Applying for a community grant

Walton Charity is a local charitable foundation based in Elmbridge, Surrey. We award community grants to organisations tackling poverty and inequality in Elmbridge.

We also give delegated funds to local charities and schools who are supporting families and individuals living on a low income.

Our focus areas include:

  • Alleviating financial poverty

  • Tackling the root causes of child poverty

  • Supporting health and wellbeing

  • Promoting access to affordable housing

  • Improving educational attainment

Our small grants programme is open year-round. Applications for larger grants will go to our Grants Committee who meet 4-5 times a year. See below for 2024-25 deadlines and decision dates.

Please note, we can only fund activities within Elmbridge, Surrey.

For more information and how to apply, please see our Funding Guidelines.

Partnership Fund 2024

This is a partnership between Walton Charity, Elmbridge Borough Council and Walsingham Care.

The fund is open to any non-profit organisation or community group operating in Elmbridge, and they are eligible to apply for grants of up to £5,000 to support vulnerable residents in the borough.

We are looking to fund projects that support one or more of the following:

  • projects or activities that improve mental health or reduce social isolation

  • physical activities or sessions to improve health and wellbeing, particularly for those on a low income

Applications are open until 5pm on Thursday 31 October 2024. Please read the guidance notes before completing the application form.

For more information, including the guidance notes, or to apply, please click here.

Current funding priorities

In 2024-25 we are prioritising funding to organisations (including schools) which support children and families experiencing financial hardship.

  • We accept requests for core funding from well-managed charities working in Elmbridge. These can be one-off or multi-year grants.

  • We offer funding to locals schools to help disadvantaged and underachieving children. We also fund organisations delivering programmes in schools linked to our focus areas.

    Note, grants should complement and not duplicate any statutory funding.

  • Grants are available for schools and other local organisations who provide mental health support for those on low incomes, with a particular focus on children, young people and their families.

  • We are particularly interested in ways innovation can lead to transformative change.

    This could be reaching new audiences, developing new delivery models, or creating new areas of work. Ideas can be completely new idea, or may involve testing a proven approach from elsewhere in a new context.

  • We offer small grants up to £5,000 to support local charities, social enterprises and schools for projects or initiatives linked to our priority areas listed above.

    Our small grants are only open to organisations with an annual income of less than £200K.

    This funding stream is open all year round.

  • We are keen to support local organisations with:

    • evaluation: both process and impact evaluations to find out what works best

    • capacity-building: helping organisations to become more effective and sustainable

    • participation: supporting organisations to work in partnership with the people they serve

    • marketing: to improve awareness of and access to support and services.

  • We will continue to consider grant requests outside the priority areas listed above where there is potential for high impact in areas of need, particularly where they tackle child poverty or improve access to affordable housing across Elmbridge.

Making an application

To request an application form or arrange a chat about your project, please complete the initial enquiry form below or email grants@waltoncharity.org.uk.

For more information about our grants and funding priorities, see our Funding Guidelines.

2024-25 Application deadlines and decision dates

8 April 2024 deadline for applications (Grants Committee to meet on 13 May 2024)

20 May 2024 deadline for applications (Grants Committee to meet 1 July 2024)

11 October 2024 deadline for applications (Grants Committee to meet 25 November 2024)

27 January 2025 deadline for applications (Grants Committee to meet 3 March 2025)

We will post any changes to these dates on this page. Please check back regularly and before making an application.

“Walton Charity has always been very supportive of our charity and clearly recognises the needs of the people that we are trying to help.”