ABOUT - Gloucestershire Funders

Gloucestershire Funders: Looking Back, Learning Together and Moving On

Gloucestershire Funders will end its current operating model in March 2026. This piece shares what we achieved together, what we learned, and how we plan to continue collaborating for the benefit of Gloucestershire’s voluntary and community sector.

After six years of working together to simplify access to funding in Gloucestershire, the Gloucestershire Funders collective will be wrapping up its operations in its current form in March 2026. This decision follows a year-long process of reflection and consultation about the future of the group and how we can best serve local organisations. In this piece, we want to clearly outline what’s changing, celebrate the value of the work we’ve done together, share key learning, and set out how we intend to continue collaborating.

Why Gloucestershire Funders was formed

Gloucestershire Funders came together in 2020 at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Charities and community groups were facing extreme financial pressure, and funders across the county recognised that a coordinated, flexible and swift response was needed.

The aim was simple: create one point of access for organisations seeking funding, reduce duplication, and share knowledge to ensure money got to where it was needed most. What started as a crisis response soon demonstrated wider value, and the group continued meeting for as long as it was delivering meaningful benefit to applicants.

What we achieved together

Across six years, Gloucestershire Funders became a trusted place for organisations to access financial support. At its busiest, the collective met fortnightly, sharing insight and coordinating funding decisions in ways that simply were not possible before.

While the full impact is difficult to quantify—because many funders used a two stage process—we estimate that around £7 million has been awarded to over 200 organisations through applications that began on our shared portal. Behind every award were people, projects and services working to improve life across the county, and we are proud to have contributed to this.

The collective also brought funders closer together. We benefited significantly from shared information, shared challenges and, often, shared solutions. This collaborative culture has shaped how we each approach our work today.

Why the model needs to change

From 2023 onwards, the context shifted. Demand for funding rose sharply, driven by the cost of living crisis and ongoing pressures on organisations. At the same time, many funders’ budgets were reduced following increased giving during the pandemic.

This meant that while applications increased, we were less able to make swift or sufficient awards. Processes understandably became more complex. Funders’ criteria diverged, scrutiny requirements increased, and the collective model—once an efficient solution—became increasingly difficult to operate in a way that served applicants well.

In 2024, we commissioned Modern Grantmaking to explore options for the future of the collective. Their findings made clear that while the sector valued the Gloucestershire Funders approach, the models available were too resource intensive for most funders to support. Investing in a new shared structure would have meant reducing already stretched grant budgets—and all members agreed this was not the right choice.

By late 2025 it was clear the current model for collaboration had reached its natural conclusion.

Key learning from six years of collective funding

Although the operating model is ending, the learning we’ve gained is significant:

Collaboration has real value

Sharing information improved our understanding of the sector’s needs and helped us respond more effectively.

Transparency matters

The options appraisal highlighted that applicants want clearer insight into how decisions are made. Many funders are continuing to work on this individually.

Joint funding is complex

Different criteria, reporting requirements and grantmaking principles made joint decisions challenging—and sometimes added work for applicants.

Collective approaches must reflect available resources

Good intentions need to be matched with realistic capacity, especially in times of high demand and reduced budgets.

What happens next

The final Gloucestershire Funders meeting will take place on Thursday 19 March 2026, and the portal will close to new applications at 5pm on 11 March 2026.

Importantly, this is not the end of our connection as a group. Gloucestershire Funders operated differently to most regional funder networks to this point, and so this shift marks a transition to a more typical collaborative model. This means we will continue meeting quarterly to share insight and explore opportunities to collaborate on specific issues where it makes sense to do so. Our goal is to continue promoting positive working relationships across the county, and improve the impact of funding initiatives that support the VCSE sector locally. Many members are also active in regional (South West / Midlands) and national funding networks, ensuring ideas and learning continue to flow.

Funder members will carry on operating their individual funding programmes, and we will provide links to these so organisations know where to go next.