SWEF

We are working in partnership with SWEF to provide two different business grants to young entrepreneurs aged between 18-30 across Greater Lincolnshire.

Funding Opportunities

Please select from one of the following to make your application:

Start Up Grants

  • Pre-revenue businesses or businesses turning over less than £500 per month
  • Applicants must be between the age of 18-30
  • Start-up grants are awarded up to £500
APPLY FOR A START-UP GRANT
Eligibility criteria and guidelines

Business Grant

  • Businesses turning over more than £500 per month, trading for less than 2 years
  • Applicants must be between the age of 18-30
  • Business grants are awarded up to £2000
APPLY FOR A BUSINESS GRANT
Eligibility criteria and guidelines

Need Help with an Application

Whether you have questions about eligibility, supporting documents, project costs or completing an application form, our team is here to help. 

Get in touch before you apply and we’ll do our best to answer your questions, provide guidance and help you identify the most appropriate funding opportunity for your project or organisation.

Claire Edwards

Grantmaker for SWEF

Office: 01529 305825

Mobile: 07534 693652

Email

Andrew Deeley

Trustee

Andrew has built his career across a wide range of business sectors, working his way up to board level and gaining experience in all the key areas of running and growing organisations. Alongside this commercial background, he has a long-standing commitment to the charity and community sector, where he has helped secure funding for projects ranging from youth initiatives to major heritage and regeneration schemes. He is particularly focused on encouraging philanthropy in Lincolnshire, connecting local donors and advisors with community needs, and ensuring that resources are directed where they can make the biggest difference across the county.

Craig Cooksley

Trustee

Craig brings over 30 years of expertise in innovation, media, and marketing to Lincolnshire Community Foundation, with a passion for transforming lives through innovation. With a background in electronics, he applied his technology and transformation expertise at Reach PLC, parent of the Mirror Newspaper, as Head of Innovation, driving digital advancements.

After three years in Asia supporting tech startups, he returned to the UK to launch 4th Revolution, a marketing and innovation consultancy. His philanthropy includes leading a £10 million West Midlands RGF project, helping fund early-stage businesses and startups, and co-founding LoveBrum, a Birmingham-based charity distributing grants to community projects to enhance Birmingham. Based in Skegness, Craig is dedicated to improving lives in Lincolnshire through better access to training and funding.

Danielle Lowther

Trustee

Danielle’s main reason for wanting to be part of the Foundation was the amazing work it’s undertakes to make life better for local people and organisations. Danielle currently work’s for Lincolnshire Co-op as a Senior Community Co-ordinator and is very passionate about community development especially in Lincolnshire where she has spent most of her life. Danielle has extensive experience of project/event management and networking in communities which she hopes she will be able to use her skills to contribute to the Foundation as Trustee.

John Maitland

Trustee

John was born in Lincolnshire and after a short stint in the Army, he spent his career in Financial Services both in London and abroad. After over 30 years in Banking, John ended his Executive career as CEO of Kleinwort Hambros Bank and has now returned full time to Lincolnshire. John joined the Foundation at the end of 2020 and is looking forward to helping the them move forward in the future.

Stephen Ryder

Trustee

Former Chair, Stephen, with a background in education and journalism, assumed the role of Managing Director of CPO in April 2006. His daily tasks involve overseeing the organisation and driving business development. Stephen’s commitment to using education to alleviate disadvantage and poverty in local communities is evident in all endeavors undertaken by him and his team at CPO. In addition to his primary role, Stephen serves as the Community Engagement Manager for Rethink Mental Illness and chairs the Mental Health Alliance.

He leads the Preventative & Early Help Strategic Board for Children’s Services, participates in the Youth Partnership Board, serves as Vice Chair of the Youth Engagement Alliance and the Youth Justice Steering Group. Furthermore, he holds the position of Vice Chair for the NEL VCSE Alliance and the NEL VCSE Forum, along with being a Governor at John Whitgift Academy.

Paula Baumber

Trustee

Before signing up as a trustee, Paula was the governors who steered our original “community bank”, the cornerstone of our early endowment building. Paula worked in banking for nearly 30 years, specialising in governance and risk management. With the Foundation she leads on the development of our Domestic Abuse response: developing, commissioning and co funding service provision.

Lizzie Milligan-Manby

Vice Chair

For many years Lizzie was attached to the Princes Trust – 10 of which as Lincolnshire chair. She now does a similar (voluntary) job for the Foundation, overseeing our Make-a-Start programme (small grants for personal development). She has expended huge amounts of energy on fund raising – not least “One Day More”: 3 days of outdoor opera at Doddington Hall.

Paul Scott

Chair

Paul, with a background in business management, previously served as a director at the Grimsby Enterprise Agency and the National Federation of Enterprise Agencies. He actively manages his own business and is deeply engaged in community development along the east coast of Lincolnshire. Paul has long been a trustee of the Community Foundation and resumed his role as chairman, currently participating in the finance sub-group committee. His areas of focus include health and social inequalities, enterprise development, and cultural heritage.

Cara Elliott

Finance & Grantmaker

Office: 01529 305825

Email

Cara supports the organisation’s financial operations to help ensure that funding reaches the people and projects that need it most. She holds an AAT Advanced Diploma in Accounting Level 3 qualification in Bookkeeping (achieved in 2021), and brings a strong focus on accuracy, organisation, and accountability to the organisation. Before moving into finance, Cara gained valuable experience working directly with members of the public and supporting young adults with learning difficulties.

These roles developed her communication skills, patience, and a deep appreciation for the positive impact that inclusive, community-focused work can have. She is passionate about combining her financial skills with purpose-driven work that makes a real difference. Cara currently works on the delivery of the Household Support Fund, The Big Lincolnshire Welcome Fund and manages the Thonock Aspiration Fund for Schools (TAFS).

