Finding the right trust funders takes four steps. Know what you need funding for, research the funders who support that kind of work, check each one's fit before anyone writes a word, and make contact in the way that funder prefers. Here is how each step works.
Knowing how to find the right funders is one of the most valuable skills in trust fundraising. A short list of carefully researched funders will always do better than a long list of speculative applications. Applying to the wrong ones costs your team time and brings more rejections. Identifying a pipeline of suitable trusts and foundations is how trust income becomes strong and sustainable for your charity.
Step 1: know what you need before you search
Before you look at a single funder, be clear about:
what you need the funding for, and how much it will cost
who your beneficiaries are, both generally and for this project
where they are
when you need the money in place
why you need it
how many people (or animals, or places) will benefit
Colleagues often ask whether anyone knows a funder for one very specific item. Start from your own answers to these questions instead. Keep them in front of you as you search. They let you shortlist quickly, and they keep you out of the rabbit hole.
Step 2: research the funders
For any funder you may find a lot of information, or very little. Look beyond research databases: read their accounts and their website, check their entry on the charity regulator's register, and search for news about them. Together these give you a rounded picture of what they like to support and whether they are right for you. Look for links between their staff, trustees and purposes and yours, because those connections shape how you approach them.
As you go, write down the essentials somewhere you can find them again when you plan your approaches.
Free tools for finding trusts and foundations
Our free video: how to find grant-making trusts on the Charity Commission’s Advanced Search (England and Wales)
360Giving GrantNav: search the grants UK funders have already made, to see who funds work like yours
My Funding Central (England)
Funding Wales (WCVA)
Funding Scotland (SCVO)
GrantTracker (NICVA, Northern Ireland)
UK Community Foundations: find your local community foundation
Bond funding guidance, for international development charities
Public sector contracts and grants
Find a Tender: where public sector buyers publish their procurement notices
Contracts Finder: smaller public sector contracts
Bidding for a contract? See how our bid and tender writing works
Should you pay for a research database?
Subscription databases save time once you know what you want from one. Most offer a free trial. Before you sign up, be clear what you need it to do and what you can spend, compare a few, and ask colleagues which they use. Fundraising groups on social media discuss this often.
Step 3: check fit before you write
Check every funder before your team spends time on an application, even ones you know well. Funders change more often than they used to: The List, Jo Jeffery's record of changes to UK trust and foundation funding, logged 1,038 changes between March 2024 and October 2026, from paused programmes and restructures to spend-outs and closed doors.
Ask five questions of each one:
Does their funding focus match your work? A funder that only supports older people will not fund your youth project.
Do they fund organisations of your size and type? Some exclude charities above an income threshold, and some will not fund CICs.
Is their grant size right for what you need? If you need £100,000 and their grants are £1,000, they are unlikely to fit this project.
Do they accept unsolicited applications? Many do not. For those, your way in is a relationship, which step 4 covers.
What is their process? Deadlines, eligibility rules and the format they prefer, all checked before anyone starts writing.
Keep a simple record of every funder you check, with deadlines, applications and outcomes. Over time it shows you which funders and approaches work for your charity.
Step 4: make first contact
Once you know a funder fits, how you make contact counts as much as what you say.
Call or email? Follow the funder's own guidance if they publish any. Otherwise, a good rule of thumb: if they publish a phone number, you can call. If they do not, they probably prefer not to take calls.
Plan the call. Know what you want to ask, and expect to listen more than you talk. Ask about their current priorities and how they like to receive applications. Do not pitch. You are checking fit before committing to a full application, and so are they.
If they do not accept unsolicited applications, your way in is through people. Look at their trustee list on the Charity Commission register, and ask your own trustees and supporters whether any names are familiar. An introduction from someone a trustee knows opens doors that a letter cannot. Look the trustees up on LinkedIn, notice where they show up online, and make sure your charity shows up there too, in a way that fits who you are.
Working out which of your funders need a relationship before an application, and planning those relationships, is what our Build your Funder Relationships programme does.
Build your funder list with confidence
Our free Proposal Matrix helps you check funder fit and structure your case once the research is done.
Links checked October 2026.