The Green Futures Fund launched in September 2026.

The first round will open October 19 and the deadline to apply will be midday, on November 16.

The fund is supported by a collection of individuals, companies and organisations who want to support practical water conservation, community action to improve our local environment and preserve our precious resources, and investing in the skills and aspirations of young people to help tackle climate change, including career aspirations and support.

This one minute video features philanthropist Tom Flood CBE, who is also Chair of Dorset Community Foundation and Master of the Worshipful Company of Water Conservators, a modern City of London Livery Company that promotes the science, art, and practice of water and environmental management. In it he talks about his reasons for launching the fund.

Dorset is widely celebrated for its natural beauty, but the county faces significant environmental pressures. According to Dorset Council, just 18 per cent of Dorset’s water bodies had good ecological status in 2019, while there has been a devastating 74 per cent decline in the total area of semi-natural habitat since the 1930s. More widely, the Environment Agency estimates that, without further action, England could face a public water supply shortfall of almost 5 billion litres a day by 2055, while research by the Institute of Grocery Distribution and Ernst & Young suggests climate change could add £2.6 billion to UK food-system costs by 2050 under a business-as-usual scenario.

To preserve Dorset’s unique natural heritage for future generations, this fund aims to contribute to developing a community that knows how to live in harmony with nature.

Eligibility

Groups must be local to Dorset.

We do not fund national charities, including those with distinct services in Dorset*

* We define a National Charity as one operating face to face activities in areas outside the South of England. There may be some discretion given by panels if more than 50 per cent of activities are delivered in Dorset and there is a strong local presence and accountability, but we recommend you talk to the Grants Manager before applying (see Pre-application support, below). We can fund groups that are affiliated to, or members of a national body if you are financially independent and have independent governance (this means you are solely responsible for your own activities, not the national body). 

Organisations that can apply:

• Registered Charities
• Constituted Community and Voluntary Organisations
• Community Interest Companies limited by guarantee
• Companies limited by guarantee that have a clear not-for-profit clause in their governing document and clear charitable or social objectives

To be eligible the organisation must have:

• At least three unrelated people responsible for running the organisation (for registered charities these are your Trustees, for CICs/Social Enterprises these are your Directors)
• A written constitution or set of rules that sets out the purpose and management of the organisation
• A bank account in the name of the organisation with at least two unrelated signatories required for payments
• An appropriate Safeguarding Policy and EDI policy

Exclusions:

• Schools are not eligible but we can fund PTA groups if they meet our eligibility guidelines
• We cannot fund the promotion of religion or political causes – faith based organisations should advise whether funded activities are designed to, or include elements that are designed to influence people’s religious choices
• We cannot fund public bodies to carry out their statutory obligations
• We cannot fund animal welfare organisations
• We cannot offer retrospective funding for items already purchased or work completed
• Organisations with more than 12 months’ unrestricted reserves are usually not funded

Priorities

The Green Futures Fund supports three priority areas.

Our highest priority: We want to support the safeguarding of water as a precious resource. We will award grants that help to reduce the use of water, and increase the re-use of water. This might involve:

• Public awareness campaigns aiming to reduce the use of water, encourage the reuse of water and increase awareness of how to protect our water supplies
• Rainwater harvesting solutions for community gardens and green spaces
• Projects to support improvements to the quality of water e.g. rivers and freshwater

Our second priority – we want young people to feel more optimistic about their future, the future of the planet and the place where they live. We will award grants that support young people to have increased levels of engagement in environmental activities. This might involve:

• Supporting young people to explore and improve the environment where they live
• Youth led social action projects that tackle environmental issues
• Education, skills development and volunteering/work experience opportunities that support a greater interest in the local environment or aspirations for environmental career paths
  Work including or related to water conservation with be a priority.

Thirdly, we want local people to feel more invested in local environments and more actively involved in environmental sustainability. We will award grants for well activities that focus on environmental sustainability or behaviour changes, and will engage local people to participate. This might involve:

• Community growing or community beehive activities that involve local people and increase their interaction with nature
• Creation, restoration/conservation or improvement of community green spaces, bee friendly corridors or similar, which improves biodiversity and encourages engagement with the natural world
• Recycling, re-using and repairing activities that reduce waste, including single use plastics
• Supporting community groups to think actively about ways to improve their environmental sustainability, through behaviour changes, energy saving equipment or renewables
• Public awareness and education campaigns including encouraging sustainable transport, practical ways to reduce waste and use less energy or water, and litter picking activities
  Work including or related to water conservation with be a priority.

