For the second year, United St Saviour’s Charity is devolving our Small Grants funding into Funding Differently — Southwark’s collaborative and participatory grants programme.
Funding Differently grew from what Southwark’s voluntary and community sector told us through Community Southwark’s State of the Sector report: funders should collaborate more, funding processes should be simpler, and the sector should have a greater say in how funding decisions are made.
Last year, we took the decision to move our Small Grants funding into this collaborative approach. This year, we’re continuing that commitment. Rather than operating a separate UStSC Small Grants round, our funding forms part of a wider pooled fund, with funders working collaboratively and voluntary and community sector organisations directly involved in deciding where the funding goes.
Funding Differently 2026/27 launches Wednesday 9 September 2026, with £500,000 available over two years.
What the fund offers
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£5,000 and £10,000 unrestricted grants for two years -
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A simple, light-touch application process -
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No application budget -
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Clear and transparent scoring guidance -
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Voluntary and community sector organisations directly involved in decision-making -
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One-to-one application support -
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A learning-focused approach rather than traditional monitoring reports
For UStSC, Funding Differently is about continuing to put our principles into practice: collaboration between funders, sharing power with communities, and reducing unnecessary bureaucracy.
Applications open Wednesday 9 September 2026.
Online information session
Join an online information session on 21 September, alongside one-to-one support from Community Southwark for organisations that would like help understanding the process or developing their application.