Cyber security grants for charities in 2025
Cyber security has never been more important for UK charities. But many charities lack the funds to buy the technology or access the expertise required to bolster their cyber security.
One of the best ways around this problem is to apply for funding. In this article, we explain what grants are available for charities that need to improve their cyber security and how to write a grant application for the best possible chance of securing funds.
Table of contents
- What grants are available for UK charities?
- Checklist: How to write a funding application
- Next steps
What grants are available for UK charities?
There is a range of grants available to British charities that need funding to upgrade their cyber security. Some of these grants are from funding bodies that specialise in technology-related giving. Others are from generalist organisations such as the National Lottery.
As long as your grant application meets the funding body’s award criteria, it’s up to the charity how they spend any funds they receive. Texaport has decades of experience helping charities get the most out of their cyber security budget. Our experts will be happy to help you.
Funding bodies to which UK charities can apply for grants to improve their technology and cyber security include:
1. The NCSC Cyber Essentials Programme
Successful applicants receive 20 hours of free support to help them obtain their Cyber Essentials certificate.
Although applications for the 2025 NCSC Cyber Essentials Programme have closed, the programme has been running annually. Check the site for updates on 2026 applications.
- Who can apply: the programme is open to small UK businesses and charities (with fewer than 49 employees) that have not received funding before.
- How you can use the funds: the grant takes the form of 20 hours with a Cyber Essentials advisor who will help you prepare for certification.
2. The WCIT IT4Good Grant Programme
The fund provides grants of up to £15,000 to charities to support them in technology-related projects and upgrades.
The next deadline for a funding application is 5 pm on October 22, 2025, with decisions made by early December 2025.
- Who can apply: registered charities, educational establishments, community interest companies and other types of formal non-profits.
- How you can use the funds: to fund digital projects that improve one or more of these areas education, inclusion, tech for charities, and public understanding.
3. Microsoft Fund for Non-profits
Microsoft offers grants and discounts to charities that meet its eligibility criteria. Find out more about Microsoft 365 for charities.
The fund provides discounts on Microsoft products and services. Your organisation can use these to build a secure, compliant technology ecosystem.
- Who can apply: the scheme is open to HMRC-exempt registered charities and to religious foundations such as churches.
- How you can use the funds: the grant takes the form of discounts or licenses for Microsoft products and services.
As well as grants specifically for improving technology and cyber security, there are also general funds that may consider grants for cyber security if these meet their criteria.
4. The National Lottery Fund
The lottery funds a wide variety of different projects with different sizes of grants and has funded charity cyber security upgrades in the past.
If your charity is more than a year old and has an income of less than £1 million a year, you can apply at any time. Terms of eligibility depend on the specific fund you apply to.
- Who can apply: the lottery funds “projects that support people and communities across the UK to thrive,” which includes registered UK charities.
- How you can use the funds: the grants can cover both capital and running costs, which can include cyber security costs if these fall under the terms of the grant.
5. The Fore: a “charity to support charities”
It gives grants of up to £45,000 that can be used, among other things, for technology.
Charities with a revenue of less than £500,000 a year are eligible to apply for grants. The grant can include pro bono support in relevant areas, including IT.
- Who can apply: The Fore wants to fund small-scale registered charities that have the potential to make a big impact but lack the resources to do so.
- How you can use the funds: The Fore offers unrestricted grants that can be used for capital and running costs.
6. The People’s Postcode Lottery
The Postcode Lottery offers funding, through its trusts, for registered charities with an annual income of between £10,000 and £1 million.
How you apply and what your deadlines are depend on where in the UK your charity is based. See Postcode Lottery website for further information.
- Who can apply: the eligibility criteria cover UK-registered charities, community interest companies and community benefit societies.
- How you can use the funds: the Postcode Trust provides unrestricted funding, so spending on cyber security, if it’s relevant to your charitable purpose, is fine.
