Funding Support

Apply for Funding

The Arkbound Foundation is able to consider small grant requests from constituted non-profit groups.

Applications for funding

The Arkbound Foundation is able to consider small grant requests for non-profit projects on a rolling basis each year. In most cases, we can only award under £2000 per project. In order to be eligible, you must:-

  1. Be creating a project related to social inclusion or environmental sustainability;
  2. Generally, be a constituted non-profit organisation (charity, community interest company, or similar) – but we can also consider applications from individuals and other groups;
  3. Generally, undertake a project for the benefit of people in the UK – but we can also consider projects overseas where these will have a global impact, including on UK citizens;
  4. Be a small organisation – we will not usually fund organisations that receive over £100,000 income per year, and we prefer to fund those who are much smaller and rooted in their communities;
  5. Have lived experience of disadvantage or the issues you are seeking to tackle, whether in terms of having direct experience of social exclusion or climate change. If an organisation, we expect most of your decision makers to have comparable lived experience, or for the project you are working on to be led by those with lived experience;
  6. Use the funding given within 12 months of receipt;
  7. Be innovative and seek to create lasting change around a social or environmental issue;
  8. Seek to support and engage with under-represented audiences, including those subject to prejudice and discrimination, or those who face heightened risks from climate change;
  9. Be fully committed to the principles of social inclusion, including by not excluding or putting at unfair disadvantage any group, person or sector of society;
  10. Not be involved in any activity that causes social or environmental exploitation and destruction, including having investments in such activities or receiving support from entities involved in such activities.

Nearly all our funding is given in the form of match funding, via our dedicated crowfunding platform. This means, if your application is successful, we will usually refer you to Crowdbound to create your project and start a fundraising campaign.

We will then match each £1 you raise up to the agreed value of funding. This will usually be activated once a certain amount is raised on your campaign. In some cases we can also provide an initial starting grant.

Examples of projects we have funded

Knight Errant Press, 2020

We awarded £1000 to Knight Errant Press, an independent Scottish publisher who provide a platform for stories from the margins and work with authors from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds, including publishing fierce and relevant tales from LGBTQI+ and BAME creators. They used the funding to publish a book, Tamlin, by a queer, non-binary and autistic artist and writer.

Stop Climate Chaos Scotland, 2021

We provided £900 to help support grassroots community climate organisations in and around Glasgow.

Climate Adaptation: Accounts of Resilience, Self-Sufficiency and Systems Change, 2021

We provided small advance royalty grants of £200-£500 for 8 of the 21 contributors who were financially disadvantaged and based in the Global South, to cover their time and support their work.

Invisible Schemes by John McGlade, 2022

We gave a grant of £300 towards the author’s crowdfunding campaign.

A Taste of Wincanton, 2022

We provided a grant of £300 to help support the production of a cookbook, with proceeds for the benefit of the Prince’s Trust.

The Glacier Trust, 2022

We agreed on providing a grant of £1000, to support the planting of trees and organic crops in Nepal, helping to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

Jasami Publishing, 2022

We agreed on providing a grant of £500 to support the publication of a book by an under-represented writer that covers social themes. This was in the form of an initial £300 grant, followed by a further £200 once they had raised the same amount on Crowdbound.

Conditions of funding

If you are successful with getting funding, we expect:-

  1. The money to be used entirely for the purposes described when applying. If variations are necessary in how the money is used, these must be agreed in writing by the Arkbound Foundation.
  2. Full credit to be given to the Arkbound Foundation in the implementation and promotion of your project. We will provide you with a logo to use.
  3. A short report at the end of being awarded the funding, detailing how it was used.
  4. If at any time you are unable to carry out the project you were awarded for, you must return the funding in full.
  5. Effective communication at all times – if we have a question or need an update on your project, you should reply as soon as possible.
  6. Cooperation in the effective delivery of your project.

If you think you are suitable for funding and have read our eligibility criteria please apply below.

application form