Our Grants for Organisations

Overall aim

The education* of persons under the age of 25 who need financial assistance. *we interpret the word ‘education’ broadly.

Preferred Areas of Impact

• Access and Thrive – Projects which increase the ability of young people who live in our Area of Benefit and are in need of financial assistance – to access and make the most of education.
• International Links – Projects which promote, encourage, enable, create, support, provide or maintain links, friendships, discussions, debates and/or other forms of joint activities or meaningful contact between young people who live in our Area of Benefit and are in need of financial assistance – and young people from other parts of the world.
• Arts and Culture – Projects which promote, encourage, enable, create, support, provide or maintain access to or participation in the arts and/or in cultural events/activities for young people who live in our Area of Benefit and in need of financial assistance.
• Science and Technology – Projects which promote, encourage, enable, create, support, provide or maintain access to or participation in the fields of science and technology for young people who live in our Area of Benefit and are in need of financial assistance.
• Additional Challenges – Projects which promote, encourage, enable, create, support, provide or maintain access to and benefit from education for young people who live in our Area of Benefit, are in need of financial assistance and are facing additional challenges in life. *NB – your project can fit with this ‘Preferred Area of Impact’ alone or can fit with this plus one or more of the others listed above.

Your beneficiaries must live within our area of benefit:

• The City of Norwich

and the parishes of:

• Costessey
• Hellesdon
• Catton
• Sprowston
• Thorpe St. Andrew
• Corpusty

Guidelines when applying for a Standard Grant and next steps

• Pre-application meetings: All applicants must have a meeting with our Chief Executive or our Grants Manager (preferably in person over a cup of coffee) prior to applying for a grant.
• There are 20 pre-application meeting slots available on a first-come, first-served basis for each grants meeting.
• The purpose of the pre-application meeting is to discuss your proposed application, to (hopefully) confirm that your project/organisation is eligible to apply, and then to support you in making the best possible application.
• Please refer to the chart below for important dates before you start the process.

After reading the guidelines, please follow the steps below:

1. Check the funding round dates

Please check the grants round dates in the timetable below to ensure that you are requesting a meeting within the correct application window.

2. Complete the information form

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD AND COMPLETE THE STANDARD FORM (Word format only)

3. Email your request for a pre-application meeting

Send your email request, together with your completed information form, to:

aef.applications@norwichct.org.uk

Important information before submitting request:

Please read the following carefully before submitting your request:

• Submission dates and times: Requests received before the specified opening date and time, or sent to an incorrect email address, will be deleted and will not be considered.
• One email address only: Please send your request to one email address only. Multiple copies of the same request, or requests copied to additional inboxes, will not be considered.
• Organisations name: You must include your organisation’s name in both the subject line of your email and on your completed information form.
• Check the guidance notes: Please read all the guidance notes carefully at the time of submitting your request. Information on the website may change, so it is important to check the latest guidance to avoid disappointment.
• Meeting availability: Pre-application meetings are subject to operational availability. We therefore recommend submitting your request as soon as possible once the funding round opens.

Anguish’s Education Foundation Key Dates – Standard Round
Pre-application meeting request dates	Window of application closes If you have been given the go-ahead to apply following your pre-application meeting, you must submit your completed application before the date and time below.	Total grants budget available for each meeting	Trustees Grants Committee meeting date
09:30am Wed 25th Nov 2026	09:30am Thu 21st January 2027	£95,141k	10am Wed 10th February 2027
09:30am Wed 21st April 2027	09:30am Thu 22nd July 2027	tbc	10am Wed 11th August 2027
09:30am Tue 29th June 2027	09:30am Wed 29th September 2027	tbc	10am Wed 20th October 2027

______________________________________________________________ 

NEW for 2027- MULTI ANNUAL FUNDING GRANTS ROUND

If you are looking for a Multi-Annual Funding Grants Round follow the process below:

AEF Multi-Annual Funding Round (Summary)

AEF grants meeting on Wednesday 19th May 2027 will be dedicated to multi-annual grant applications only. All other AEF grant meetings during 2027 will continue as usual.

