The Hilden Charitable Fund
Funding smaller UK-based organisations delivering projects within the UK to support social justice and to tackle disadvantage in specific areas of focus - providing unrestricted, core or project funding.
Funder website:
http://www.hildencharitablefund.org.uk/
Maximum value:
£14,000.00
Objective of fund:
The Fund’s vision is of a fair and inclusive world which recognises the equal value of all people.
Who can apply
We do not fund individuals, only organisations. To be eligible to make an application your organisation must be based in the UK and be one of the following:
Registered Charity
Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)
Charitable Company (NB you must be registered both as a charity and a company)
Excepted Charity (see Excepted charities – GOV.UK for more information on these)
To be eligible to apply, your total annual income as shown in your most recent accounts should be no more than £200,000.
If your income is above that in your latest accounts but your average income over the most recent three years is under £200k then you can still apply – this is to allow for one-off “good” years. However, if your income in your current or next financial year is likely to be in excess of the threshold you are still eligible to apply but you may not be considered a priority depending on the demand on our limited funds.
We are keen to support small organisations and our preference is to fund those already established rather than new ones, though these are still eligible. In most cases, therefore, we expect you to be able to provide at least one year’s accounts.
Please note: Accounts provided must be independently examined whether or not they are required to be by your regulatory body.
Restrictions
Individuals (including via bursaries)
Organisations awarded 2-year funding from us in 2025 (ie you still have another year’s funding to spend)
Community Interest Companies
Non-charitable activities
Organisations whose principal function is the promotion of religion
Party-political organisations or Party-political campaigning (charitable campaigning is okay)
Medical research
Registered Social Landlords (eg housing associations)
Hospitals or primary healthcare provision
Educational establishments
Fundraising-only posts (though we can fund a post where fundraising is part of what they do)
Statutory organisations or services
Residential care
Recruitment/Employment agencies
Eligible Expenditure
We have 2 programmes for funding in the UK – your project must address one of these:
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
Asylum Seekers and Refugees continue to face hostility, challenge and isolation which prevents them being able to fully integrate into society; and some face considerable levels of poverty due to being unable to work or use their skills.
We want to support organisations and projects which provide essential services; which help meet their needs; and which support their participation within the wider community.
Please note that there is a difference between asylum seekers, refugees and migrants with the latter, in most cases, not a priority for our funding. This link provides more information on the differences. If your work includes services to migrants you must clearly demonstrate on your application the scale of the benefit of your proposal to asylum seekers and refugees.
Penal Affairs
Whilst custodial sentences are very damaging for all of those affected, research by the Prison Reform Trust shows that women are often more greatly impacted, especially where they have children or other caring responsibilities. During the Pandemic, for example, family visits to prisons were curtailed and many children did not see their parent for over a year.
We want to support work “through the door” where charitable organisations go into prisons with projects and support to help prisoners (especially women) cope and/or maintain family bonds and to be better able to resettle positively when released. Equally we welcome applications for post-release projects which support positive resettlement; re-stablishing family bonds; and a reduction in the likelihood of reoffending.
Please note that job-search/employment agency projects are not a priority for our funding.
Organisations can apply for up to two years’ funding with grants awarded usually between £5,000 – £7,000 (max) in value per year.
PLEASE NOTE – If you received 2-year funding from us in 2025 I’m afraid you are not eligible to apply this year.
The Fund has signed up to the IVAR Eight Commitments ( https://www.ivar.org.uk/flexible-funders/ ) – a pledge by funders to provide clear information and reduce bureaucracy for applicants. As part of that pledge we aim to provide funding which meets your needs as far and as appropriately as possible.
We offer Unrestricted Grants or Project Funding.
You can choose which of these to apply for, however please note that to be eligible for Unrestricted funding all the activities of your organisation must meet our criteria. For example, if you were a general community group where only some of the work you did was with refugees then you could not apply for unrestricted funding as your other work would not meet our priorities. All unrestricted grants must be used for charitable purposes only.
If you do not meet the criteria for an Unrestricted grant you can apply for a Project grant. You are welcome to include full-cost recovery (ie a relevant contribution to central overheads, typically 15-20% of the total request).
How to apply
When open, applications will only be accepted using the online application form. You can access the form – after successfully passing the eligibility test.
Please note the word limits on certain questions and do not exceed the limits given.
In order to access the form you must first complete an eligibility checklist – if you are not eligible you will not be able to open the main form. Please answer these questions honestly and do not attempt to apply if you do not meet this first step.
It’s often better to construct the answers on a Word document first (so you can check the word count etc) and then copy across to the actual form.
You can see the questions that will be asked on the form here. We would recommend that you keep a copy of your completed form for your own record and in case you might need to resubmit your application for some reason (it has happened!).
If your application has been submitted successfully you will receive an automated email confirming this. The main reasons for not receiving this email is that one or other of the supporting documents has not been included; or you have misspelt your email address.
Our online application process will be open from 10am on Tuesday 28th July until Thursday 27th August at 3pm sharp. Applications received after this time will not be considered. Please don’t leave submitting your application until the last minute as if there are any technical difficulties, etc, you may end up being late.
All applications are considered by our Trustees and decisions will be given by email to everyone that has applied by the end of October/early November 2026.
If you are successful you can use your funding from November 2026 onwards. We aim to get the Year 1 grant payment to you in November assuming we receive all the necessary information re your bank details, etc..
As part of the assessment process we may wish to speak to you by telephone or Zoom. Please don’t worry if we ask to speak with you in this way. It’s not designed to catch you out but to help us get a fuller picture of the work you do and to give you a chance to talk about your proposal as we know it is not always easy to do it justice on a written application.
Feedback can be provided for declined applications.
Useful Links