About Course
Finding the Right Funders
CPD Accredited – July 2026 Edition
A practical, UK-focused training course on researching, assessing and matching your charity to the right grant funders, grounded in UK law, regulation and the most authoritative funder research tools available.
Who Is This Course For?
This course has been designed for anyone involved in identifying and researching grant funders for a UK charity or voluntary organisation. Whether you are a:
- Fundraiser or bid writer who wants to spend less time researching and more time winning
- Trustee or CEO responsible for diversifying your organisation’s funding base
- Volunteer taking on a grant research or fundraising coordination role
- Finance lead wanting to understand the funder landscape that sits alongside your financial planning
- Small charity generalist who wears every hat and needs a fast, reliable research process
- New entrant to the sector who wants to build their funder knowledge from a solid foundation
This course will show you exactly where to look, what to look for and how to match your organisation to funders who are genuinely likely to say yes. No expensive subscriptions required.
Course Overview
6 modules · Average 3 to 4 hours to complete · Work at your own pace
The UK Funding Landscape
Before you can find the right funder, you need to understand who the funders are. This module maps the six main categories of UK grant funder, charitable trusts and foundations, National Lottery distributors, statutory and government bodies, community foundations, corporate funders and company foundations, and European and international funders. You will learn how grant-making trusts are legally constituted under the Charities Act 2011, how their governing document constrains what they can fund, and what the scale of UK grant funding actually means for your organisation.
Know Your Organisation First
Most funders check your organisation’s eligibility and governance before reading a single word of your application. This module ensures you know exactly what funders will find when they look you up, your legal status, charitable purposes, governing document, annual accounts, safeguarding arrangements and data protection compliance. You will map your activities against the 13 charitable purposes in the Charities Act 2011 and learn how to describe your beneficiaries with the specificity that funders respond to.
Research Tools & Databases
This module is a practical tour of the best funder research tools available to UK charities, free and subscription-based. You will learn how to use the Charity Commission register and annual accounts to research what funders have actually given (not just what they say they fund), how to use 360Giving and GrantNav to search millions of UK grants, and how to get the most from tools including Idox and DSC Funds Online. Practical research exercises are built into the module.
Assessing Funder Fit
Finding a funder is the easy part. Assessing whether they are truly the right fit for your organisation is where most charities lose time and energy. This module gives you a structured four-stage fit assessment framework, eligibility, priorities, grant size and application process, and shows you how to apply it quickly and reliably to any prospective funder. You will also learn how to read between the lines of funder guidelines, interpret exclusion lists and use a funder’s grant history to predict their real-world preferences.
Building Your Funder Pipeline
A funder pipeline is a live, structured list of your best funding prospects, prioritised, tracked and ready to activate. This module shows you how to build one that works for your organisation’s size and capacity, how to segment your pipeline by readiness and relationship stage, and how to manage your time so the highest-value opportunities get the attention they deserve.
Ethics, Due Diligence & Funder Relationships
Not every funder is the right funder. This module covers the ethical considerations that should inform your funder research, including the reputational risks of accepting funding from certain sources, what the Code of Fundraising Practice says about ethical fundraising, and how to conduct basic due diligence on prospective funders. You will also learn about the emerging landscape of donor conditions and funder influence, and how to protect your organisation’s independence and integrity.
What You Will Learn
On completion of all modules, you will be able to:
- ✓ Map the six main categories of UK grant funder and understand how each operates and is legally constituted
- ✓ Assess your organisation’s readiness and eligibility for grant funding across different funder types
- ✓ Use the Charity Commission register, 360Giving, GrantNav and other authoritative tools to research funders effectively
- ✓ Apply a four-stage fit assessment framework to rapidly evaluate any prospective funder
- ✓ Build and maintain a prioritised funder pipeline that keeps your fundraising programme on track
- ✓ Apply ethical due diligence to prospective funders and protect your organisation’s independence and integrity
Benefits for You and Your Organisation
✓ Stop Wasting Time on Wrong-Fit Funders
Better targeting means fewer unsuccessful applications and more time invested in prospects that are genuinely likely to fund you. This course makes your research faster and more precise.
✓ Find Funders You Did Not Know Existed
From community foundations to corporate funds and international grant-makers, this course maps the full landscape, including sources that many smaller charities overlook entirely.
✓ Build a Reliable Funding Pipeline
A well-built funder pipeline means fewer funding gaps and more predictable income. This course shows you how to build and manage one that keeps your organisation on track.
✓ Protect Your Organisation’s Reputation
Knowing how to conduct funder due diligence protects you from accepting funding that could compromise your independence, values or public standing.
✓ A Resource You Will Keep Using
Download and save the course for future reference. Return to it whenever you are refreshing your funder research, updating your pipeline or mentoring a new team member.
✓ Recognised Achievement
Complete all six modules and receive a personalised, printable CPD-accredited certificate of completion to support your continuing professional development.
– Amie Elliott, GeckoFundraising Ltd
How It Works
Complete your purchase using our secure online card payment. Access to the full course is granted immediately upon payment being received, no waiting, no delay.
Work through the modules online at any time, at your own pace. Your progress is saved automatically in your browser, so you can dip in and out across multiple sessions to fit around your work. Please complete the course on the same device and browser throughout, as your progress is stored locally and will not transfer between devices.
Once complete, save the course as a PDF to keep on your desktop. Return to it whenever you need it, a practical reference resource you will use again and again.
Complete all modules and generate your personalised, printable CPD-accredited certificate of completion instantly, at no extra cost, a record of your professional development to share with trustees, employers or commissioners.
Course Investment
One-off payment including VAT · No subscription · Instant access on payment
- Complete online at your own pace, 3 to 4 hours on average
- Full course available to download and save for future reference
- Links to authoritative UK legislation and official guidance throughout
- Personalised, printable CPD-accredited certificate of completion on finishing all modules
- Course content covers the legal framework for charities in England and Wales · Also available in course bundles and the Full Catalogue (£649 including VAT)
Access to the course content is granted immediately upon receipt of your completed online card payment. You will be able to start learning straight away.
Important: complete this course on one device
Your progress, knowledge-check answers and certificate details are saved locally in the browser you use to open the course. They are not stored on our server and will not transfer to another device, or to a different browser on the same device. Please start and finish the course using the same device and browser. Clearing your browser history or site data, or using a private or incognito window, will also erase your progress. Your downloadable copy of the course is unaffected and can be opened anywhere.
Course Content
Finding the Right Funders
Finding the Right Funders