AEF will award three organisations a three-year unrestricted grant. The annual grant amount will be confirmed once the 2027 grants budget has been agreed. Each grant will be paid in three annual instalments.

Applicants do not need to specify how they intend to allocate the grant within their application. However, at the end of each year, successful organisations will be required to submit a brief monitoring report (approximately two A4 pages) describing their organisation’s work during the year and explaining how the grant has been used.

AEF intends to run a multi-annual funding round each year. The Norwich Freemens Charity and Norwich Consolidated Charities are also running similar programmes.

Eligibility

Your organisation must carry out a significant amount of work each year with young people in financial need who:

• are under the age of 25
•  live within our area of benefit (The City of Norwich and/or the parishes of Costessey, Hellesdon, Catton, Sprowston, Thorpe St. Andrew, Corpusty)
• your work with them must be educational – we interpret this term broadly

Not eligible

Your organisation will not be eligible to apply for a multi-annual grant if:

•  The majority of your work is based outside our area of benefit (defined ‘as the crow flies)
•  your annual turnover exceeds £2 million, or
•  the grant would simply keep your organisation afloat for three years  without  a realistic long term financial plan.

Application Process

1. Check the funding round dates

Please check the grants round dates in the timetable below.

2. Complete the pre-application information form

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD AND COMPLETE YOUR MULTI FUNDING PRE-APPLICATION INFORMATION FORM (Word format only)

3. Submit your Expression of Interest

Email your Expression of Interest, together with your completed pre-application information form, to:

aef.applications@norwichct.org.uk

The submission window will open at 9:30am on Friday 12th February 2027 and close at 9:30am on Monday 22nd February 2027.

Please note that emails received outside this submission window will not be accepted.

4. Receive your full application invitation

Once the submission window has closed, AEF will review the Expressions of Interest and pre-application information forms. Eligible applicants will then be sent an invitation and application link to complete the full application through our Flexigrant portal.

5. Complete and submit your full application

Submit your completed application through the Flexigrant portal by 9:30am on Thursday 4th March 2027.

6. Longlisting

Trustees will review the applications and create a longlist of up to 20 organisations. All applicants will be notified of the outcome at this stage.

7. Organisational visits

Longlisted organisations will receive a visit from the CEO or Grants Manager during their organisation’s normal working activities. These will be between Monday 22nd March and Tuesday 27th April

8. Shortlisting

Following the visits, trustees will select a shortlist of six organisations. All applicants will be notified of the outcome.

9. Trustee meetings

Shortlisted organisations will be invited to attend a 30-minute meeting with a small number of AEF trustees in Norwich on Wednesday 19th May 2027.

This will be an informal conversation rather than a formal presentation.

10. Grant awards

Trustees will select three organisations to receive a three-year unrestricted grant.

Successful and unsuccessful applicants will be informed of the outcome by email.

Grant recipients will not be eligible to apply for another multi-annual grant until two years after their existing grant has ended. This means that organisations will need to wait five years from the date of their original award before applying again.

Assessment criteria

Grant-making is not an exact science, and we recognise that many applicants will be deserving of support. Not receiving a grant should not be seen as a negative judgement on your organisation or its work.

Applications should describe your organisation as a whole rather than focusing on a specific project.

AEF favours organisations that create long-term positive change rather than focusing solely on short-term impact.

AEF also prioritises organisations for whom receiving this grant would make a significant difference.

Anguish’s Educational Foundation- Multi Annual Funding Round- Key Dates

Expression of interest and form to be received between	Window of application closes	Total grants budget available for each meeting	Trustees Grants Meeting date
09:30am Friday 12th February – Monday 22nd February 2027	09:30am Thursday 4th March 2027	TBC	Wednesday 19th May 2027

Overall aim

The provision of housing accommodation for, and the relief of, persons who are in financial need, hardship or distress, or who are in financial need and sick, convalescent, disabled or infirm by relieving their suffering or assisting their recovery.

