Action in rural Sussex

Registered charity 1035401 · since 1994ruralsussex.org.uk·East Sussex, West Sussex·Updated 29 October 2026

Key takeaways

Its work fits best if your project is about community buildings, community housing or community-led projects in rural East or West Sussex, which are the areas and themes its profile names.
Neither its annual giving nor its grant range is stated, so you cannot judge a realistic request size from the profile, and the register shows no grants to institutions for its most recent year.
No application process is published, so get in touch through the contact shown on its website before writing a full application.
The profile says nothing about how competitive funding is or whether relationships matter, so ask those questions directly when you make contact.

Overview

Action in rural Sussex is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (charity number 1035401).

Action in rural Sussex, also known as AirS, exists to promote resilient, sustainable and inclusive rural communities across East and West Sussex. It supports communities to achieve local ambitions and improve the places where they live and work, through community-led change. Its work has included the Sussex Community Housing Hub and a Rural Housing Enabling Service, which help local groups, especially Community Land Trusts, create affordable homes, and a Community Buildings Service that provides advice, training, grants and events.

What they fund

Priority Areas

Action in rural Sussex describes its purpose as supporting communities to achieve local ambitions and improve the places where they live and work, building resilience through community-led change in rural Sussex. Its work includes community housing, community buildings and community projects. Through its Community Buildings Service it provides grants, advice, training and events to strengthen community buildings and networks. It exists for people living in rural areas of Sussex, especially those at risk of isolation or disadvantage. Its approach centres on community-led change and enabling local communities to improve the places where they live and work.

Themes

Community buildings

Geographic Focus

East Sussex; West Sussex.

How to apply

No application process is published in the charity's annual report, its register entry or its website. The contact shown is for getting in touch.

Where they fund

Where it says it funds

Similar funders

Funders supporting work similar to Action in rural Sussex.

Sussex Community FoundationFixed deadlinesGave £2.8M Active SussexNo public processGave £11,122 Sussex Freemasons Community CharityFixed deadlinesGave £151k The Sussex Heart CharityRollingGave £30,738 The Sussex Pet Rescue Charitable TrustNo public process The Ian Askew Charitable TrustRollingGave £127k Dorset Community ActionNo public processGave £78,470 Now! CharityMixed deadlinesGave £17,167 Carpenter Box Charitable FoundationInvitation onlyGave £50,000 Sussex Cancer FundRollingGave £322k

Five years of accounts

Financial year	Income	Expenditure	Grants paid	Accounts document
year to 31 March 2021	£517,182	£595,157	—	Accounts for year to 31 March 2021
year to 31 March 2022	£536,696	£590,167	—	Accounts for year to 31 March 2022
year to 31 March 2023	£413,377	£443,875	—	Accounts for year to 31 March 2023
year to 31 March 2024	£479,135	£469,662	—	Accounts for year to 31 March 2024
year to 31 March 2025	£553,872	£563,206	—	Accounts for year to 31 March 2025

— No grants figure for those years.

Figures from the charity’s filed accounts and its register entry. The document icon links to the charity’s entry on the Charity Commission register, where its filed accounts can be found.