Digital Grants in Cumbria: Funding Your New Website (2025/26 Guide)

Every week we are asked whether there is any "free money" to cover a new website. The honest answer is that grants rarely pay for the full build, but support does exist if you know where to look and if your business plan is credible. This guide builds on the advice inside our Web Design Cumbria pillar so you can match the right funding route to your project.

The reality: support beats subsidies

Funding bodies want to see that you are investing alongside them. Expect match funding, staged payments, and proof that the site will create jobs or revenue. That is good news because it forces clarity on goals, but it also means you should treat any grant as a booster, not the entire budget.

Scheme 1: Enterprising Cumbria (Cumbria Accelerator)

Active until March 2026, the Cumbria Accelerator programme focuses on start ups and early stage firms that can prove growth potential. Typical support includes:

• One to one advisor sessions covering digital strategy and procurement.
• Access to subsidised workshops on SEO, ecommerce, and marketing automation.
• Small innovation grants that can be applied to web design if you show the site enables new products or services.

Action steps: assemble a simple forecast, outline how the website supports new revenue, and apply early because the pot is finite.

Scheme 2: Cumbria Business Growth Hub

The Growth Hub runs rolling initiatives such as Digital Vouchers and Steps into Digital. Both change deadlines regularly, so bookmark their updates page. What does not change:

• You need quotes from approved suppliers.
• You have to show the website will lead to measurable improvements (bookings, orders, leads).
• Claims must be backed by invoices and screenshots of the finished work.

Treat vouchers as a way to reduce your up front cash spend while maintaining full ownership of the site.

Scheme 3: Farm diversification through REPF

Farms moving into glamping, farm shops, or produce subscriptions often fall under the Rural England Prosperity Fund. Councils prioritise projects that bring visitors or keep spend local. To secure support:

1. Link the website to tangible outcomes (nightly stays, online orders, event bookings).
2. Show how the digital investment complements existing assets such as converted barns or trails.
3. Prepare to self fund a portion, because REPF awards are usually matched.

Do not wait for perfect funding

Grants take time, and your competitors are not pausing their marketing. Launch the best site you can now, then layer in grant funded upgrades when approvals come through. A fast, mobile friendly presence pays for itself faster than any paperwork.

Speak to Click Cumbria Digital about funding ready proposals