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Why Grant Funding Can Feel Broken and What Charities Can Do About It

The Reality for Small Charities & Non-Profits

Grant funding often feels broken for small charities because the process is complex, time consuming, and provides little feedback. However, by using structured workflows and AI powered tools like Grant Genie, charities can reduce effort and improve their chances of success.

What is the challenge for small charities?

Grant funding can be a lifeline or a significant time drain. It supports essential community work, but for many small charities and CICs, the process feels unnecessarily difficult.

In 2024, more than £20 billion in grant funding was distributed across the UK. Yet smaller organisations still struggle to access it. The issue is not always a lack of available funding. Often, the process itself is built around outdated assumptions about time, resources, and access.

What barriers do charities face?
Here are some of the reasons the process feels difficult for smaller organisations:

1.  Limited capacity
Most charities have small teams juggling multiple responsibilities. There is often no dedicated grant writer.

2.  Inconsistent information
Eligibility criteria, deadlines, and guidelines vary widely between funders. It is hard to know where to start.

3.  No standard format
Each funder asks different questions. Applications often need to be written from scratch with no clear reuse.

4.  Lack of feedback
Applications are often submitted without acknowledgement. Rejections rarely include a reason, making it hard to improve.

What is the cost to the sector?

According to the Law Family Commission on Civil Society, small and medium sized charities spend up to 33 percent of their grant income on the work involved in applying for funding. That represents an estimated £900 million each year in lost time and effort across the sector.

Can technology and AI help?

Yes. The right tools and processes can make a significant difference. AI powered solutions such as Grant Genie are designed to reduce time and duplication by offering more intelligent and structured support.

Benefits include:

Simple actions can make a big difference.

Start with:

Frequently asked questions

Why do small charities spend so much time on grant applications?
Because each funder requires different formats, expectations, and information. Without a dedicated resource, most charities must build each application from scratch.

What would make the applying for grants easier?
A shared language across funders, access to feedback, and tools that reduce duplication would all help charities apply with greater confidence.

How does Grant Genie support this process?
Grant Genie helps by surfacing the right funding opportunities and supporting faster, more structured applications. It enables small teams to make better use of their limited time and resources.

Final thought

The grant funding process is not broken because people do not care. It is broken because it was built for a time when expectations and resources looked very different. Charities should not be excluded simply because they lack the capacity to navigate complexity.

With the right tools in place, a sustainable future is possible.

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