Aaron Bailey

Data Researcher & Grantmaker

Office: 01529 305825

Email

Cavan Collins

Grantmaker

Office: 01529 305825

Email

Following his time at Cardiff University learning about people and places across the world as part of his Human Geography degree, Cavan came back to Lincolnshire and joined the Foundation on a part-time basis in July 2022 to support community organisations and individuals within Greater Lincolnshire. Helping colleagues in an administrative capacity to distribute grant funding at first, he has since grown to become a full-time member of Lincolnshire Community Foundation’s Grants Team and is a familiar face to applicants throughout the application process across a number of schemes he has worked on including the UKSPF GRASSroots Grant Scheme, Household Support Fund and both the Birchwood and CCC Big Local. He also leads on various programmes including the Michael Cornish Core Grants Programme and the ELIF GRASSroots Grant Scheme.

Hayley Crawford

Grantmaker

Office: 01529 305825

Mobile: 07939 563296

Email

Hayley joined the Foundation in April 2022, initially serving in an administrative capacity and as a Finance Officer, before transitioning to her current role as a Grantmaker. She has worked on a number of funds within the Foundation including Rural England Prosperity Fund, North Kesteven Lottery Grant Scheme and Evan Cornish Grassroots Fund, empowering community groups across Greater Lincolnshire to access vital funding for transformative local initiatives. With a background in the legal and private healthcare sectors, Hayley brings a unique perspective and a commitment to fostering vibrant, inclusive communities.

Having returned to the U.K. from South Africa in 2021, she is passionate about reconnecting with her roots and advancing the Foundations mission to help Lincolnshire thrive.

Katie Littlewood

Grantmaker

Office: 01529 305825

Mobile: 07375 676593

Email

Prior to joining the Foundation in 2020, for 20yrs. Katie worked in Early Years Education supporting children and families locally. Katie has in the past played an active role in the community giving her time to run a local Brownie pack and sit on other committees such as The village Feast & the local village hall. Katie now has a young family and spends her much of her free time in the great outdoors and occasionally helping at her children’s Beaver & Scout groups. At the Foundation, Katie manages 7 Funds including the Horncastle Health & Wellbeing, and the 6 renewable Funds LCF manage stretching across Greater Lincolnshire.

Helen Cater

Grantmaker

Office: 01529 305825

Mobile: 07591 916305

Email

Helen has been with the Lincolnshire Community Foundation since January 2018. Before joining the foundation, Helen’s background has been in project and grant scheme management and uses this experience to help administer the Community Foundation’s grant programmes which enables the Foundation to make a bigger impact in the community.

Claire Edwards

Marketing, Comms & Grantmaker

Office: 01529 305825

Mobile: 07534 693652

Email

Claire joined the Foundation in 2021. Growing up in North East Lincolnshire, she travelled across the country as an RAF spouse, before coming back home to Lincolnshire.

Her deep connection to the people and locations in the county drives her passion. With a background in various sectors including voluntary, legal, and business, she takes pleasure in supporting all community members.

Claire actively volunteers, serving as a community responder and as Chair of a local primary school PTA.

Claire currently works on the SWEF and Household Support Fund.

Helen Kearseley - Cree

Enterprise Lead

Office: 01529 305825

Mobile: 07795 093682

Email

Helen started working in the VCSE sector in 1994 on an employment and skills project for (ex)offenders, which linked to her Masters in Criminology background. She then moved into community development work, still on the community safety theme, developing that project into wider social regeneration. She has been the CEO of three different charities, two of which are defined as VCSE Local Infrastructure and the third was a Rural Community Council.

After taking a short break from the sector, she became a qualified secondary school teacher and is currently using these skills in the employer supported volunteering work she currently undertakes in schools on careers. The GLAP (Gainsborough Local Access Programme) she manages is a national pilot, funded by Access and Big Society Capital to ‘test’ how place based enterprise development alongside local access to social investment can positively impact a defined area.

Sue Fortune

CEO

Office: 01529 305825

Mobile: 07908 208838

Email

Sue has been with the Foundation since its inception in 2002, following a successful legal career in Durham, London and within a Local Authority. Before being appointed CEO in 2019, she spent 16 years at LCF as a Grantmaker delivering millions of pounds in grant aid to community organisations and individuals across Lincolnshire, always championing the smaller, locally led groups and organisations. Throughout this time, she managed a huge range of schemes, from micro grants to million pound place based (community led) programmes. 

er work helped build long-lasting relationships and embed the Foundation’s reputation as a trusted, approachable funder and partner. Before moving to Lincolnshire, she raised funds to support a local dog rescue charity and went on to adopt three herself. After settling in a small Lincolnshire village, she continued her fundraising efforts bringing local groups together as part of an annual fundraiser, fuelling her ambition to support communities and help others in the longer term. More recently, has discovered a penchant for travel and will regale and entertain others with her stories and adventures.

Helen Kearseley - Cree

Enterprise Lead

Office: 01529 305825

Mobile: 07795 093682

Email

Helen started working in the VCSE sector in 1994 on an employment and skills project for (ex)offenders, which linked to her Masters in Criminology background. She then moved into community development work, still on the community safety theme, developing that project into wider social regeneration. She has been the CEO of three different charities, two of which are defined as VCSE Local Infrastructure and the third was a Rural Community Council. After taking a short break from the sector, she became a qualified secondary school teacher and is currently using these skills in the employer supported volunteering work she currently undertakes in schools on careers. The GLAP (Gainsborough Local Access Programme) she manages is a national pilot, funded by Access and Big Society Capital to ‘test’ how place based enterprise development alongside local access to social investment can positively impact a defined area.