Community Matters Fund

Our Community Matters Fund is now open 

This spring National Grid’s Community Matters Fund is supporting charities and community groups helping people who are struggling to find jobs or return to work.

The £250,000 fund is looking to support projects which build skills, confidence and work experience.

The UK jobs market is changing. There is growing demand for skilled workers in areas like digital, clean energy, construction and engineering. But not everyone can access the training they need.

Around one in eight young people in the UK are not in education, employment or training. Many others find it hard to get back into work after time away because of health issues, caring responsibilities or time spent in the armed forces. Without the right support, these barriers can last a long time.

The Community Matters Fund, run in partnership with Localgiving, aims to help local organisations support people facing these challenges.

You can apply for:

• Up to £5,000 if you are a registered charity or non‑profit organisation
• Up to £2,000 if you are an unregistered community group

Your organisation must be based in the Midlands, South West England or South Wales.

Who the fund is for

The fund supports projects that help:

• Young people aged 16–25 who are not in full‑time education
• People from ethnic minority backgrounds
• People with health conditions or disabilities
• Armed forces veterans
• People returning to work after a long time away

What your project can do

Your project must support people in at least one of these ways:

Offer work placements, work experience or qualifications

• Help people learn practical skills for jobs like construction, electrical work, digital roles or clean energy
• Improve employability, such as CV support, workshops or interview practice
• Support people to return to work after illness, caring roles or military service

Projects which do more than one of these things are encouraged, especially if they support people facing multiple barriers.

How to apply 

Applications open on Monday 16 March and close at 5pm on Thursday 23 April. You will hear if you are successful in May, and funding will be paid later that month. You can find the link to apply at the top of this page.