Application deadline: Friday, 21 November 2025
The UK government’s Common Ground Award is designed to invest capital funding into Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector organisations in England that are bringing people together from different backgrounds, supporting the cost of constructing or renovating facilities, or the purchasing of equipment to deliver services.
Capital grants can be used to support new builds, refurbishment or the expansion of facilities used to build bridging social capital. Funding can also cover essential equipment, such as laptops or furniture for the property.
The Common Ground Award aims to:
o Identify and reward good practice in building bridging social capital (the term social capital is normally given to refer to the networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling that society to function effectively).
o Invest in the physical spaces and equipment that enables good practice, and
o Build a community of practice, for knowledge sharing across the voluntary and community sector and with government.
Up to £1.7 million capital funding is available within the 2025/2026 financial year, distributed in payments of up to £10,000 per successful applicant. Applicants will be able to set out how capital investment could be scaled up beyond £10,000, up to a maximum of £50,000, which may be considered in exceptional cases where there is a clearly demonstrated need, supported by a strong application. Applicants must state the level of funding required that MHCLG can commit for spending by 31 March 2026.
Please note that organisations are eligible to make one application. If an organisation makes multiple applications, only the first application to be submitted will be assessed.
Further information, guidance and an online application for is available on the MHCLG website.
Successful applicants are expected to be notified in January 2026.
About the Author: alisonbridge
Quick Links
Recent Posts
State of the Sector: what’s next? – Networking
Our next blog is on the theme of networking. In our conversations with VCSE organisations, [...]
State of the Sector: what’s next? – Funding
Our first blog was on the theme of advocacy, and today we move on to [...]
