Coopers Charity CIO grants
Coopers Charity funds community organisations and charities with a turnover of up to £2m working in the City of London and Greater London to tackle hardship.
Guidance last checked 16 July 2026· from the funder’s own website
Overview
Coopers Charity is the grant-making arm of the Worshipful Company of Coopers. Its application guidance asks that your project is in the City of London and/or Greater London. It looks for projects that will help to tackle hardship, or that support cohesion in the community across all groups. Applicants should be a community organisation, registered charity, not for profit organisation or Community Interest Company, with a turnover of up to £2m. Check your accounts before you start. It also asks that administration costs are no more than 20 per cent of expenditure, and that reserves are not greater than annual expenditure. Annual fundraising costs must be less than 25 per cent of income. The grant you request must not be more than 25 per cent of your annual income, which caps what a small organisation can ask for. Its governing objects also reach the County of Surrey and members of the Coopers' Company, so ask if you sit just outside London.
What they fund
These are the purposes the charity records on the Charity Commission register. Its application guidance is narrower, centring on hardship and community cohesion.
Who and where
The register records a wider area than its application guidance, which asks that the project itself is in the City of London and/or Greater London.
Who they help
Where they fund
What Coopers Charity CIO says in its own guidance
Quoted directly from the funder’s own website, with a link to the page each quote came from. Always the most current word is theirs — check the source before you apply.
What they say they're looking for
“Your project will help to tackle hardship or that support cohesion in the community across all groups”
Source: cooperscompany.co.uk — Apply for a Grant | The Worshipful Company of Coopers →
Who they say they'll fund
“Your project is in the City of London and/or Greater London”
Source: cooperscompany.co.uk — Apply for a Grant | The Worshipful Company of Coopers →
“You are a community organisation, registered charity, not for profit organisation or Community Interest Company”
Source: cooperscompany.co.uk — Apply for a Grant | The Worshipful Company of Coopers →
What they say they won't fund
“Your reserves are not greater than your annual expenditure”
Source: cooperscompany.co.uk — Apply for a Grant | The Worshipful Company of Coopers →
“Your annual fundraising costs are less than 25% of your income”
Source: cooperscompany.co.uk — Apply for a Grant | The Worshipful Company of Coopers →
“The amount of grant required will not be more than 25% of the organisation's annual income”
Source: cooperscompany.co.uk — Apply for a Grant | The Worshipful Company of Coopers →
“Your administration costs of the organisation are no more than 20% of your expenditure”
Source: cooperscompany.co.uk — Apply for a Grant | The Worshipful Company of Coopers →
Income limits they mention
“You have a turnover of up to £2m”
Source: cooperscompany.co.uk — Apply for a Grant | The Worshipful Company of Coopers →
Their charitable objects
As registered with the Charity Commission (their formal purposes):
Objectsthe charity is established for the public benefit to make grants for the following charitable purposes as the trustees in their absolute discretion may determine: -(1) to assist persons in conditions of need, hardship or distress in the greater london area, the county of surrey and members of the coopers’…
How to approach them
Start with the official sources — they’re always more current than any directory, including this one.
Common questions
How much does Coopers Charity typically give?
It does not publish a typical or maximum grant size that we have been able to source. The amount of grant required will not be more than 25 per cent of the organisation's annual income, which limits what a smaller organisation can ask for. In its latest published financial year it gave £147,615 in grants to organisations.
What does Coopers Charity fund?
Projects that help to tackle hardship, or that support cohesion in the community across all groups. Its guidance asks that the project is in the City of London and/or Greater London.
Who can apply?
A community organisation, registered charity, not for profit organisation or Community Interest Company with a turnover of up to £2m. Its governing objects also cover people in need in the County of Surrey and members of the Coopers' Company, so ask if you are just outside the London area.
What won't Coopers Charity fund?
Rather than a list of excluded activities, it sets financial tests you must meet. Your administration costs should be no more than 20 per cent of your expenditure. Your reserves should not be greater than your annual expenditure. Your annual fundraising costs should be less than 25 per cent of your income, and the grant required should not be more than 25 per cent of your annual income.
How do I apply to Coopers Charity?
Check your accounts against its financial tests before you start, as they rule out a number of otherwise eligible organisations. Check the funder's own website (www.cooperscompany.co.uk) and its Charity Commission entry (charity number 1155094) for current guidance, as processes can change.
Is your charity a fit for Coopers Charity CIO?
Type your charity’s name and we’ll check this funder — and every other active UK grant-maker — against your purposes, your area and your size. Free, and nothing to fill in: we read your entry on the official register.
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Finding a funder is the easy part. These short guides help with the part that decides whether you get the money.
Contains public sector information from the Charity Commission for England and Wales licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0, and grants data from 360Giving used under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. Figures are derived (filtered and summarised by TrusteeMeetings), not republished unchanged. About the data · Terms of use. This page is a starting point for your own research, not a promise of funding, and is not endorsed by or affiliated with Coopers Charity CIO.