B&q Foundation

Charity Number: 1183275

Annual Expenditure: £3.0M

Stay updated on changes from B&q Foundation and other funders

Get daily notifications about new funding opportunities, deadline changes, and programme updates from UK funders.

Free Email Updates

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: £3 million+ (2023/24 to Foundation and national partner Shelter)
  • Total Distributed: £7.2 million+ to over 1,300 projects since 2020
  • Success Rate: Not publicly disclosed
  • Decision Time: Up to 8 weeks from deadline
  • Grant Range: £5,000 - £10,000 (may consider higher value grants)
  • Geographic Focus: UK-wide

Contact Details

  • Website: https://bqfoundation.org.uk/
  • Email: B&QFoundation@b-and-q.co.uk / bandq@neighbourly.com
  • Phone: 02380690000
  • Application Portal: Neighbourly platform

Overview

The B&Q Foundation was established in 2020 as a registered charity (1183275) to build on B&Q's commitment to making a positive difference in local communities. The Foundation has distributed over £7.2 million to more than 1,300 charity projects, helping support over 600,000 people. In 2023/24 alone, B&Q's community programmes donated more than £3 million and helped over 718,000 people, with colleagues volunteering over 33,000 hours to support 302 projects. The Foundation's mission is to relieve those in need across the UK because of financial hardship, ill-health, disability, or other disadvantage, particularly by making grants to registered charities providing, maintaining, repairing, and improving housing and community spaces, and providing housing advice and support.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

  • Garden Projects: Up to £5,000 (one-off grants for outdoor space improvement)
  • Building/Indoor Projects: Up to £10,000 (one-off grants for indoor renovations and improvements)
  • Higher Value Grants: The Foundation will consider awarding grants above these limits in exceptional cases
  • Application Method: Quarterly funding rounds via Neighbourly platform (applications open every quarter with two-week windows)

Priority Areas

The Foundation is currently focusing on charities supporting people experiencing homelessness. Funding supports:

  • Decorating, renovating, or creating spaces where people can feel at home and have a sense of belonging
  • Projects improving homes or community spaces for people experiencing bad housing or homelessness
  • Housing and community space improvements for people in financial hardship, sickness, disability, or other disadvantage
  • Full project costs including staff time required
  • Projects must be delivered within six months of receiving the grant

Funding Prioritization: The Foundation prioritizes grants where they are funding over 25% of the total project cost.

What They Don't Fund

  • Contributions to general appeals or circulars
  • Religious activity not for wider public benefit
  • Public bodies carrying out their statutory obligations
  • Activities solely supporting animal welfare
  • Activities that have already taken place
  • Privately owned and profit-distributing companies or limited partnerships
  • Projects to improve office facilities (unless dual-purpose spaces used by beneficiaries)
  • Eligibility limitation: Only UK registered charities (CICs and unregistered community groups are not eligible)
Helpful Hinchilla

Ready to write a winning application for B&q Foundation?

Our AI helps you craft proposals that match their exact priorities. Save 10+ hours and increase your success rate.

Get Free Beta Access

Governance and Leadership

The B&Q Foundation is governed by a board of trustees with diverse expertise:

  • Chair - Catherine: Finance Change Director for Kingfisher since 2021, bringing strong track record in Finance, Governance, and Change
  • Treasurer - Stuart: Financial Controller at B&Q with 11 years in the B&Q Finance team
  • Trustee - Alex: Director of Transforming Funding at NPC, previously Head of Funding at The National Lottery Community Fund
  • Trustee - Simon: CEO of Homeless Oxfordshire with nearly 15 years working in charities
  • Trustee - Anna: B&Q retail colleague currently on secondment to the Communities Team

This diverse board combines retail, finance, charity sector, and lived community experience to guide funding decisions.

