Anglian Water – Thriving Communities Fund

Grants are available for charities, community groups, schools and environmental organisations across the East of England to support local environmental and social impact projects within the region.

The new £5.8 million, five-year Thriving Communities Fund is provided by Anglian Water’s shareholders as part of their commitment to restoring and enhancing the environment. It is part of a wider £62.8 million package agreed between Anglian Water and Ofwat earlier in 2025, which also includes investment to tackle drainage and flooding issues, as well as the acceleration of planned investment to reduce sewage spills at high-risk sites.

The Thriving Communities Fund is managed by Cambridgeshire Community Foundation on behalf of Anglian Water.

The funding is for projects that primarily nurture, repair, protect or sustain the natural water environment. This covers all natural and managed water systems and the ecosystems connected to them, including the sea.

The funding is for projects within Anglian Water’s management area. This could be a supply of either fresh water or sewerage services or both.

The project does not need to be new work. It can be an existing project requesting continuation funding as long as it a live or pending project with Anglian Water.

The funding can be used for:

Habitat creation and restoration
Species conservation
Capital building and equipment costs, providing the capital items will address the priorities of the fund, and are linked to the improvement of the water environment
Repeat applications for continuation of projects that are proving to work well
Staffing, salary and overhead costs (core costs) where directly related to the delivery of the project
Interpretation, as a small proportion of a wider project
Materials or equipment needed to deliver the project
Reasonable travel expenses.

There is a single stage application form for grants of £10,000 – £50,000 with a deadline of 1 February 2026 (11:59am).

There is a two-stage application process for grants over £50,000. The first step is to complete an Expression of Interest (EOI) form by the deadline of 8 December 2025 (11:59am). Successful applicants will be invited to submit a full online application by the deadline of 1 February 2026.

Full details…