Funding opportunities in February 2026
Howard Lake | 9 February 2026 | News
An endowment fund for women’s charities, a new name for the Aviva Foundation Community Fund, and a million pound milestone for the Saffron Community Fund are some of the funding opportunities and developments this month.
£350mn endowment targets women’s sector
The Women’s Resource Centre has launched the Women’s Forever Fund, a push to establish the UK’s first endowment fund exclusively for women’s charities.
The initiative was announced last month at the House of Lords in London.
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It is designed to confront the “unprecedented turmoil” in social justice funding and the persistent issue of underinvestment, where women’s charities receive less than 2% of charitable grants.
Backed by the Women’s Resource Centre, the fund’s goal is to secure £350 million over six years for ethical investment, providing a “stable, future-facing” income stream. This is set to unlock over £20 million for grantmaking during that period.
The immediate priority is securing £50 million from the Dormant Assets Scheme, public money that the government is currently making available, with corporate and philanthropic partners already lined up to match the initial public contribution.
The aim is to establish sustainable, dedicated capital for organisations that have spent decades supporting women, doing work that “nobody else does.”
Aviva Foundation Community Fund renamed
The Aviva Community Fund has become the Communities Fund and is now part of the Aviva Foundation – bringing all the company’s charitable funding together in one place.
Through a combination of crowdfunding and match funding, the Communities Fund helps organisations raise money to drive meaningful change.
In 2026 the Communities Fund has committed £2 million to projects supporting people’s financial wellbeing and responding to the impact of climate change. Recipients could receive up to £25,000 for their community project.
The Communities Fund from Aviva Foundation, now live on Crowdfunder, matches every donation up to £250 — doubling £5 into £10 and £250 into £500.
UK-based organisations with an income under £1 million can raise match funding for projects focused on financial wellbeing and climate action. The funding is available if your organisation:
- Has an annual income no higher than £1,000,000 (in the previous financial year)
- Is UK-based, with beneficiaries located in the UK
- Is actively making a difference in their local communities
- Focuses on one or both of the Fund’s key areas: financial wellbeing and climate action.
You can find out if you are eligible and if so start fundraising today. You can apply at any time. That said, “funding is limited”. Once its annual cap is reached, the Communities Fund will need to close applications for the remainder of the calendar year. It will announced if or when applications are closed on its website.
Volunteer support available
In parallel with the funding, Aviva employees get up to 21 volunteering hours every year. “If your community project needs a helping hand, they’re ready to share their time, skills, and energy”. You can mention how they might help in your Communities Fund application.
Even if you are not applying to the Communities Fund you can still ask for volunteer support.
The Communities Fund offers plenty of images and communications templates for selected organisations to use to get the message out in their crowdfunding.
Saffron Building Society raises more than £1 million
Saffron Building Society has raised more than £1 million for its endowment fund at Essex Community Foundation, well ahead of the five-year target set in 2023.
The achievement means the Saffron Community Fund can now award around £50,000 each year to support local projects, charities, and initiatives across Essex. Since its launch in 2011, the fund has given more than £300,000 to a wide range of local causes.
Managed by the Essex Community Foundation, grants are decided by a panel of Saffron Building Society staff and members. The fund reflects the Society’s long-standing commitment to “making a meaningful difference in the communities it serves”.
Colin Field, CEO of Saffron Building Society, said:
“Reaching £1 million in our endowment fund is a testament to our values as a mutual. We’re incredibly proud to have exceeded our target and to know this fund will continue supporting Essex communities now and in the future.”
Essex Community Foundation works to connect donors with local charities, helping strengthen communities across the county.
Launch of The DIV Fund
The DIV Fund is a new, evidence-driven open innovation fund for global development. It is intended to serve as “a global R&D engine for development: testing new ideas, generating credible evidence, and enabling markets, governments, and donors to scale the solutions that deliver the greatest impact”.
It is launched against the background of USAID being dismantled and other official development assistance being scaled back. Indeed, the fund originates with USAID, as its Development Innovation Ventures programme. The DIV Fund is lead by the former leadership of the programme.
The model it uses “has been shown to generate an estimated $39 in social value for every dollar invested”. The Fund has raised ¢48 million so far “to carry this approach forward”.
Sasha Gallant, DIV Fund co-founder and CEO, said:
“The DIV Fund exists to cultivate a pipeline of solutions – backed by rigorous evidence – that can improve millions of lives at a fraction of the usual cost”.
Applications to the DIV Fund are expected to open in mid-2026.
- Julia Rausing Trust gives £1 million to St Martin-in-the-Fields charity (29 January 2026)
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.