Apply for funding

We offer grants and social investment for organisations who share our goals. On this page, you can learn more about applying for grant support.

Find information on what we don't fund, why we turn things down, other sources of funding help and our FAQs. We also host Q&A webinars about applying and how we make decisions.

Social investment support: see our social investment page for detail about applying.

Accessibility: we have additional accessibility-related support available for applicants where our online application process may be a barrier to applying, including an Access Payment to support you to apply.

Download our Guidance and sample application forms.

6 steps to apply for grant funding

Watch our short video to see how to apply. If you're using a screen reader, we share the details of the first three steps below, and further information in our guidance.

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1. Eligibility quiz

Take the quiz to find out if your organisation is eligible for Esmée support.

It also asks how much funding you are looking for, and takes you through what we do and do not support.

Take the quiz
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2. Read the guidance

Read the guidance to decide whether your work could contribute to Esmée’s impact goals.

You can also read more about our aims in OUR NATURAL WORLD, A FAIRER FUTURE, and CREATIVE, CONFIDENT COMMUNITIES.

Read the guidance
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3. Expression of Interest

When you are ready to tell us about your work, you can submit an expression of interest through our website. This is in two parts:

First, some details about your organisation including: charity or company number; total income for the last financial year; number of trustees and non-executive directors; and date established. We’ll also ask you about which aim and priorities your work fits.

Second, we want to know more about what you’re aiming to achieve and how you will make it happen with Esmée funding by answering two questions. You’ll have a total of 300 words to answer both questions.

  1. What would you like Esmée to support?
  2. What’s the change you are focused on achieving and how is your organisation well placed to deliver it?

Your answers to both questions are meant to be short. In addition to these, we will also be using your organisation details and the information on your website to judge whether your work is a potential match for our aims.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI): Once you’ve submitted your Expression of Interest, you will be redirected to a DEI monitoring form to complete about your organisation. We want to use the information we gather to help us identify and address structural inequity, and ensure that the reach of our funding and our funding practices are fair and just.

Response times: We will get back to you within four weeks for applications in A Fairer Future, and six weeks for applications in Creative, Confident Communities and Our Natural World.

Feedback: Because we receive many more requests than we can support, the Expression of Interest is intended to be quick. Unfortunately, this makes it difficult for us to give detailed feedback on applications at this stage.

SUBMIT AN EXPRESSION OF INTEREST