Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Community Foundation grants
Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Community Foundation generally makes grants of between £1,000 and £5,000 to local non-profit organisations with an annual income under £1m.
Guidance last checked 16 July 2026· from the funder’s own website
Overview
Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Community Foundation runs a number of grant programmes rather than one open fund, so what is available depends on when you look. Its grants policy asks two gateway questions. Is the applicant locally based, with the work taking place within Hampshire, Southampton, Portsmouth or the Isle of Wight? And does the applicant have an annual income under £1m? Generally it makes grants of between £1,000 and £5,000 to non-profit organisations. It does not fund statutory services such as schools, council-run projects, parish councils and NHS bodies, organisations with profit-making aims, or groups that have no written governance. Timing matters: most of its programmes are advertised for at least a month, and once one closes there is usually up to 8 to 10 weeks to wait before you hear the outcome.
What they fund
These are the charitable purposes recorded for the foundation on the Charity Commission register. In practice the themes it can fund at any one time depend on which programmes are open.
Who and where
The register records the foundation as working in the South East of England. Its own grants policy is more precise: the applicant must be locally based and the work must take place within Hampshire, Southampton, Portsmouth, or the Isle of Wight.
Who they help
Where they fund
What Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Community Foundation 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.
Who they say they'll fund
“Is the applicant locally based and is the work being applied for taking place within Hampshire, Southampton, Portsmouth, or the Isle of Wight?”
Source: hiwcf.org.uk — (PDF) Grants-Policy.pdf →
What they say they won't fund
“Statutory services (such as schools, or Council run projects, Parish Councils and NHS bodies) Organisations with profit making aims (such as private companies and social enterprises) Groups that have no written governance”
Source: hiwcf.org.uk — (PDF) Grants-Policy.pdf →
Grant sizes they mention
“Generally, we make grants of between £1,000 and £5,000 to non-profit organisations”
Source: hiwcf.org.uk — Grants - HIWCF →
Income limits they mention
“Does the applicant have an annual income under £1m?”
Source: hiwcf.org.uk — (PDF) Grants-Policy.pdf →
Deadlines they mention
“Most of our grant programmes are advertised for at least a month”
Source: hiwcf.org.uk — FAQs - HIWCF →
How they say to apply
“Once the grant programme has closed for new applications, there is usually up to 8-10 weeks to wait before you hear the outcome of your application”
Source: hiwcf.org.uk — FAQs - HIWCF →
Their charitable objects
As registered with the Charity Commission (their formal purposes):
The promotion of any charitable purposes for the benefit of the community in the counties of hampshire and the isle of wight and unitary authorities of southampton and portsmouth and in particular the advancement of education the protection of good health both mental and physical and the relief of poverty and…
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 the foundation typically give?
It says that generally it makes grants of between £1,000 and £5,000 to non-profit organisations. It does not publish a typical (median) award, so treat that range as your guide. In its most recent published accounts it made £1,058,144 of grants to organisations.
What does the foundation fund?
It runs multiple grant programmes with different themes, so what is available changes over time. Its Charity Commission entry records a wide set of purposes including education and training, environment, conservation and heritage, disability, the advancement of health or saving of lives, general charitable purposes, recreation, arts, culture, heritage and science, the prevention or relief of poverty, economic and community development and employment, amateur sport, and accommodation and housing.
Who can apply?
Its grants policy asks whether the applicant is locally based and whether the work being applied for is taking place within Hampshire, Southampton, Portsmouth, or the Isle of Wight, and whether the applicant has an annual income under £1m. Both need to be satisfied.
What won't the foundation fund?
Its grants policy lists statutory services, such as schools, council run projects, parish councils and NHS bodies; organisations with profit making aims, such as private companies and social enterprises; and groups that have no written governance.
How do I apply to the foundation?
Watch for a programme that fits your work, because applications are made to individual programmes rather than to a permanently open fund. It says most of its grant programmes are advertised for at least a month, and that once a grant programme has closed for new applications there is usually up to 8 to 10 weeks to wait before you hear the outcome. Check the funder's own website (www.hiwcf.org.uk) and its Charity Commission entry (charity number 1100417) for current programmes and guidance, as processes can change.
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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 Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Community Foundation.