacting on local people through our operations and site activities.
We fund projects run by charities and community groups that meet local community needs by providing a range of social, economic and environmental benefits.
If your project meets our criteria you can apply for a grant of up to £20,000*.
*The only exception to this are projects that are linked to National Grid Property who will be subject to a maximum grant award of £5,000. All applicants must clearly demonstrate in their application that they are impacted by National Grid’s Electricity Transmission and Property operations in order to meet the criteria for a community grant.
To apply for a community grant your project must be in an area affected by our operations or activities – but your organisation may be based elsewhere.
We welcome applications from registered charities, social enterprises and non-profit organisations.
In addition, all organisations must have:
a bank account in the name of the organisation with at least two signatures who are unrelated
a constitution (if not a registered charity)
a management committee with a minimum of three people who are unrelated
accounts for the most recent financial year or a financial projection if it’s a new organisation (we will only fund organisations that are financially solvent).
Applying more than once:
Organisations can receive a maximum of one grant each financial year. We will consider a further award in subsequent years if:
we have received an end of grant monitoring form for the previous grant and
the applicant is applying for funding for a ‘new’ project and
the organisation still meets the criteria, including the requirement that the community is being affected by our operations.
We will not provide on-going support to a project that has previously received funding or fund core running costs.
We support projects in the following areas:
Initiatives that support hard-to-reach members of the community improving diversity and inclusion.
Initiatives that support community safety – from electricity safety to protecting at-risk members of society including the elderly and those with special needs.
Initiatives which achieve improved educational attainment through building confidence and self-esteem of children and young people.
Education projects especially those that upskill young people with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) skills.
Activities that promote or support health and wellbeing in the local community, for example addressing energy efficiency.
Initiatives that support employment either through a work placement or retraining schemes which increase the employability of people from lower income communities back into the workplace.
Initiatives that support capacity building for community, charity or voluntary groups to help them improve their services, whether it be reaching more users or extending the hours that the service is available.
Initiatives such as conservation projects that have a direct and positive environmental impact or awareness raising projects that improve environmental behaviour or understanding from recycling to water resource management.
Improvement of the energy efficiency of community facilities.
Initiatives which help people to manage their energy usage and access affordable tariffs.
The advancement of religion. We will fund faith based organisations to undertake secular activities.
Political parties or causes.
Medical research.
Core running costs.
Individuals.
People taking part in treks or expeditions.
Statutory organisations such as local government, schools, the NHS or local councils, including parish councils irrespective of whether they have charitable status.
Retrospective funding - money that has already been spent.
Improvements to land or building over which the applicant does not have tenure.
Works that would be a statutory responsibility.
December 2022
Lodden Community Energy | £16,300 |
Ovesco | £20,000 |
Blenheim Garden RMO | £14,700 |
Friends of Ruskin Park | £7,500 |
Nailsea Community Transport | £20,000 |
Axe District Scouts | £5,000 |
Balsall Common Methodist Church | £9,750 |
Uffington Village Hall | £10,000 |
Wellspring Counselling | £20,000 |
Workshop 305 CIC | £19,100 |
Portishead WASP | £17,000 |
Neadd Goffaa - Penryhndeaudreath Hall | £10,550 |
Gordano RFC | £20,000 |
Porthamdog Jnr Football | £10,000 |
Friends of Trent Vale Trail | £10,000 |
Langton Herring Village Hall | £8,000 |
National Grid’s Community Grant Programme funds projects in communities affected by our operations.
Please read Who can apply and What we fund before applying for a grant. We prefer to receive applications online but if you are unable to do this please call our Community Helpline on 01285 841912 and they will be able to help you.
We will acknowledge your application and you may be contacted by a grants officer to provide additional details.
We accept applications on a quarterly basis (see timeline below). These are then checked against minimum requirements and passed on to be reviewed by a National Grid funding panel, where all applications received will be assessed and scored against evaluation criteria. The highest scoring applications will be awarded funding. You will be notified of the outcome once a decision has been made. If you are successful, we will give you further information and ask you to provide your bank details. Grants are normally paid directly into your organisation’s bank account. If you are unsuccessful we will let you know.
After 12 months, or once your project is complete, we will ask you to report back on progress, confirming how the grant has been used and the impact that has been achieved.
We accept applications on a quarterly basis. See timeline below.
Annual timeline
Q1 Apr – Application window opens; May – Applications reviewed against criteria; June – Panel session/ decisions
Q2 July – Application window opens; Aug - Applications reviewed against criteria; Sept - Panel session/ decisions
Q3 Oct – Application window opens; Nov - Applications reviewed against criteria; Dec - Panel session/ decisions
Q4 Jan – Application window opens; Feb - Applications reviewed against criteria; Mar - Panel session/ decisions
Our application window for March panel is now closed. You can still submit an application via the button below, but please note that you will not receive a final decision until after the June 2023 panel meeting.
Is your project in an area affected by our operations or activities?
Are you a registered charity / recognised community organisation or social enterprise?
Can you show that this grant will have a positive impact on your community and meet our social, economic and/or environmental funding priorities? Please see what we fund to check this.
Have you checked that your organisation and your project are not excluded from applying? Please read who can apply for more information.
Are you applying for a specific project and not core running costs?
If you have previously received a grant from us, was this more than 12 months ago and have you provided a final monitoring form?
If you are applying for a grant linked to a National Grid UK Land and Property project, then please click on the button below to send us an email regarding your request for a grant of up to £5000. To be eligible, you will need to describe how you meet the criteria described above. Property projects are not related to electricity infrastructure, and include such projects as gasholder dismantling, building demolition and land remediation.
UKLP apply here
Below you'll find answers to the questions we get asked the most about applying for our grant programme.
If you need help or would like to discuss your application, please get in touch.