Guidance notes
We anticipate receiving many more applications than we can fund. In our 2024 grants round, fewer than 10% of applications were successful. We appreciate the time and energy it takes to write grant applications, so with this in mind, please read these guidance notes carefully before you apply.
These guidance notes should provide all the information you need to apply for funding. For any queries which are not addressed in these guidance notes, please email enquiries@coronationfoodproject.org.
Timelines
The application window will be open from 9am on the 7th January and close at 12 noon on the 21st January 2026.
We anticipate making grant decisions and grant awards by the end of March 2026.
How to apply
- Review these guidance notes, our eligibility criteria and our ‘guidance for grantees‘ page in full
- Complete the eligibility quiz and receive your unique application link
- Submit an application via the online application form
Please email us at enquiries@coronationfoodproject.org if you have any accessibility needs.
Where we will fund
We will consider applications from organisations working across all four nations of the United Kingdom. We will not support activities outside of the United Kingdom.
We want to direct funding to where it is needed most. Applications from areas of high deprivation, or those that can show how the project will benefit those most in need within an area of wealth disparity, will be prioritised.
There will be space in the application form for you to demonstrate the level of need in the area your organisation serves.
Who can apply
If you are currently holding a KCCF grant (Coronation Food Project or small grant) which has not completed, you may not apply.
If you have previously applied to the Coronation Food Project in its first grants round (January 2024) but were unsuccessful, you may apply.
If you have previously applied for a small grant from KCCF, you must have waited at least two years from the date of any previous unsuccessful application. If your small grant application was successful, you may apply two years after the end date of your last award period.
What we will support
Applications can be made for up to £25,000 in total. This could be a multiyear award over a two year period, or a one-off grant for one year.
We will consider applications for both core funding as well as specific projects, including capital expenditure. The amount of funding requested should not exceed 20% of your total income as detailed in your most recent published accounts. We will not consider applications for activities which have already been completed.
Applications to the grants programme must demonstrate how the funding would be used to address one or more of the following:
Tackle food insecurity
- Feeding more people facing food insecurity
- Improving knowledge, attitudes and behaviours around food – this could be through a market garden facilitating learning about growing healthy food, or a public education programme
- Building relevant skills – this could be through cooking classes, or other programmes which improve employability skills
Enhance capacity and capability in the food system
- Harnessing the full capacity of the food system – this could be through increasing staff hours, increasing redistribution efforts (more vehicles, capacity to store food), establishing new partnerships
- Improving capability – through upgrades to infrastructure, staffing and training, technologies
Building a more sustainable food system
- Positive environmental impacts – enhanced use of renewable energies, promotion of sustainable food sources, circular economies
- Innovation within the food system to save more edible food – this might include diverting food destined for food waste, on-farm gleaning, identifying new forms of food waste
For applicants working directly with people in need we are interested in hearing how you are listening to the voices of service users in your work and overcoming barriers people may face in accessing services.
We are keen to support organisations who demonstrate collaborative working with other relevant stakeholders e.g. other nonprofit organisations, local authorities, local food partnerships and so on.
What information will you need?
We ask for the following information in our online application form. Note that applicants can start their application, save their progress and resume at a later date. Please answer each question concisely, using bullet points where possible.
Section 1: Contact details
In this section, we ask for the contact details of the person making the application.
- Basic contact information: name, organisation’s address, email address and phone number.
Section 2: Organisational details
In this section, we ask about your organisation, its income level and legal status. This includes:
- Vision, mission and objectives of your organisation. 100 words.
- Legal status of your organisation.
- Financial information: annual income and level of unrestricted free reserves as per last published accounts. Your ‘unrestricted’ or ‘free’ reserves are those which could be used for any of the organisation’s charitable purposes, without any specific restrictions or limitations.
Section 3: Project details
In this section, we ask how much funding you would like, what for, and how funds would be used. We request this information as follows:
- An outline of your funding request. 20 words.
