Grants for charities

We provide grants and wider support to charities that can deliver innovative, practical skills and employment opportunities for individuals facing barriers to work.

The programmes we fund are often experimental in nature, and help prove that through taking a creative, targeted approach to widening talent pools and supporting harder to reach groups, we can build a better, fairer, more productive society.

We are currently focused on:

Helping prisoners gain skills and move into lasting employment on release
Removing barriers faced by refugees to develop skills and get meaningful work
Supporting people at Critical Transition Points in their lives and careers

The latest Charity partner stories on the City & Guilds Foundation website:

Cockpit Awards open for applications on 01 September

by Stuart Tucker | 17 Aug 2023 | Charity partners, Heritage crafts

Our partners Cockpit are excited to announce a number of fantastic awards that aspiring craftspeople can apply for this autumn. A Cockpit Award means a free studio space at Cockpit's London studios, plus one-to-one business coaching and a place on our world-class business training programme. Recipients are also invited to join a thriving creative community of world-leading craftspeople. Some Cockpit Awards are open to a craftsperson working in any discipline. Other awards are aimed at...

Heritage Crafts training bursary for Black and ethnically diverse makers now open!

by Stuart Tucker | 17 Jul 2023 | Bursaries, Charity partners, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Heritage crafts, News

This training bursary is targeted at Black and ethnically diverse makers, as this is an under-represented group in heritage crafts. It is sponsored by the City & Guilds Foundation and is one of a suite of awards and bursaries offered by Heritage Crafts to support and celebrate craftspeople. Apply for up to £4,000 to start training in a heritage craft or to further develop your skills. It is still the case that the UK craft sector does not accurately reflect the diversity of the UK as a...

ReSET: Recognising strengths developed through lived experience

by Jennifer Warner | 27 Jun 2023 | Charity partners, Lived Experience, News, News & events, Prisoners and ex-offenders, Refugee support, Resources

We’re pleased to be able to launch ReSET: a strengths-based engagement tool which has been designed using the lived experience of people who are marginalised.

Seeing first hand the difference that our funding is making

by Mike Ormand | 31 May 2023 | Charity partners, News, News & events, Our networks, Refugee support, Social Impact, Youth engagement

This is a guest post by Dick Palmer, Chair of City & Guilds Foundation and City & Guilds Group Trustee Being Chair of the City & Guilds Foundation is one of the jobs I am most proud of and privileged to undertake. There is so much social need in the world and so many people deserving of our support, so it’s a pleasure to be able to be a tiny part of making a difference – particularly in combating key societal issues through the work that is happening across the Foundation. Whilst...

Delivering Green Skills Training with Greenworkx and Catch22

by Stuart Tucker | 3 May 2023 | Bursaries, Charity partners, Critical transition points, Funding, Green skills, News, Prisoners and ex-offenders

The City & Guilds Foundation is pleased to announce two new partnerships with Greenworkx and Catch22 to deliver green skills training. The partnerships will provide training and support to help people from disadvantaged backgrounds develop the skills they need to work in the green economy. Greenworkx is a climate EdTech startup that is tackling the green skills emergency and building the net-zero workforce. Their mission is to get 10 million people into green jobs in 10 years. They are...

Unlocking a Waiting Workforce: launching the refugee recruitment toolkit in partnership with The Launchpad Collective

by Stuart Tucker | 17 Apr 2023 | Awareness Raising, Charity partners, News, Refugee support, Resources

There is a whole waiting workforce among our refugee population in the UK, yet many companies may not realise the benefits of hiring refugees as part of their recruitment strategy. That's why we've partnered with The Launchpad Collective to bring you an Employer Toolkit e-module called 'Unlocking a Waiting Workforce'. The Employer Toolkit is an engaging e-module created by Kineo that is designed to help businesses successfully hire and integrate people with refugee backgrounds into their...

Heritage Crafts Awards 2023 now open

by Stuart Tucker | 27 Mar 2023 | Awards, Campaigning, Charity partners, Heritage crafts, News

The Heritage Crafts Awards are now open with six brand new awards for 2023. The Awards, which have been running since 2012, celebrate and highlight the traditional living crafts that contribute to British heritage. New Awards this year include a new Lifetime Achievement Award supported by the Marsh Christian Trust, to recognise a heritage craftsperson who has demonstrated an outstanding contribution to their specific craft over 25 years or more. The Award celebrates a lifetime’s dedication to...

Supporting young carers in employment

by Lauren Roberts | 15 Mar 2023 | Awareness Raising, Campaigning, Charity partners, Events, Lived Experience, News, Youth engagement

Young carers provide unpaid care and support to family members or friends who have a disability, illness, mental health condition, or substance misuse problem. According to our partners the Carers Trust there were 177,918 young carers in England and Wales at the last census and additionally there are 29,000 young carers in Scotland. However, this is widely believed to be the tip of the iceberg, with some estimates suggesting that as many as one in five schoolchildren are young carers...

Applications for Cockpit September intake now open including six funded places

by Stuart Tucker | 13 Mar 2023 | Bursaries, Charity partners, Heritage crafts, News, Our networks

For over 30 years, Cockpit has provided funded and subsidised studio spaces for talented craftspeople in London, along with in-house business support and coaching. Applications are now open for our September intake, with a number of funded places you can apply for listed below. The deadline for applications is 11th April. The Radcliffe Emerging Maker Award is for a maker from any craft discipline who has already reached a level of excellence in skill and is looking to take their practice to...

Reflecting on our achievements in 2022

by Justine Procter | 14 Dec 2022 | Bursaries, Charity partners, City & Guilds initiatives, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Funding, Lived Experience, News, Our networks, Princess Royal Training Awards, Prisoners and ex-offenders, Refugee support, Resources, Responsible Business, Social Impact, Youth engagement

As the end of 2022 fast approaches, the team at the City & Guilds Foundation took some time to reflect and share their top highlights and achievements from the last year and moments to be proud of. Laura Mountain “Thinking about what we’ve collectively achieved over the past year, it is really incredible and just goes to show what you can do with brilliant, passionate people who constantly pull together – and challenge each other – to do the best they can. A particular highlight for me has...

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