Civic Power Fund

Charity Number: 1203784

Annual Expenditure: £0.3M

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Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: £336,000+ (2023 Community Action Fund)
  • Success Rate: 2% (18 funded from ~900 first stage applicants)
  • Decision Time: 8-12 weeks
  • Grant Range: £2,500 - £20,000
  • Geographic Focus: UK-wide, with priority focus on North Manchester, North Wales, and Hampshire/Surrey

Contact Details

  • Website: www.civicpower.org.uk
  • Email: contact@civicpower.org.uk
  • Phone: 07958668741
  • Pre-Application Support: The fund offers 1-2-1 support to develop Grant Memos for shortlisted applicants

Overview

The Civic Power Fund (registered 2022, Charity No. 1203784) is the UK's first pooled donor fund dedicated to community organising. The fund operates with a trust-based and participatory grantmaking approach, with grassroots organisers making final funding decisions. Their mission is to enable resources to flow to communities traditionally excluded from democracy, “creating citizens as agents not recipients of change.” The fund focuses on three strategic pillars: direct support to grassroots groups using community organising, building infrastructure organising needs to thrive, and investing in civic leaders committed to building power. The fund's board is governed exclusively by movement builders and leaders of social purpose organisations, prioritising work led by women and people of colour.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

Community Action Fund (closed February 2023, may reopen annually)

  • £2,500 - £20,000 one-off grants
  • Rolling eligibility questionnaire followed by supported Grant Memo development
  • Funds available for providing services, protesting, campaigning, and bringing people together

Alliance for Youth Organising

  • £600,000 two-year investment launched in 2024
  • Supports youth organising infrastructure through an intergenerational collective
  • 9 Alliance members selected from 170 applicants in January 2024

Place-Based Investments

  • Long-term funding partnerships in North Manchester, North Wales, and Hampshire/Surrey
  • UK-wide infrastructure and leadership investments

Priority Areas

  • Grassroots community organising tackling injustice and exclusion
  • Democratic engagement and civic participation
  • Campaigns for long-term, systemic change
  • Power-building work in excluded communities
  • Youth organising and leadership development
  • Groups led by people with lived experience of the injustice they address
  • Organisations prioritising racial, economic, and climate justice

What They Don't Fund

  • Organisations with turnovers exceeding £250,000
  • Pure service delivery without power-building components (while service delivery activities can be funded, the fund prioritises community organising and campaigning)
  • Work not rooted in or accountable to excluded communities
  • Organisations not seeking to “build a larger us” or those promoting divisive politics
  • Groups without focus on long-term, systemic change
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Governance and Leadership

Key Staff

  • Martha Mackenzie - Staff leader with background in organising, campaigning, fundraising and charity leadership; previously Head of Global Humanitarian Advocacy at UNICEF in New York
  • Mohammed - Former National Coordinator of Rize Up voter registration campaign; previously consultant for UK Democracy Fund
  • Zain Hafeez - Community Fund Manager and part-time Community Organiser with Citizens UK
  • Joy - Previously at Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts working on policy and grant management

Board Members/Trustees

  • Dan - Save the Children's Interim Executive Director for Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns
  • Nick Lowles - Chief Executive of HOPE not hate, the UK's largest anti-racism and anti-extremism movement
  • Nikki - Director for Campaigning and Communities for The Wildlife Trusts

The board is drawn exclusively from leaders of social purpose organisations and movement builders.

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

  1. Eligibility Questionnaire: Complete a short online questionnaire with four questions (can be answered by video, voice note, or text). The Civic Power Fund team reviews submissions on a rolling basis.
  1. Grant Memo Development: If deemed in-scope, applicants receive 1-2-1 support from the team to complete a Grant Memo and address due diligence challenges ahead of time.
  1. Community Action Panel Review: Final funding decisions made by a panel of grassroots organisers.

Decision Timeline

  • Initial eligibility review: Ongoing/rolling basis
  • Grant Memo development: 4-6 weeks with staff support
  • Panel decision: 4-6 weeks after submission
  • Total timeline: Approximately 8-12 weeks from initial questionnaire to decision
  • Notification: Successful and unsuccessful applicants contacted directly

Success Rates

  • Community Action Fund received ~7,500 eligibility questionnaire responses
  • ~900 progressed to first stage
  • 90 shortlisted to second stage
  • 18 groups funded (2% overall success rate)
  • Total funding: £336,000 distributed in April 2023

Applicant Satisfaction:

  • 77% of first stage respondents rated their experience as good or very good
  • 100% of second stage respondents rated their experience as good or very good

Reapplication Policy

No formal restrictions on reapplications. The fund provides extensive support to unsuccessful applicants:

  • Groups rejected at first stage offered 1-to-1 feedback calls discussing alternate funding sources
  • Unsuccessful final stage applicants offered free governance and due diligence checks
  • All unsuccessful applicants receive 1-to-1 feedback and next steps calls

Application Success Factors

What the Fund Values

Community Rootedness: Organisations must be “rooted in and accountable to their community” and led by people with lived experience of the injustice they're addressing.

Power-Building Focus: The fund prioritises “outside game” activities (community organising, campaigning, democratic engagement) over “inside game” work in elite settings. Their research shows less than 10% of social justice funding goes to outside game activities despite these being critical for excluded communities.

Long-Term Vision: Groups must be “hoping to achieve long-term change on issues affecting their community” rather than short-term fixes.

Solidarity and Coalition: Organisations must be “seeking to build a larger us and resisting the politics of division.”

Recent Funded Examples

  • Centre for Progressive Change - Fighting alongside cleaners for better sick pay
  • Citizens UK - Built powerful network to welcome Ukrainian refugees
  • All The Small Things (Stoke-on-Trent) - Tackled loneliness through deep conversations and community events; provided community organising training to help members engage local council
  • Triangular CIO (Tyne and Wear) - Network supporting migrant communities; strengthened alliances with other refugee community organisations
  • Coffee Afrik (East London) - Supporting women, young people, and marginalised groups; ran organising workshops leading to nine protests and progress on two local public health policies

Language and Approach

The fund uses accessible, non-bureaucratic language and processes. Initial applications are deliberately simple (four short questions via text, video, or voice note). Staff provide hands-on support rather than expecting applicants to navigate complex processes alone.

Standing Out

  • Demonstrate genuine community accountability and leadership by affected people
  • Show focus on building power, not just delivering services
  • Emphasise campaigning and organising methodology
  • Articulate clear vision for long-term, systemic change
  • Evidence commitment to solidarity and coalition-building across differences
  • Be authentic in your responses - the fund values accessibility and clarity over polished corporate language

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • Focus on power-building: While service delivery can be included, demonstrate how your work builds community power and drives systemic change through organising and campaigning.
  • Led by affected communities: The fund strongly prioritises organisations led by people with lived experience of the injustice they're tackling. Ensure community leadership is evident.
  • Turnover matters: Only organisations with annual turnover under £250,000 are eligible. This is a fund specifically for grassroots groups.
  • Trust-based approach: The fund uses participatory grantmaking with grassroots organisers making final decisions. Your application will be judged by peers, not traditional funders.
  • Support beyond funding: Successful applicants receive capacity-building support, governance help, and access to the Civic Power Fund Governance Hub - mention how this could benefit your organisation.
  • Geographic priorities exist but aren't exclusive: While they have place-based work in North Manchester, North Wales, and Hampshire/Surrey, UK-wide infrastructure and leadership development are also funded.
  • Reapplication is welcomed: With 100% of second-stage applicants rating their experience positively and extensive feedback offered, unsuccessful applicants are encouraged to reapply with improvements.

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