*Please note: Our Spring 2025 large open grants round has been paused until further notice. Please see here for more information*

 

United St Saviour’s Charity normally operates two open grants programmes –  Large Grants and Small Grants.  Both focus on following themes:

  • Strong, resilient communities: that communities in Southwark are inclusive, strong and supportive of each other.
  • Positive ageing: older people in Southwark are experiencing a great quality of life.
  • Levelling the playing field: that Southwark is a more equal place, with all opportunities open to, and accessed by all.

Large Grants Programme

The Large Grants Programme normally opens for applications twice a year: in spring and late summer/autumn (normally March/April and August/ September).

Large grants applications involve a two stage process, starting with a simple Expressions of Interest followed by a longer full application for shortlisted groups.  There is a minimum 6 month lead-in time.

We award both unrestricted and project/service grants, but we can only give unrestricted grants to groups working in Southwark alone.  We know how tough the fundraising environment is at the moment so we are trying to prioritise smaller, Southwark-based groups as much as we can, as well as groups that are representative of the population groups they work with.  Get in touch with Jason Charles (JCharles@ustsc.org.uk) for more information.

Small Grants Programme

The Small Grants Programme also opens twice a year – in spring and autumn.

We have seen an increased demand for small grants across the borough, so our small grants are now maximum £3,000. Grants for street/estate parties or similar one-off events are normally awarded a flat £1,000.  We have a quick turn-around for small grants – with decisions made within 2-3 weeks from when the portal is closed.

At the moment there is around a 30% chance of application success for both our large and small grants.  We encourage organisations to get in touch before applying as this is helpful for both parties. As much as possible we give feedback if you are not successful (but this is not automatic, we ask you get back in touch for a chat or email feedback).