How to find funding for a community project in Greater Manchester

Start by deciding whose need it is: an organisation’s, a person’s or a business’s. Each is funded from different places. Then search the funder’s own listing, check eligibility on that programme’s own page, and prepare before you apply. IT’S POSSIBLE NOW does not award grants; our funding hub collects the official places to search.

Three needs, three places to look

Each list is built for its own audience. A community grant programme does not pay one person’s rent, and a personal grant does not pay for a business’s stock.

Where to search

Find a grant is the government’s service for searching government grants. It lets you filter grants, check whether you are eligible and see how to apply.

The National Lottery Community Fund lists its programmes with filters for country, amount and status: coming soon, open to applications, closed to applications and archived. Filter by England and by programmes that are open, and read each programme’s own pages.

10GM is a joint venture that supports the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector across the ten boroughs of Greater Manchester. It publishes local news and some local funding. A fund named on 10GM is one programme with its own rules, not a general open fund.

GOV.UK finance and support for your business lists schemes you can filter by type: finance, equity, grant, loan, expertise and advice, and recognition awards.

Turn2us Grants Search matches people who are struggling financially with grants and other help from over 1,700 UK organisations. Turn2us does not take applications from individuals directly, and some funds need a referral from an organisation that supports you.

Grants, loans and investment are different

A grant is money you normally do not pay back, given for an agreed purpose. A loan is repaid, usually with interest. Equity investment means an investor takes a share in a business. Advice and recognition awards are support, not money.

Read which one a scheme offers before you apply, and how much of it, if any, has to be repaid.

Check eligibility on the programme’s own page

Rules differ between programmes run by the same funder. Two examples from The National Lottery Community Fund, checked on 1 November 2026:

• National Lottery Awards for All England lists community interest companies limited by guarantee or by shares among the organisations that can apply. A CIC limited by shares must follow the Regulator of Community Interest Companies’ guidance on sharing profits. A company must have at least 2 directors who are not related.
• Reaching Communities England also lists CICs, but a CIC must have an asset lock, and every organisation needs at least 2 board or committee members who are not related.

These are examples of how rules vary, not a statement that any organisation qualifies. Funders change their programmes, so read the current page on the day you apply.

A caution about older Greater Manchester pages

Older pages still name GMCVO as the manager of the Enterprising Communities Fund. Access, The Foundation for Social Investment, says the fund was originally delivered by GMCVO with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and is now managed by Key Fund, after GMCVO entered administration in 2024. Check who runs a fund today before you rely on an old link.

Check the organisation behind an offer

If an organisation offers you funding, look it up yourself on an official register:

• Companies House lets you search by company name, number or officer name. Its own guidance says the register is not intended to be comprehensive and its checks are limited.
• The charity register covers registered charities in England and Wales, with links to the separate registers for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

A matching entry shows that an organisation exists. It does not show that the person contacting you acts for it, or that money is available. Never pay a fee to receive a grant.

Prepare before you apply

Most applications ask for the same things, so gather them once:

• your organisation’s legal name, structure and registration number, if it has one
• a short description of the project: who it is for, what will happen and what will change
• a budget that shows what the money pays for
• the names of the board or committee members, if the funder asks for them
• how you will know whether the project worked

Funding IT’S POSSIBLE NOW

If you represent an organisation that is considering support for our work, Fund or partner with us explains how to start a conversation. An enquiry commits neither side. For everything else, Find funding keeps the official places to search in one list.