Examples provided are not an exhaustive list. The panel will be interested to hear about ideas for community activities that involve improve our local environment, preserve our precious resources and invest in the skills and aspirations of young people to help tackle climate change.

What can I apply for?

Grants of up to £4,000 are available. Applications for smaller amounts are welcome.

Groups should hear the outcome of their application by the end of November 2026, so the earliest start date for funded activities will be mid-December 2026 (or January 2026).

The activities funded must start within two months of the award and groups have up to 12 months to spend the grant.

Applications do not need to be for new activities. We can fund the continuation of existing activities that are delivering evidenced outcomes, the expansion or adaption of these services in line with local needs or increased demand, piloting new ways of working or launch of new services.

We will fund any costs relating to the work you deliver including core costs, service delivery costs and reasonable capital costs (e.g. office equipment, sports equipment, tools etc). Contributions towards large capital appeals are a low priority for funding.

Monitoring and reporting

You should have tools in place to measure and record the intended outcomes of the grant – in terms of the environmental impact and the impact on local people involved in the funded activities. We do not expect complex or multiple methods – examples may include feedback forms/questionnaires, interviews or discussion groups, recording observations, attendance logs or other relevant data.

Completion of an online End of Grant report is a requirement of funding, including how funds were spent, the outcomes achieved (for beneficiaries and/or your organisation), learning during the grant period and individual case studies where relevant.

Pre-application support

Pre-application support is particularly encouraged for groups who have not applied to our grant programmes before but is available for anyone in need of advice about the application process, or if you are unsure whether your project/activity is suitable. Please email our Grants Manager to arrange a 20 minute phone call.

Our application forms are compatible with screen readers. Please contact us if you need the application form in an alternative format.

• Grants Manager, Ellie Maguire: 01202 138690 / grants@dorsetcf.org

Timeframe

This fund has one round per year.

The 2026 Round opens for applications on Monday October 19, 2026.

The deadline to apply is midday, Monday November 16, 2026.

You will be notified of the outcome of your application by end of November 2026. Funded activities can start from mid December 2026 – and should start within 2 months of receipt of the grant.

How to apply

This fund is currently CLOSED.

The next round opens for applications on Monday October 19, 2026 and the deadline to apply is midday, Monday November 16, 2026.

You will need to attach the following supporting documents to your online application, or send them via email to grants@dorsetcf.org

• A copy of your constitution/governing document, if you are not registered at Companies House or the Charities Commission
• A copy of a recent bank statement no more than three months old. This can be a scanned/photo of paper statement, or a copy downloaded from an online account – we need to see the bank name and the account name, number and sort code
• A copy of your latest annual accounts (if they more than a year old, please send draft accounts for the current year if you can) – in the case of new groups, please send a financial forecast or budget for your first year if you have one
• Your Safeguarding policy and Equality & Diversity policy *our guidance notes may be helpful
• (CICs operating more than 1 year should also provide their CIC 34 report, and those with micro accounts only should provide their trading profit and loss accounts)

Apart from the bank statement, you do not have to send these if you have already sent these documents in the last six months.

NB We have added any ‘any other information’ box to all our application forms, requested via our last survey with applicants. This is after the main questions and can be used to clarify anything you need to.

*For support with policy development or reviews we recommend you contact one of the local support agencies for voluntary sector groups – Community Action Network offers support to groups in the BCP area. Volunteer Centre Dorset and Dorset Community Action  provides support to groups in the Dorset Council area.

Safeguarding policy – there are helpful online resources such as the Charity Commission’s guidance on Safeguarding and the NSPCC website. New groups or those without any current policy may find it helpful to watch this short video ‘Safeguarding adults in the voluntary sector’  introducing what Safeguarding is and why it is relevant for all voluntary sector groups, no matter how small or who you are working with.

Equality & Diversity policy – we recommend this should include as a minimum: reference to the Equality Act 2010 and explicitly covering all protected characteristics, equal access to services & employment and ways you achieve this, preventing harassment or discrimination and how complaints are dealt with fairly.

In order for us to follow our decision-making process, the information given in your application will be shared with our independent panel members and/or donors as appropriate. Panel members are subject to a confidentiality agreement. Please see our Privacy Policy for more information on data sharing and storage.