A partner offers a free venue. A trustee identifies money in reserves. Volunteers promise their time. All three may help a project happen—but none should be labelled match funding until you have checked what the funder accepts and how it must be evidenced.
For UK charities, the useful question is not simply “How much support can we add up?” It is “Which contributions count towards this award, are they genuinely available, and can we prove their value?” This guide explains cash and in-kind contributions, confirmation, valuation and the records to keep.
This is not another general grant-budget guide. The focus is the funding side of the project: what complements the grant request, what is still uncertain and what cannot be counted twice.
What is match funding for charities?
Match funding is support provided alongside the grant you are applying for. Depending on the programme, it may mean cash from your charity or other funders, or permitted non-cash contributions such as donated equipment, space or expertise. Some schemes require a contribution; others encourage it without making it mandatory.
“Match” does not automatically mean pound for pound. There is no single percentage or accepted contribution list for every UK charity grant. Check the current programme guidance and award conditions, including what the percentage is measured against.
Two programmes, two different requirements
The National Lottery Community Fund's published #iwill Fund 2025 strand 2 guidance says applications must include some match funding, but there is no fixed amount. It invites discussion about a reasonable contribution and explicitly includes possible in-kind support, such as donated equipment or people giving time or expertise.
By contrast, its Community Action guidance recommends other funding, particularly for larger requests, but says it may still cover the full cost of delivery where match funding is not possible. That page does not, by itself, establish a general volunteer-time valuation rule.
These are programme-specific examples from guidance checked for this article, not a claim that either programme is currently accepting applications. Check availability, eligibility and the latest terms before deciding where to apply.
A contribution can be valuable to your project without being eligible match funding for a particular grant.
1. Confirm the rules before promising a match
Build a short rules checklist for each application. If a point is unclear, send the funder a specific question and keep the written response with the relevant version of the guidance.
- Is match funding required, encouraged or unnecessary? Is there a minimum amount or ratio?
- Is the requirement cash-only, or are specified in-kind contributions allowed?
- Does the percentage apply to the grant request, eligible cash costs or total eligible project value?
- Which sources are acceptable, and can another grant be used under both funders’ terms?
- When must contributions be confirmed, received and used? What evidence and valuation method are required?
A partner's willingness is not permission from the funder. Neither an impressive commercial rate nor an accepted contribution on a previous award establishes eligibility for this application.
2. Identify cash contributions and their status
Cash match may include an approved contribution from your charity, eligible donations, fundraising income or another grant, where the relevant rules permit it. Show the source, amount, purpose, conditions and expected receipt date. Do not treat all money in the bank as available for the project.
Confirmed, conditional and prospective are different
- Confirmed: there is appropriate written evidence of the commitment and any conditions are understood. State whether the cash has actually arrived.
- Conditional: the contribution depends on another award, approval or event. Record the dependency and deadline rather than presenting it as unqualified funding.
- Prospective: an application is pending, a donor conversation is ongoing or fundraising is planned. Show it separately and explain how a shortfall would be handled.
An award letter can support confirmation but still contain payment conditions. A supportive email without an amount, authorised commitment or timing may not be sufficient. Use the evidence standard the applicant funder specifies.
Check restrictions on money you already hold
Another restricted award is not a general match-funding pot. Check that its purpose, delivery dates, eligible costs and conditions permit the proposed contribution, and that the new funder accepts that source. Ask both funders where necessary.
Where your charity proposes using unrestricted funds, record the approval and assess the effect on commitments and the reserves policy. A designation by trustees and a donor-imposed restriction are not interchangeable.
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3. Separate in-kind support from money you can spend
In-kind support is a non-cash contribution. It might reduce what you need to purchase, but it cannot pay unrelated invoices. Keep an in-kind schedule alongside the cash budget and apply the funder's rules to each item.
Donated goods, space and services
Describe exactly what is being provided: equipment specifications and quantities, venue sessions and hours, or a professional service with a defined output. Confirm who is authorised to offer it, when it will be available and whether there are charges or conditions.
Ask which valuation basis the funder accepts. It might prescribe a method or require evidence of a reasonable comparable cost. Where comparison is permitted, retain relevant quotes or normal charges for a genuinely comparable item or service, taking condition and actual use into account. Do not automatically use a donor's highest advertised price.
If goods or services are discounted rather than free, separate the amount you must pay from any permitted donated element. Do not include the full undiscounted price as cash expenditure and also count the same discount as an additional resource.
Volunteer time only where it is allowed
Do not assume that every volunteer hour is eligible. Confirm which roles count, the accepted hourly rates or other valuation basis, and the records required. A real volunteer contribution can still be excluded by a particular scheme.
Keep dated records of the person, activity, project hours and approval. Use the funder's prescribed rate where one exists; otherwise seek agreement on the basis. Do not count an hour already charged as paid project staff time again as donated time. Volunteer expenses reimbursed in cash are separate from the value of time: record each accurately and check eligibility.
Valuation for a grant application is not automatically the accounting treatment of a donated item or service. Consult your finance lead or adviser on how it should be recorded in the charity's accounts.
