Trusts, foundations and other partners play a vital role in realising the potential of digital technology to improve lives.
We work with funders to build stronger tech for good programmes and connections - and support grantees with practical training in user-centred, digital service design.
We are open to hearing from any funders or partners interested in working together on long-term programmes or short-term consultancy projects: we can offer modular support on project management, ways of working, MEL (monitoring, evaluation and learning), user-centred research and design, co-production, service delivery - and more.
Please contact us at [email protected] and we will be in touch!
Funder +
Funder+ programmes combine funding with support for maximum impact. We work with grantees to embed digital in their organisational strategy, culture and services. We provide hands-on support and leverage our network of trusted partners to help nonprofits supercharge their progress within a funding period.
Find out more about our successful programmes with Deloitte and Sport England, as well as our Tech for Good work with Comic Relief and Paul Hamlyn Foundation.
GrantAdvisor UK
GrantAdvisor UK is a free platform designed to facilitate dialogue between grantseekers and grantmakers. Funders are invited to add their organisation to the GrantAdvisor UK site, in order to gather insights that will help refine their systems in line with applicants’ needs.
We communicate directly with funders to help them navigate the GrantAdvisor platform and make the most of the insights and feedback available. We also collaborate with organisations such as IVAR to synthesise key themes and needs - and ensure that the latest best practice advice is made available to funders.
AI for grantmakers - peer group
An opportunity for funders of all sizes to come together and explore the opportunities and challenges of AI. The group consists of more than 100 Trusts and Foundations, and is open to all UK funders, of any size. The next meeting will take place in early December 2024 (exact date TBC) - to join this and / or future events, please contact [email protected]
Open IP and Reuse
Reuse is where one organisation uses a tool, service, process, asset or standard (or something else) developed by another organisation. We’re particularly championing reuse of elements that are ethically produced and sector-owned. Where we can align reuse, we save money individually and collectively; speed up social innovation and can create better impact.
CAST works in collaboration with Catalyst on the Open IP and Reuse for Funders initiative, which supports funders to implement open IP standards within their work, and to encourage reuse amongst the charities they support. The initiative is open to all UK grantmakers, free of charge; please contact [email protected] to become involved.
One output from this ongoing work is a set of best practice guidance for grantmakers, comprising internal and external policies for Open IP, and best practice Terms and Conditions for grant agreements. These are open for all funders to access via this Google Drive Open IP and grantmaking guidance folder.
Consultancy
We provide a range of bespoke consultancy services which include modular support on project management, ways of working, MEL (monitoring, evaluation and learning), user-centred research and design, co-production, service delivery - and much more.
We also have extensive experience helping funders in assessing and supporting digital projects and applying digital technology to improve their assessment, monitoring and management of grants.
We're currently working a number of organisations, including British Cycling (helping to shape their Youth Development Awards); Refugee Council (exploring a practical way to support practitioners and young people navigating age disputes); Lucy Faithfull Foundation (supporting them in the delivery of their groundbreaking Intercept project), and Prudence Trust (supporting organisations that are using digital technology to support young people’s mental health).
Digital Infrastructure collective
With funding from Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, CAST is currently convening a Digital Infrastructure collective. This collective will be in place in its current form for at least two years (until mid-2026), although we hope and expect to be connected for much longer.
The collective comprises seven initiatives: Agencies for Good, Design Hops, Digital Candle, Digital Leads Network, Digital Trustees, Dovetail and The Curve - as well as a reuse infrastructure strand, providing support to enable reuse of open, sector-owned technologies. We will be working together to align activities so that as many people as possible can benefit from all initiatives.
We'll post updates on our comms channels; please do get in touch if you'd like further info.
Ways we have supported funders
Testimonials from funders
CAST is a key agency operating in the ‘Tech for Good’ sector and has worked with Comic Relief in supporting not-for-profit organisations that we fund, enabling them to explore how to transform their services using digital technology. The CAST team are friendly, efficient, and responsive. They bring rich experience of building the digital capacity of hundreds of social enterprises, supporting them to embed digital and user-centred design into their strategy, culture, and services.Billy Dann, Head of Influence, Impact & Investment Directorate, Comic Relief
We worked with CAST to design a tool that would give applicants a more realistic understanding of what we would and would not fund. We were encouraged to build and test it with our users – doing this alongside applicants wasn’t always comfortable, and forced us to put ourselves in their shoes. So far we’ve cut applications by a third, meaning almost 1,000 organisations have saved time that would otherwise have been wasted.Gina Crane, Communications and Learning Manager, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation