Searching for Funding

If you are new to the language used in charity registers here is a useful glossary

Free sites

Charity Commission
http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/registeredcharities/first.asp

This is the official register of all UK charities, both grant making and fundraising. It has a keyword search function which only searches the charity name and objects. However, once you know the charity registration number, it is very useful as it contains a summary of financial activity and in many instances copies of the charity’s audited accounts. The audited accounts will list many of the grants they have made.

Guidestar
http://www.guidestar.org.uk/gs_advancedSearch.aspx

Contains all the charities listed in the Charity Commission register. It also has an advanced search option that is far more sophisticated and allows you to only look at grant making organisations. Their keyword search is also more sophisticated. If you are searching for West Sussex please be aware it will take you to Sussex as a whole.

West Sussex County Council
http://www.westsussex.gov.uk/ccm/navigation/community-and-living/grants---funding/

Provides access to an on-line, searchable database which details donors in the West Sussex area only.

West Sussex 4 Community
http://www.open4community.info/westsussex/Default.aspx

A funding and support website providing comprehensive coverage of government, lottery, EU, non government and charitable trust funding opportunities. You will need to register to use this.

Subscription sites

NCVO The National Council for Voluntary Organisations
http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/membership/ 

You need to pay a membership fee to gain full access to this website. Membership packages are tailored to the size of your organisation, so the smaller your organisation, the less you pay. NCVO is a charity that gives voice and support to over 280,000 staff in voluntary and community organisations. Benefit when you join include updates on what's happening in the voluntary sector through monthly email briefings, Engage, NCVO bi-monthly magazine which will provide you with the biggest stories from the voluntary and community sector, members can select what specialist information and advice they want to receive for example on policy, sustainable funding, leadership or workforce issues and members save money through a range of exclusive discounted products and services.

Other subscription sites

The following subscription search tools you may well be able to access free of charge at your local CVS office:

• Funderfinder.org
• Trustfunding.org
• Governmentfunding.org
• The Credo reference library is available free through West Sussex County Council library service. You will need to have a library card to access it