Deadline: November 21, 2025
Applications are open for the UK Government’s Common Ground Award 2026. The UK government’s Common Ground Award will invest capital funding into VCSE sector organisations that are bringing people together from different backgrounds, supporting the cost of constructing or renovating facilities, or the purchasing of equipment to deliver services.
The Common Ground Award aims to:
- identify and reward good practice in building bridging social capital
- invest in the physical spaces and equipment that enables good practice
- build a community of practice, for knowledge sharing across the voluntary and community sector and with government
Award
- Up to £1.7 million capital funding within the 2025/2026 financial year, distributed in payments of up to £10,000 per successful applicant. Applicants will be able to set out how capital investment could be scaled up beyond £10,000, up to a maximum of £50,000, which may be considered in exceptional cases – where there is a clearly demonstrated need, supported by a strong application.
Eligibility
To apply for this grant, your organisation must be a VCSE organisation with a base and operating in England, with charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purposes. This includes:
- an organisation registered as a charity with the Charity Commission
- a charitable incorporated organisation registered with Companies House and with the Charity Commission
- a company limited by guarantee registered with Companies House, that is established for charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purposes
- a community interest company registered with Companies House
- a community benefit society registered by the Financial Conduct Authority
- an unincorporated community group or organisation, or an unincorporated association that is:
- established for charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purposes
- has a governing body with at least 3 members
- has an inclusive membership policy
- has a governing document
- can provide accounts for the last two financial years
- has its own UK business bank account
- can hold land or property and enter into contracts either by itself or via trustees
Those who are not eligible to apply include:
- local authorities and other public sector organisations
- profit distributing organisations
- individuals
- regulated education sector organisations (e.g. schools, further and higher education institutions, universities)
Selection Criteria
Applications will be assessed with five criteria. The application form will ask you about:
- Strategic alignment – do your organisation’s aims and activities align with the fund’s objective to build bridging social capital?
- Community engagement – does your organisation engage communities and other organisations effectively, in the planning and delivery of its work?
- Community impact – what are the demonstrable outcomes from your organisation’s work for community benefit?
- Sustainability – does your organisation plan to build on its work, and have a lasting impact in the communities it serves?
- Use of funding – do you have a reasonable use for the capital investment requested?
Application
The deadline for applications is 21 November 2025, 11:59pm (Midnight).
For more information, visit UK Government’s Common Ground Award.