Preferred Areas of Impact

• Roofs and Support – Projects which make a significant contribution to the provision of housing accommodation for people who are in financial need and resident in the city of Norwich. This includes projects relating to the accommodation itself and projects providing support to those in need of, or living in, such accommodation.
• Money – Projects which make a significant contribution to the quality of life of people who are in financial need, financial hardship or financial distress and are resident in the city of Norwich. This includes projects directly addressing financial issues and projects providing respite from financial issues.
• Health – Projects which make a significant contribution to relieving the suffering or assisting the recovery of people who are in financial need, resident in the city of Norwich and are sick or convalescent. This does not include projects relating to the provision of private health care.
• Discrimination, Exclusion and ‘Difference’ – Projects which make a significant difference to improving the quality of life of people who are in financial need, resident in the city of Norwich and experiencing lack of equality of opportunity and/or discrimination as a result of being disabled or Deaf, or of identifying/being seen as identifying as being ‘different’ from the majority.

Guidelines when applying for a Standard Grant and next steps

• Pre-application meetings: All applicants must have a meeting with our Chief Executive or our Grants Manager (preferably in person over a cup of coffee) prior to applying for a grant.
• There are 20 pre-application meeting slots available on a first-come, first-served basis for each grants meeting.
• The purpose of the pre-application meeting is to discuss your proposed application, to (hopefully) confirm that your project/organisation is eligible to apply, and then to support you in making the best possible application.
• Please refer to the chart below for important dates before you start the process.

After reading the guidelines, please follow the steps below:

1. Check the funding round dates

Please check the grants round dates in the timetable below to ensure that you are requesting a meeting within the correct application window.

2. Complete the information form

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD AND COMPLETE THE STANDARD FORM (Word format only)

3. Email your request for a pre-application meeting

Send your email request, together with your completed information form, to:

ncc.applications@norwichct.org.uk

Important information before submitting request:

Please read the following carefully before submitting your request:

• Submission dates and times: Requests received before the specified opening date and time, or sent to an incorrect email address, will be deleted and will not be considered.
• One email address only: Please send your request to one email address only. Multiple copies of the same request, or requests copied to additional inboxes, will not be considered.
• Organisations name: You must include your organisation’s name in both the subject line of your email and on your completed information form.
• Check the guidance notes: Please read all the guidance notes carefully at the time of submitting your request. Information on the website may change, so it is important to check the latest guidance to avoid disappointment.
• Meeting availability: Pre-application meetings are subject to operational availability. We therefore recommend submitting your request as soon as possible once the funding round opens.

Norwich Consolidated Charities – Key Dates (Standard Round)
Pre-application meeting request dates Please refer to full guidance notes above; we will accept the first 20 requests for a meeting, so we recommend requesting these as soon as possible.	Window of application closes If you have been given the go-ahead to apply following your pre-application meeting, you must submit your completed application before the date and time below.	Total grants budget available for each meeting	Trustees Grants Committee meeting date
09:30am Mon 2nd Nov 2026	09:30am Thur 14th Jan 2027	tbc	10am Mon 1st February 2027
09:30am Tue 19th Jan 2027	09:30am Wed 21st April 2027	tbc	10am Mon 10th May 2027
09:30am Tue 22nd June 2027	09:30am Wed 22nd September 2027	tbc	10am Mon 11th October 2027

_______________________________________________________________________

NEW for 2027- MULTI ANNUAL FUNDING GRANTS ROUND

If you are looking for a Multi-Annual Funding Grants Round follow the process below:

NCC Multi-Annual Funding Round (Summary)

NCC grants meeting on Monday 26th July 2027 will be dedicated to multi-annual grant applications only. All other NCC grant meetings during 2027 will continue as usual.