- The KCCF funding theme your project aligns with.
- Whether the project is new, or existing?
- The amount of funding you would like to request, and over how many years. Please note that KCCF reserves the right to award funds at a different level than requested.
- Where the project is based: country, region, county and local authority.
- Please outline how the project will benefit an area of high deprivation or wealth disparity. 50 words.
- Estimated project start date and end date. Please note that we do not offer funding for projects which have already taken place.
- How many additional meals will be provided to people in need as a result of this funding?
- How many tonnes of surplus food will be rescued or saved as a result of this funding? For example through accessing farm surplus or gleaning – accessing food that already exists but would have gone to waste.
- How many tonnes of food will be produced or generated as a result of this funding? For example through a market garden, or community growing project.
- How many people would be directly supported by this funding? This could be one person (i.e. through a contribution to salary costs), ten people (i.e. who all attend a cooking class funded by this grant), or many more people depending on the project.
- How many people would be indirectly supported by this funding? This could be the total number of people supported by your organisation, or may be more specific, i.e. if ten people participate in a cooking class, you might reasonably estimate that 30 people benefit overall, including their family members who enjoy the meals or gain from the shared knowledge.
- Is the project aimed at supporting a diverse community or group of service users?
- Please outline your organisation’s approach to safeguarding. 100 words.
- Please outline how your organisation listens and responds to the voices of service users and / or the wider community in how you deliver your work. 100 words.
- Which environmental categories would this project help? Check the relevant boxes and then 50 words to provide further details.
Section 4: About the Project
In this section, we ask about your plans for the project, and its expected impact.
- What would you like funding for? What are the aims and objectives of the project? 100 word limit.
- What is the need this project will meet? How will it achieve this? 150 word limit.
- Please outline the changes you are looking to achieve with this funding and how you will evidence these. Please link directly to how this funding will contribute to one of more of the following:
- Tackle food insecurity
- Enhance capacity and capability in the food system
- Build a more sustainable food system
200 word limit.
- Why are you the best placed organisation to deliver these outcomes? For example what networks, positioning and successes can you point to? 150 word limit.
- Outline how you are working collaboratively with other local actors involved in reducing food waste and food insecurity. 150 word limit.
- What risks could affect delivery of the project? How do you propose to mitigate / manage them? 100 word limit.
- Any other information which is pertinent to this application. 100 words. You should use this section to explain any potential issues, such as any exceptional reason for consistent late regulatory reporting history or significant fluctuation in annual income. If further information is required, we will request this via email. There is no need for you to submit any additional information via email unless specifically requested to do so.
Section 5: Declaration
We ask you to confirm that you are authorised to make this application on behalf of your organisation, that it is true and accurate, and that you consent to your data being used for the purposes of processing the grant application.
Section 6: Uploads
We ask for a copy of your most recent published accounts and, if you work with children or vulnerable adults, we also ask for your safeguarding policy.
Please attach a budget as an Excel file detailing the costs of the project – you can see an example here. Feel free to use this as a template.
Decision-making
After you submit the full application form, you will receive a confirmation email and a copy of your application.
All applications are screened using a standardised process to confirm eligibility.
We will request more information, if required.
Applications are shortlisted by KCCF before being considered by a grants committee, where a funding decision is made.
You can expect to receive a funding decision via email within two months of the application window closing.
Once a decision has been reached, we will email you to confirm the outcome. If your application is successful, this will explain more about what happens next.
Working with us
All successful grantees will attend a virtual session to introduce you to the aims of the Coronation Food Project, meet one another and learn more about our expectations of outcome-based reporting. Reporting is on an annual basis through an online form. For multi year grants, funding instalments are dependent on receipt of satisfactory reports.
We work to connect our grantees where we can to encourage collaboration and learning opportunities.
You can see our grant agreement and guidance for grantees here, as well as additional information on safeguarding, use of artificial intelligence and equity, diversity and inclusion.
FAQs
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