Funding News - September 2025

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Information and Guidance
Hastings Voluntary Action - Finding the Funds Training
Peoples Postcode Lottery – Grassroots Grants re-opens soon
Tesco Bright Future Fund and Easyfundraising – September initiative

Government
Digital Inclusion fund
Rother District Council Community Grants Fund to launch in autumn 2025

Lottery
Arts Council England – updates
Sport England – New tools to help you innovate
#iwill Fund 2025

Trusts and Foundations
Architectural Heritage Fund - Heritage Revival Fund
Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust-Apart, not Alone 2025-26 – Second deadline
Benefact Trust - Heritage Skills for Christian Buildings
BFBS Big Salute
Childwick Trust - re-opens for applications this October
Comic Relief Community Fund
Congregational and General Charitable Trust
Edgar E Lawley Foundation
Esmée Fairbairn Communities and Collections Fund
Fidelio Charitable Trust
Help the Homeless
Henry Smith Foundation – Domestic Abuse Fund
Heritage Crafts Association - Endangered Crafts Fund
JJ Charitable Trust - Literacy small grants scheme
London Hearts – Defibrillator grants
National Garden Scheme - Community Gardens Grants
NFU Mutual Charitable Trust
Paul Hamlyn Foundation - Teacher Development Fund
Rees Jeffreys Road Fund
Road Safety Trust – Small grants programme to open soon
The Rowing Foundation
Royal Society of Chemistry – Outreach Fund
Stobart Sustainability Fund
Ulverscroft Foundation for Visually Impaired People
Valpak Limited - Beyond the Bin Fund
Veolia Environmental Trust
Virgin Media O2 £1 Million Apprenticeship Talent Fund
WCIT – IT4Good Grant Programme
Youth Music Trailblazer Fund – Round 11
Zurich Municipal’s Diversity and Inclusion Award

Funding Diary

Information and Guidance

Hastings Voluntary Action - Finding the Funds Training

Hastings Voluntary Action’s FREE training is aimed for people who are fairly new to fundraising or who are looking for small amounts of money up to £20,000.

In this training session we will think about different sources of funding for charities, community groups and social enterprises, and look at how to fill in a funding application form for a small grant.

This training is FREE for two representatives of voluntary/community organisations that operate in East Sussex.

There is a choice of sessions:

Tuesday 7th October 9.30am-12.30pm in Hastings
Monday 13th October 1.00pm-4.00pm in Hastings
Thursday 16th October evening 6.00pm-8.00pm in Hastings
Thursday 23rd October 2.00pm-4.00pm @ Online

To book a place on Hastings Voluntary Action’s events page or phone 01424 444010

Peoples Postcode Lottery – Grassroots Grants re-opens soon

Peoples Postcode Lottery’s Grassroots Fund re-opens later this month.

It provides unrestricted funding to small, local organisations making a positive difference in their communities.

Groups can apply for £500 to £2,000 for core organisational costs that support the important work they deliver within their communities.

This funding is unrestricted and therefore flexible. It can be used where it is most needed.

The Grassroots fund is open to not-for-profit organisation whose income was less than £25,000 in the last financial year. The Fund is prioritising organisaitons working within communities ranking as being within the top 15% on the English Indices of Deprivation and those working with and supporting communities classed as marginalised or vulnerable.

The Fund opens Monday 15th September

Tel: 01212 373640

Email: grassrootsgrants@groundwork.org.uk

Tesco Bright Future Fund and Easyfundraising – September initiative

Tesco and Easyfundraising are offering groups the chance to win £1,000 for their community organisation.

When you or your volunteers, supporters, trustees and staff shop with Tesco via the easyfundraising website or app during September, your organisation is automatically entered into a draw to receive one of Tesco’s Bright Future Fund’s five £1,000 funding pots.

To get involved, register your organisation with Easyfundraising. (Easyfundraising provides free, unrestricted cashback donations every time your network of volunteers and wider community shop online with 8,000 retailers, including Tesco).

Visit Tesco Bright Future Fund’s website for more information about how to be involved.