NCC will award three organisations a three-year unrestricted grant. The annual grant amount will be confirmed once the 2027 grants budget has been agreed. Each grant will be paid in three annual instalments.

Applicants do not need to specify how they intend to allocate the grant within their application. However, at the end of each year, successful organisations will be required to submit a brief monitoring report (approximately two A4 pages) describing their organisation’s work during the year and explaining how the grant has been used.

NCC intends to run a multi-annual funding round each year. The Norwich Freemens Charity and Anguish’s Educational Foundation are also running similar programmes.

Eligibility

Your organisation must carry out a significant amount of work each year with people in financial need who:

• are homeless or at risk of homelessness, or
• have significant mental or physical illness, or
• have a disability, or
• face discrimination or lack of opportunity due to being perceived as ‘different’.
• live within the City of Norwich.

Non-eligibility

Your organisation will not be eligible to apply for a multi-annual grant if:

• most of your work is outside Norwich,
• your annual turnover exceeds £2 million, or
• the grant would simply keep your organisation afloat for three years without a realistic long‑term financial plan.

Application Process

1. Check the funding round dates

Please check the grants round dates in the timetable below.

2. Complete the pre-application information form

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD AND COMPLETE YOUR MULTI FUNDING PRE-APPLICATION INFORMATION FORM (Word format only)

3. Submit your Expression of Interest

Email your Expression of Interest, together with your completed pre-application information form, to:

ncc.applications@norwichct.org.uk.

The submission window will open at 9:30am on Wednesday 14th April 2027 and close at 9:30am on Friday 23rd April 2027

Please note that emails received outside this submission window will not be accepted.

4. Receive your full application invitation

Once the submission window has closed, NCC will review the Expressions of Interest and pre-application information forms. Eligible applicants will then be sent an invitation and application link to complete the full application through our Flexigrant portal.

5. Complete and submit your full application

Submit your completed application through the Flexigrant portal by 9:30am on Thursday 6th May 2027.

6. Longlisting

Trustees will review the applications and create a longlist of up to 20 organisations. All applicants will be notified of the outcome at this stage.

7. Organisational visits

Longlisted organisations will receive a visit from the CEO or Grants Manager during their organisation’s normal working activities. These visits will be between Wednesday 26th May and Wednesday 30th June 2027

8. Shortlisting

Following the visits, trustees will select a shortlist of six organisations. All applicants will be notified of the outcome.

9. Trustee meetings

Shortlisted organisations will be invited to attend a 30-minute meeting with a small number of NCC trustees in Norwich on Monday 26th July 2027.

This will be an informal conversation rather than a formal presentation.

10. Grant awards

Trustees will select three organisations to receive a three-year unrestricted grant.

Successful and unsuccessful applicants will be informed of the outcome by email.

Grant recipients will not be eligible to apply for another multi-annual grant until two years after their existing grant has ended. This means that organisations will need to wait five years from the date of their original award before applying again.

Assessment criteria

Grant-making is not an exact science, and we recognise that many applicants will be deserving of support. Not receiving a grant should not be seen as a negative judgement on your organisation or its work.

Applications should describe your organisation as a whole rather than focusing on a specific project.

NCC favours organisations that create long-term positive change rather than focusing solely on short-term impact.

NCC also prioritises organisations for whom receiving this grant would make a significant difference.

Norwich Consolidated Charities- Multi Annual Funding Round- Key Dates

Expression of interest and form to be received between	Window of application closes	Total grants budget available for each meeting	Trustees Grants Meeting date
09:30am Wednesday 14th April – 09:30am Friday 23rd April	Thu 6th May 2027	TBC	Monday 26th July 2027

******** 2026 Norwich Freemens Charity Procedure Change ******

There is a change in the Pre-Application Meeting Request process. This change applies only to The Norwich Freemen Charity, see full details below:

Priority funding areas

• Organisations applying must demonstrate an educational benefit of the project which they are applying for funding for (with the term ‘education’ being interpreted reasonably flexibly) or that the project concerns the provision of facilities for recreation and other leisure time occupation, or that it makes a significant contribution to the cultural life and general benefit of the inhabitants of our ‘Area of benefit’.

