Charity Pot Guidelines and Application

Our Charity Pot grants support small, grassroots organizations in North America and around the world that are working on the root cause of issues and creating long-term sustainable change.

We support organizations working in areas of animal protection, environmental justice, and human rights.

Animal protection

We recognize animals as sentient beings, deserving of care and protection, and who should not be subjected to cruelty or exploitation for human gain.

Environmental justice

We partner with those who are defending the rights of nature and standing up for a healthy, sustainable environment for future generations.

 Human rights

We support groups standing for the rights, visibility and equality of all people worldwide and for the defense of those most vulnerable.

How to apply

Applications are submitted via our online granting system. We ask about your organization’s purpose, main activities, governance structure and annual revenue. Additionally, a description of the project that you’re seeking funding for is requested along with an itemized budget, timeline and how the project’s success will be measured. Our support ranges from a few thousand dollars to a maximum of $25,000 per project.

Please be sure to read our funding guidelines below before applying for a grant to ensure the organization meets our requirements.

Online application

Funding Guidelines

Is my organization a fit to receive a Charity Pot grant?

• Groups can be registered or unregistered organizations, non-profits, Indigenous and community organizations with an annual revenue of $500,000 or less.
• We're looking for organizations that challenge mainstream opinion through public engagement and holding governments accountable.
• We support non-violent, direct-action groups because we feel it plays an important part in bringing about social change. Non-violent direct action includes protests, demonstrations and other non-violent interventions.
• We believe we can make the most impact by funding causes that are often overlooked by other funders. We give priority to less popular issues where it’s often more difficult to raise funds.
• We're looking for initiatives that are far reaching rather than ones that benefit just a few individuals. We also look for projects that promote and implement viable, fair and sustainable solutions.
• We believe in grassroots-led solutions, therefore, internationally we support those who are best suited to make decisions for their communities. Our international grants go to support local grassroots organizations where decision-making is held by local leaders. Organizations based in North America but working overseas will need to demonstrate how local knowledge and expertise are part of the decision-making process and how local people implement projects.

What types of groups are we unable to support?

We’re passionate about our beliefs and we want to be sure that the organizations we support match our ethics. As a result, our Charity Pot funding does not provide grants to those that:

• Promote or support violence, aggression, prejudice or oppression or any infringement on human rights.
• Are involved in cruelty or subjugation of animals, including testing on animals for research or using animals for human gain, including the use of animals in entertainment.
• Force, coerce or exclude others based on religious or spiritual beliefs.
• Are connected to political parties, political rallies or otherwise partisan in their work.
• Are not making the effort to be environmentally responsible.
• Are schools, individual expeditions, sponsored walks/runs/events or fundraising initiatives.
• Operate under a chapter-based system.

We do not provide unrestricted funding and require a detailed budget breakdown of the funds requested. We limit the amount of support we give to administration costs and staff salaries, and we don’t fund domestic or international flights.

How long does it take to have your application approved?

We’ll let you know if your application has been short-listed or declined within 6-8 weeks. Organizations that have been short-listed for funding will be contacted by a member of our Charitable Giving team to gather more information about the project to determine if it’s a fit for funding. A final decision will take additional time, depending on how quickly we can connect with the references provided and any additional questions we may have.

Please note, we can only accommodate funding projects that are minimum of 3 months from the project start date. Typically, it takes 6 weeks to receive funding if your grant is approved.

What are the next steps if your application is approved?

If your application is successful, you’ll receive a welcome email from our Charitable Giving team. In it, we will ask you:

• For your organization’s bank account information (*please note: we can’t send funds to a personal bank account).
• If you are interested, to submit an image, your logo and description of your organization to be used on our Charity Partner page on our website and on other communications with your permission. Some organizations will also be featured on the lids of our Charity Pot Body Lotion using the photo you provided and a short description of your work and website address. Organizations do not need to provide this content, if they would prefer to not be promoted in any way through Lush communication channels.

We’ll never ask that our Charity Pot partners provide marketing or promotion of Lush. Our grants program is about sharing the incredible work our partners are doing. If at any time you feel it would be beneficial to use our logo, on your website for example, please just let us know.

We’re excited about redefining the way corporations work with non-profits and finding innovative ways to go beyond monetary donations. This includes promoting our grant recipients online, in our stores, on our Charity Pot Lotion lids, and sharing their work through our communication channels. We’re open to new ideas and are continually evaluating the way we work with our partners.

We offer our application in English, French and Spanish.

Have questions we haven’t answered here? Contact our amazing Customer Care team.