7. The Clothworkers Foundation
As the charitable arm of the City of London’s Clothworkers Company, the foundation gives grants to UK charities and community organisations.
The foundation specialises in specific areas, for instance, tackling exclusion and prejudice. Digital infrastructure is one of the types of capital projects for which it offers funding.
- Who can apply: UK-registered charities and non-profits with an annual turnover of less than £2 million or £10 million, depending on the size of the grant applied for.
- How you can use the funds: the foundation funds capital costs; if equipment or cyber security assets fall within the scope of capital costs, they may be eligible for funding.
8. Arts Council England
The Arts Council England runs a variety of funds, open to different types of organisations, some of which cover technology upgrades.
Your project must have a creative or cultural experience for its participants as its main purpose. But it can be digital in nature, and that could include a cyber security element.
- Who can apply: organisations engaged in digital or technology-based creative and performance projects in which the experience of the participant is central.
- How you can use the funds: hardware or software costs, including cyber security, may be in scope if you can show these are integral to the creation or distribution of your work.
9. Welsh Council for Voluntary Action
The WCVA takes grant applications from Welsh charities and has a fund specifically for digital projects.
Applicants are best advised to apply to the Newid Cymru, which the WCVA runs with partner organisations, and which is specifically targeted at digital development.
- Who can apply: organisations that have taken part in Newid Cymru training and mentoring are eligible to apply for a small grant toward technology-related costs.
- How you can use the funds: the training schemes, and thus the grants, are open broadly to third-sector organisations registered in Wales.
10. Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations
The SCVO accepts grant applications from third-sector Scottish organisations that need cyber expertise to help secure themselves.
The programme helps charities improve cyber security through gap analysis and the implementation of Cyber Essentials controls. Charities must be registered in Scotland.
- Who can apply: constituted, volunteer-led charities and other types of non-profit registered in Scotland.
- How you can use the funds: the grant takes the form of time with a Cyber Essentials advisor who will help you prepare for certification.
Checklist: How to write a funding application
Applying for funding requires you to tailor your application and the project you want to fund to the priorities of the funding body in question. There is no one-size-fits-all checklist.
That said, there is a range of best practices that are consistent from one grant funding body to another. Here is a checklist of some of the most important points to look out for:
- Tailor your application: read applicant guidelines, sample applications and case studies from previous years. Tailor your application as precisely as you can.
- Connect your grant with your charitable goals: in your application, clearly explain how your project benefits users and enables you to meet your charitable objective.
- Include your objectives: tell the funding body how you plan to judge whether your project succeeds. They will also be able to judge you against these goals.
- Show budget planning: show your costings. Explain how you will use the award to pay for your project and what the money will buy.
- Demonstrate leadership buy-in: in your application, show that your board and other senior leaders understand the importance of your project and support it.
- Include evidence: include or link to evidence from authoritative sources that substantiates your claim that your project is necessary to your users and your charitable ends.
- Show support: if the application form allows you to, demonstrate evidence of support from the community, service users and other relevant stakeholders for your project.
- Provide all necessary information: go over your application as many times as necessary to check that you have provided all the information the funding body has asked for.
- Write in plain English: write clearly, so that someone outside your specialism will easily understand the importance of your project. Use as little jargon as you can.
- Watch the deadline: many funding bodies simply will not consider late applications, and many only open for applications once or twice a year.
At the end of the writing process, you should have an application that shows why your users need this project, how it will help fulfil your charitable object and how it meets the funding body’s requirements. The funding body should be able to see clear evidence that your charity’s leadership supports the project and will give it the backing it needs to succeed.
Next steps
Texaport is one of the UK’s leading managed services providers, with extensive experience in IT support for charities to ensure they have the technology they need to fulfil their charitable goals, serve their users and meet their regulatory obligations.
Contact us to learn how our experts help you allocate your cyber security funds efficiently. Get the most value and deploy security technology that meets your operational needs, secures your organisation and fulfils the terms of your grant.