4. Worked example: cash match and permitted in-kind support
Hypothetical example—check your own funder’s rules
These figures and rates are invented to demonstrate the calculation, not taken from a real charity or either programme above. Assume an illustrative funder has expressly accepted all the listed contribution types, values and delivery dates. There is no universal entitlement to count these items or rates.
A community skills project needs £40,000 of cash spending plus £10,000 of separately valued donated resources. Its total resource value is £50,000. The proposed funding package is:
| Contribution | Calculation or basis | Cash | In-kind value |
|---|---|---|---|
| New grant requested—not yet awarded | Application request | £30,000 | — |
| Charity's own contribution | Approved unrestricted cash | £5,000 | — |
| Other grant | Confirmed; both awards permit co-funding | £5,000 | — |
| Donated venue | 10 sessions × £400 | — | £4,000 |
| Donated specialist service | 30 hours × £100 | — | £3,000 |
| Volunteer delivery support | 200 hours × £15 | — | £3,000 |
| Proposed totals | £40,000 | £10,000 | |
Cash match alongside the new grant is £5,000 + £5,000 = £10,000. Permitted in-kind match is £4,000 + £3,000 + £3,000 = £10,000. Together, contributions alongside the £30,000 request total £20,000.
The requested grant is 60% of the £50,000 total resource value, but 75% of the £40,000 cash budget. Those percentages describe different denominators. If a scheme accepts cash-only match, the £10,000 in-kind contribution does not become eligible cash match because it appears in this table.
The table is a funding plan, not proof that the new £30,000 grant is secured. Nor do the donated resources produce £10,000 of bank receipts. Show the matching non-cash resources on the cost side where the funder requires them, while keeping the £40,000 cash requirement clear. If a contribution is rejected, revise the eligibility calculation and delivery plan rather than relabelling it.
5. Keep an evidence register, not just a total
Give every contribution a reference and keep its supporting evidence together. Your register should connect the contribution to the project, budget line, delivery period and claim.
- Cash: award letters or donation confirmations, relevant conditions, receipt evidence when paid, and approval for the charity's own contribution.
- In-kind commitments: an authorised letter or agreement describing the item, quantity, availability, conditions and agreed value or valuation basis.
- Valuation: prescribed funder rates or written acceptance, calculations and supporting comparisons where required.
- Delivery: appropriate timesheets, attendance or usage records, handover records and evidence the promised service was actually provided.
- Status: confirmed, conditional, prospective, received or delivered—plus the owner and next confirmation date.
Collect proportionate records and protect personal information in volunteer or donor documentation. Agree what the funder needs to see, who holds it and the applicable retention requirements. Do not invent evidence after delivery to make an estimated contribution appear real.
6. Check timing and prevent double-counting
Confirm whether contributions must be secured before a decision, before the first payment or during delivery. Check the eligible expenditure period and any rules about support already provided. Both programme pages cited above exclude retrospective costs from their own funding; do not infer from that alone what they accept as match. Ask explicitly about earlier contributions.
A promise of cash arriving after payroll is due does not solve a timing gap. Put the expected receipt dates into your charity cash flow forecast. If match depends on several pending awards, identify what happens if one fails or pays late.
- Do not charge the same invoice in full to two funders. Where co-funding is allowed, record each funder’s share.
- Do not count the same donated session or volunteer hour twice within the funding package.
- Do not present time already included in paid staffing as an additional donated contribution.
- Do not count a shared cost as both a direct project cost and a second overhead allocation.
A single contribution may need to be disclosed in several applications describing the same co-funded project. That is different from claiming reimbursement twice or presenting it as additional money each time. Tell the funders about the whole package and obtain agreement where their terms require it. Our full cost recovery guide explains how to keep shared-cost allocations defensible.
Match funding: common questions
Can donations from a business count?
Potentially, if the funder accepts the source and the money is available for eligible work. Confirm any donor conditions and distinguish cash from donated services. Our corporate funding guide covers building the partnership; the grant's own rules decide whether the contribution counts.
Can we include volunteer time without an agreed rate?
Do not assume a rate. Check whether time is allowed, whether particular roles qualify and how the value must be calculated. A local salary comparison or the example rate above is not automatically an accepted funder rate.
Does match funding guarantee a stronger application?
No. An eligible, credible contribution can explain how the project will be resourced, but it does not replace the programme's criteria, evidence of need or a realistic delivery plan. Do not inflate in-kind values to make the request look smaller.
What if a promised contribution falls through?
Update the register and budget, notify the funder as required, and agree a replacement, revised scope or other permitted response. Do not quietly substitute restricted funds, remove necessary support or continue to report an unavailable contribution as secured.
Your next step: evidence one contribution properly
Choose your next application. Write down its exact match requirement, list each proposed contribution with its status, and identify the evidence still missing. Resolve uncertain eligibility and valuation before promising a total you cannot defend.
This is general grant-planning guidance, not individual accounting or legal advice. For complex restrictions or donated-resource accounting, involve your finance adviser. For a broader look at how clearly your project is positioned for support, take the free scorecard.