Your beneficiaries must live within our area of benefit

The beneficiaries of the project you are applying for must live within a 20-mile radius of the City of Norwich Guildhall.(measured’as the crow flies)

Applying for a Grant

Pre-application meetings

All organisations wishing to apply for a grant must first attend a pre-application meeting with our Chief Executive or Grants Manager.

Where possible, these meetings will take place in person, providing an opportunity to meet over a cup of coffee and discuss your organisation’s work before making an application.

There are 20 pre-application meeting slots available for each grants meeting. Due to the high demand for these appointments, we have introduced a selection process to ensure that all applicant organisations have a fair opportunity to be considered.

Application process for the Standard Grants Round

After reading the guidance notes above, please follow the steps below to request a pre-application meeting:

1. Check the grants round dates in the timetable below:

Please check the grants round dates in the timetable below, paying particular attention to the specified date and 15-minute submission window.

2. Complete the pre-application information form

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD AND COMPLETE YOUR STANDARD PRE-APPLICATION INFORMATION FORM (Word format only)

3. Email your request for a pre-application meeting

During the specified 15-minute submission window, email your request for a pre-application meeting, together with your completed information form, to the relevant email address shown in the timetable below.

Please ensure that you send your request to the correct email address.

4. Selection of meeting appointments

All requests received at the correct email address within the specified 15-minute submission window will be entered into a random selection process (a digital draw).

Twenty organisations will be selected and invited to attend a pre-application meeting with our Chief Executive or Grants Manager.

Please note that submitting a request does not guarantee a meeting. Only the 20 organisations selected through the draw will be offered an appointment.

5. Attend your pre-application meeting

If selected, you will be invited to attend a pre-application meeting before submitting a grant application.

Important information before submitting your request

Please read the following carefully before submitting your request:

• 15-minute submission window: Your email request and completed information form must be received at the correct email address within the specified 15-minute window shown in the timetable. Requests received before the opening time or after the closing time will not be accepted and will be deleted.
• Correct email address: Requests sent to an incorrect email address will be deleted and will not be entered into the selection process.
• One email address only: Please send your request to one email address only. Sending multiple copies or copying in additional inboxes may delay the processing of your request.
• Fair selection process: All eligible requests received within the specified window will be entered into a random digital draw. Twenty organisations will be selected for a pre-application meeting.

Important information about future applications

If, following your pre-application meeting, your organisation submits an application and is successful in receiving a grant or pledge of any amount, your organisation will not be eligible to apply to Norwich Freemen’s Charity for the following three grants meetings.

The Norwich Freemens Charity – Key Dates (Standard Round)

Please refer to full guidance notes above; we will accept the first 20 requests for a meeting, within 15 minute window	Closing date for applications, If you have been given the go-ahead to apply following your pre-application meeting	Total grants budget available for each meeting	Trustees Grants Committee meeting date
09:30am-09:45a.m Tue 5th January 2027	09:30am Thu 18th March 2027	TBC	10am Mon 12th April 2027
09:30am-09:45am Tue 23rd March 2027	09:30am Wed 23rd June 2027	TBC	10am Mon 12th July 2027
09:30am-09:45am Tue 1st June 2027	09:30am Wed 1st Sept 2027	TBC	10am Mon 20th Sept 2027

 

NEW THE NORWICH FREEMENS CHARITY MULTI-ANNUAL FUNDING ROUND

NFC Multi-Annual Funding Round (Summary)

NFC’s grants meeting on Monday 14 December 2026 will be dedicated to multi-annual grant applications only. All other NFC grant meetings during 2027 will continue as usual.

