Over 14,000 grantmakers made grants worth over £ 23 billion in 2023-24, according to the annual UK Grantmaking 2025 report. This is an increase of 7%, rising just above inflation.
The report highlights who is making grants across all funding sectors, taking data from the most recently available published statutory accounts for 2023-2024 and data published by the 360 Giving Data Standard. It provides a comprehensive overview of who makes grants across all funding sectors – Government, Trusts and Foundations, National Lottery distributors, Donor-Advised Funds, and Charities.
Key highlights:
- Government bodies are no longer the largest grantmaker to the voluntary sector.
- Trusts and Foundations were the biggest funders, awarding grants totalling over £8.2bn. Government bodies awarded just over £6.7bn.
- Donor-advised funds (distributing philanthropic gifts from individuals and families) are becoming a growing part of the sector’s income. Grants from this sector rose 20% to £2.1bn.
- National Lottery Distributors awarded over £2.4bn.
- Grantmaking by charities remained stable at £3.7bn. These organisations are not necessarily grantmakers, but they give grants alongside their other charitable activities.
- The majority of grantmakers are relatively small, distributing under £1m per year.
With less availability of government grants and increased competition for available funding, understanding who is funding whom can help establish your fundraising strategy.
The full report from UKGrantmaking can be found here – https://www.ukgrantmaking.org/