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

The B&Q Foundation uses a three-step process managed through the Neighbourly platform:

  1. Expression of Interest: Complete initial form to assess eligibility (quick measure)
  2. Full Application Invitation: If eligible, receive email invitation to full application via Neighbourly with a two-week window to complete
  3. Create Profile: Set up organizational profile on Neighbourly platform as part of application

Applications open quarterly, though the Foundation may skip a round if they receive a large volume of eligible applications and choose to allocate from existing submissions.

Decision Timeline

  • Notification: Within 8 weeks of the funding round deadline
  • Method: Email notification of outcome
  • Project Delivery: Funded projects must be completed within 6 months of receiving the grant

Success Rates

Specific success rates are not publicly disclosed. However, the Foundation has funded over 1,300 projects since 2020, with over 500 projects funded by the time cumulative giving reached £2.5 million. Applications are reviewed and awarded based on strength of application.

Reapplication Policy

Not explicitly stated in public guidance. Contact the Foundation directly for clarification on reapplication timelines for unsuccessful applicants.

Application Success Factors

Direct Advice from the Foundation

"Provide as much information as possible about why your organisation is looking for this funding and how this will benefit both your beneficiaries and the charity. Using specific examples of who will be helped can really bring applications to life and help the B&Q Foundation to understand the need in your community."

Key Success Factors

  1. Demonstrate standalone projects: Show how your project reaches beyond core running costs and represents a specific, deliverable initiative
  2. Quantify impact: Include specific numbers of people reached, longevity of impact, and measurable outcomes
  3. Align with core aims: Explicitly reference the Foundation's mission to create better, safer places for people who need them most
  4. Focus on homelessness: Current funding priority is charities supporting people experiencing homelessness
  5. Show significant Foundation contribution: Prioritize applications where Foundation funding exceeds 25% of total project cost
  6. Use compelling examples: Bring applications to life with specific stories of beneficiaries who will be helped

Recently Funded Projects

  • Action for Children: £150,000 over three years to create safe homes for children and young people, including Yew Tree House (fully accessible home for children with learning and physical disabilities)
  • The Haven Wolverhampton: £4,888 to furnish new safe house property for women and children fleeing domestic abuse
  • YMCA East Surrey: Furniture for housing 18-30 year-olds
  • Mountbatten Hampshire Hospice: Furnished house for five young people experiencing homelessness
  • Northern Ireland Hospice: Summer house for children

Language and Terminology

The Foundation emphasizes:

  • “Feel at home” and “sense of belonging”
  • “Better, safer places”
  • “People who need them most”
  • “Community spaces where people can thrive”
  • Focus on transformation and improvement rather than maintenance

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • Lead with homelessness focus: Currently prioritizing charities supporting people experiencing homelessness - make this connection explicit and central
  • Ensure over 25% funding threshold: Structure budgets so B&Q Foundation contribution exceeds 25% of total project cost to increase prioritization
  • Tell beneficiary stories: Use specific, named examples and case studies to bring the need and impact to life
  • Demonstrate standalone project: Clearly distinguish project from core operations and show discrete deliverables within 6-month timeframe
  • Only UK registered charities eligible: Confirm charity registration status before applying - CICs and community groups cannot apply
  • Plan for quarterly deadlines: Monitor website for opening dates as rounds may be skipped if previous round was oversubscribed
  • Emphasize “home and belonging”: Use Foundation's language around creating spaces where people feel at home and have belonging
  • Include volunteer opportunity: B&Q colleagues volunteer extensively (33,000+ hours in 2023/24) - consider if project could benefit from volunteer support

Similar Funders

These funders frequently fund the same charities:

🎯 You've done the research. Now write an application they can't refuse.

Hinchilla combines funder's specific priorities with your organisation's past successful grants and AI analysis of what reviewers want to see.

✓

Data privacy and security by default

✓

Your organisation's past successful grants and experience

✓

AI analysis of what reviewers want to see

✓

A compelling draft application in 10 minutes instead of 10 hours

Get Beta Access NowLearn More

References