NFC will award three organisations a three-year unrestricted grant. The annual grant amount will be confirmed once the 2027 grants budget has been agreed. Each grant will be paid in three annual instalments.

Applicants do not need to specify how they intend to allocate the grant within their application. However, at the end of each year, successful organisations will be required to submit a brief monitoring report (approximately two A4 pages) describing their organisation’s work during the year and explaining how the grant has been used.

NFC intends to run a multi-annual funding round each year. Anguish’s Educational Foundation and Norwich Consolidated Charities are also running similar programmes.

Eligibility

Your organisation must carry out a significant amount of work each year which:

• Is of educational benefit (with the term ‘educational’ being interpreted reasonably flexibly); or
• Provides facilities for recreation or other leisure-time occupation; or
• Makes a significant contribution to the cultural life or general benefit of members of the community.
• Most of your beneficiaries must live within a 20-mile radius of Norwich Guildhall.

Not eligible

Your organisation cannot apply if:

• Most of your work takes place outside our area of benefit (defined as an ‘as the crow flies’ 20-mile radius of Norwich Guildhall).
• Your annual turnover exceeds £2 million.
• The grant would simply keep your organisation afloat for three years without a realistic long-term financial plan.

Application process

1. Check the funding round dates

Please check the grants round dates in the timetable below.

2. Complete the pre-application information form

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD AND COMPLETE YOUR MULTI ANNUAL PRE-APPLICATION INFORMATION FORM (Word format only)

3. Submit your Expression of Interest

Email your Expression of Interest, together with your completed pre-application information form, to

nfc.applications@norwichct.org.uk

The submission window will open at 9:30am on Tuesday 22nd September 2026 and close at 9:30am on Tuesday 29th September 2026

Please note that emails received outside this submission window will not be accepted.

4. Receive your full application invitation

Once the submission window has closed, NFC will review the Expressions of Interest and pre-application information forms. Eligible applicants will then be sent an invitation and application link to complete the full application through our Flexigrant portal.

5. Complete and submit your full application

Submit your completed application through the Flexigrant portal by 9:30am on Friday 9th October 2026

6. Longlisting

Trustees will review the applications and create a longlist of up to 20 organisations. All applicants will be notified of the outcome at this stage.

7. Organisational visits

Longlisted organisations will receive a visit from the CEO or Grants Manager during their organisation’s normal working activities. These visits will be between Monday 18th October and Monday 22nd November 2027

8. Shortlisting

Following the visits, trustees will select a shortlist of six organisations. All applicants will be notified of the outcome.

9. Trustee meetings

Shortlisted organisations will be invited to attend a 30-minute meeting with a small number of NFC trustees in Norwich on Monday 14 December 2026.

This will be an informal conversation rather than a formal presentation.

10. Grant awards

Trustees will select three organisations to receive a three-year unrestricted grant.

Successful and unsuccessful applicants will be informed of the outcome by email.

Grant recipients will not be eligible to apply for another multi-annual grant until two years after their existing grant has ended. This means that organisations will need to wait five years from the date of their original award before applying again.

Assessment criteria

Grant-making is not an exact science, and we recognise that many applicants will be deserving of support. Not receiving a grant should not be seen as a negative judgement on your organisation or its work.

Applications should describe your organisation as a whole rather than focusing on a specific project.

NFC favours organisations that create long-term positive change rather than focusing solely on short-term impact.

NFC also prioritises organisations for whom receiving this grant would make a significant difference.

Norwich Freemen’s Charity – Multi Annual Funding Round
Expression of interest and form to be received between	Window to receive your  application closes If you have been given the go-ahead to apply following your pre-application meeting application before the date and time below	Total grants budget available for each meeting	Trustees Grants Committee meeting date
CLOSED	*****CLOSED for further applications *****		Monday 14th December 2026
2027 The Date will be added after this round is completed