FUNDING DIGITAL 2025

Digital Infrastructure in no longer a 'nice-to-have' but how do we get our hands on funding for it?

​​​Funding Digital

According to the Charity Digital Skills Report 2025, many grants still restrict core spend, so servers, licenses, backups, and support get squeezed. Even when allowed, it’s often capped at a small amount of project costs. 40% of UK charities report receiving some funding that included digital costs in the last 12 months, up from 19% the previous year, but that still leaves 60% with no digital funding at all. 

Funding Digital
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​Why it's so hard for charities to fund digital infrastructure (and what to do about it)

​If you’ve ever tried to raise money for core tech, you'll know that funders often prefer front-line projects over the unglamorous wiring that actually makes services work. CRMs, cybersecurity, devices, connectivity, cloud platforms, data plumbing are no longer nice-to-haves, but critical to efficient and effective organisation.  And yet,  in the not-for-profit world, it is often difficult to make the case to funders that investment in our infrastructure and the tools of our trade mean we are more able to deliver on their priorities.  

Who actually funds digital infrastructure?

• National Lottery Community Fund – Awards for All / Reaching Communities. Broad community outcomes; eligible costs can include equipment and core running costs tied to delivery. Competitive but mainstream.

• Clothworkers’ Foundation – Capital Grants (now include digital infrastructure). Explicitly invites applications for “essential digital infrastructure” as part of capital funding.

• Fat Beehive Foundation. Small UK charities (<£1m) for web/digital projects (e.g., websites), not general IT, but useful for a foundational upgrade.

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• Nominet (public-benefit programmes). Regular grants and partnerships on digital inclusion, devices, connectivity and enabling infrastructure.

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• Government: Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund (England). Grants for tackling device/data poverty, access to services, and digital confidence—often allowing enabling tech spend.

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• Esmée Fairbairn Foundation – Infrastructure support. Backs civil-society infrastructure and system-level enablers; digital foundations can fit where they “unblock barriers” sector wide.

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• City Bridge Foundation (London). Periodic calls and roundups that frequently include funds where digital/core costs are eligible within wider organisational strengthening.

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• ​Sector roundups you should watch. NCVO’s guide to funding digital & tech (kept current) and Superhighways’ “funding your tech & digital infrastructure” page often surface relevant, time-boxed calls.

​Top tips to get digital infrastructure funded

Frame infrastructure as mission critical outcomes, not kit. Lead with the service risks you’re solving (safeguarding, uptime for helplines, data protection, waiting-list reduction), and make the tech the means. This aligns with mainstream community outcomes funders understand.

Show total cost of ownership and sustainability. Split one-off setup vs recurring opex; say exactly how subscriptions, support, backups and training will be covered after the grant. Name co-funders or earned-income lines covering the tail. (Funders have flagged the opex gap explicitly.)

​Bundle infrastructure under recognised priorities. Device/data poverty → digital inclusion; CRM + consent + reporting → quality, safeguarding, and measurement; impact MFA/EDR → cybersecurity & resilience. Then target the calls built around those priorities (Lottery, government inclusion funds, Nominet, etc.)

So...what are your chances?

Mainstream small grants (e.g., Lottery small grants): historically ~30–40% in some nations/programmes (Scotland published ~37% in 2018), though this fluctuates year-to-year and by country; sub-£5k awards were once much higher, but criteria and demand have shifted. Expect lower today given volume.

Typical open foundation calls: often ~5–20% depending on theme/size; many report single-digit rates during high-demand periods.

Tech-specific or innovation funds: can be single digits to low-teens, reflecting oversubscription (e.g., analogous public innovation calls cite ~2–10% success).

​With disciplined prospecting: charities spending 20–30% of bid time on research saw ~44% success with cold funders in one 2025 survey (mid-sized orgs), versus ~20% where research time was lower or unfocused.

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Knowledge Articles

​Data provided in the blog is sourced from the various articles detailed below. 

What funders say:

U K Fundraising
ACF
clothworkersfoundation.org.uk
NCVO
giftedphilanthropy.com

Funder guidelines:
TNL Community Fund
clothworkersfoundation.org.uk
The Fat Beehive Foundation
Nominet
GOV.UK
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
City Bridge Foundation
NCVO
Charity Digital Skills Report

Tips from funders:
TNL Community Fund
clothworkersfoundation.org.uk
​GOV.UK