Applying for a grant
Providing grants for UK political campaigns
and lobbying with national impact
£1.4 million per year
funding rounds a year
fast response - up to £7,500
What types of applications do we fund?
If power can be challenged and held accountable, if the political system is open and responsive, collaborative and in touch, if we can fix our democracy – then the social and economic problems we face will be easier to work through together.
We welcome applicants that match these aspirations and we particularly welcome applications for work on:
Electoral reform
Ensuring that citizens’ votes count, that turnout is high and elections are fair.
Open and responsive democracy
In which executive power is checked by an effective parliament, and power is devolved to the nations, regions and communities.
Democratic culture
Democratic culture is thriving, with respect for diversity, collaboration and informed public debate, encouraging participation.
In the last five years, the Trust has awarded grants ranging from a few hundred pounds to nearly half a million pounds. Applications for larger grants can be made to our quarterly application rounds. Small grants, of up to £7,500, can be applied for at almost any time.
The majority of the Trust’s grants are for work on democratic and political reform, but funds are also available to respond quickly to significant new political developments.
We don’t give grants to projects that could be funded from charitable sources. To find out if your project meets our eligibility criteria, more information is available here.
JRRT is a Living Wage Funder and we seek to ensure that all posts which are wholly or partially funded by us pay the real Living Wage. More information about our commitment is available here.
UK Democracy Fund
The UK Democracy Fund (the Fund) is a pooled Fund set up by the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust (JRRT) in the Spring of 2019 and supported by a group of committed funders. The Fund is independent and non-partisan, and works to build a healthy democracy – one in which everyone can participate and where political power is shared fairly.
In February 2022, the Fund launched its new funding framework, with an ambitious aim to support a million more people from lower propensity voting groups to register and vote in the next General Election.
