Grants for CICs (community interest companies)
35 live grants. Updated daily.
Community interest companies sit between business and charity, and that makes funding tricky. A CIC has an asset lock — its assets and profits are committed to its social purpose — but it is not a registered charity, and many grant funders restrict their programmes to registered charities only, which excludes CICs. This page focuses on the funding that does accept CICs. In practice that includes large parts of the National Lottery Community Fund, community foundations, social-enterprise and place-based programmes, and many local council and UK Shared Prosperity Fund schemes. Subvention matches your CIC against live grants and shows which accept your structure, with a link to each funder's own page so you can confirm before you apply. Because eligibility wording varies, always check the funder's criteria — we flag rather than guess where a grant's stance on CICs isn't clear.
Grants change frequently — always confirm eligibility, amounts and deadlines with the funder via the linked source. Subvention does not guarantee funding.
Why some funders exclude CICs
Many trusts and foundations are constituted to give only to registered charities, so a CIC — even a limited-by-guarantee, asset-locked one — falls outside their rules. It's not a judgement on your work; it's how the funder is set up. The upshot is that CICs need to target funders that explicitly accept social enterprises and community organisations, which is what this page is for.
What's typically funded
CIC funding commonly supports community projects, services, equipment, capital works and sometimes core costs — particularly through the National Lottery Community Fund, community foundations and local authority schemes. Social-enterprise and place-based programmes, including elements of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, are often CIC-friendly.
Live grants for this group
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Frequently asked questions
- Can a CIC apply for grants?
- Yes, but more selectively than a registered charity. Many funders restrict grants to charities only, so CICs should target funders that explicitly accept social enterprises and community organisations — which Subvention surfaces and links to.
- Why do some funders exclude CICs?
- A lot of trusts and foundations are set up to fund registered charities only, so CICs fall outside their criteria regardless of the work they do. Targeting CIC-friendly funders is the practical route.
- What is the asset lock?
- A CIC's asset lock means its assets and any profits are committed to its community purpose and can't be distributed to owners. It's a key feature that reassures funders the money stays in the mission, but it doesn't make a CIC a charity.
- Which funders accept CICs?
- Commonly the National Lottery Community Fund, community foundations, social-enterprise and place-based programmes, and many local council and UK Shared Prosperity Fund schemes. Always confirm on the funder's page — Subvention links to it.