Government

Digital Inclusion fund

The Department for Science, Innovation & Technology is looking to fund locally delivered, highly tailored and targeted interventions that meet the needs of digitally excluded people.

The Department’s Digital Inclusion Fund offers grants ranging from £25,000 to £500,000 to help boost digital inclusion and skills.

All applications must contribute to either one of the Fund’s primary objectives:

To support innovative initiatives to increase digital participation, producing new knowledge on ‘what works’ and building the evidence base on effective digital inclusion interventions
To support best practice with the ambition to scale and replicate successful digital inclusion activities across England

Funding is provided through the following categories:

Category 1: £2.630mn to support a wide range of projects with a particular emphasis on replicating or scaling examples of best practice in digital inclusion interventions
Category 2: £3.380mn to support innovative interventions that produce new knowledge and help fill evidence gaps on effective digital inclusion interventions
Category 3: £1.267mn for physical and intangible assets that can be capitalised. This equipment and inventory to support the delivery of digital inclusion activities may include laptops, devices, and new software

The Fund is open to councils, charities and research organisations. Grants awarded will be available to be claimed in the financial year up to 31st March 2026.

The deadline for applications is 10th September (3pm) 2025.

Rother District Council Community Grants Fund to launch in autumn 2025

The Rother District Council Community Grants Fund is being launched in autumn 2025, through their partner, the Sussex Community Foundation (SCF).

The fund will support grassroots projects that strengthen communities in Rother, promote a thriving local economy, improve wellbeing, and protect the environment.

Funding criteria is based on three of the four Sussex Community Foundation funding priorities and aligned Rother’s priorities, namely: Improving Health, Reaching Potential, and Acting on Climate.

The total value of the fund is £100,000 and is split between revenue and capital grants.

Applications will be accepted from not-for-profit organisations including charities, community organisations and social enterprises with an income of less than £2 million. Parish and Town Councils will also be eligible to apply. Note - Parish and Town Councils who partner with a voluntary organisation or constituted group will take priority over Parish/Town Council standalone applications.

All the information needed to make an application will be on the Sussex Community Foundation website when the fund launches autumn 2025.

Lottery

Arts Council England – updates

Arts Council England has announced applications for National Project Grants for under £30k will reopen in mid-September. Applications for £30k - £100k will open by the end of September, and Touring, Place Partnerships, and Major Projects will open by mid-October.

The next round of Developing Your Creative Practice will open for access support requests in late October, before opening for applications in late November.

Sport England – New tools to help you innovate

Sport England has published an updated innovation playbook on their website - a growing collection of proven tools, templates and approaches designed to help you embed innovation into your everyday work.

Whether you're looking to spark new ideas, gain deeper insights, or reflect on what you’ve learned, Sport England’s Playbook aims to support you at every stage of your innovation journey.

#iwill Fund 2025

#iwill Fund is for projects that help young people take part in place-based youth social action. This could include activities like volunteering, mentoring or improving local environments.

This funding is provided by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and The National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF).

The Fund is particularly interested in projects that include young people from low-income communities. All projects must support young people aged up to 20, or up to 25 for those with additional support needs.

Applicants must show how their project:

Creates place-based youth social action opportunities for young people
Will help young people get involved in social action. This should be throughout their life, even after the funding ends
Will reach young people who have not taken part in regular social action activities
Will continue, even after the funding ends
Involves the voices of young people. They should also be a part of your organisation

Social action opportunities should be led by young people, a challenging, regular and meaningful part of a young person’s life, help them to take part in other opportunities and have social impact.

The Fund has a total £3 million to support four to six projects.

iwill requires match funding. The minimum amount it can match fund is £200,000. For example, if they give you £200,000, you'll need to add at least £200,000 of your own money. The Fund may also be able to consider in-kind as match, for example: goods, services, equipment or use of facilities.

#iwill accepts applications not for profits, schools and local authorities. It will also fund other funders or organisations that run services for young people. If you're a funder, the Lottery can delegate authority to you to fund organisations that run these services.

Applying involves a staged process. First, email NLCF to initiate a conversation about your idea. A conversation will be arranged in approximately 10 working days.

Those who are eligible to apply will be sent an expression of interest form.

The deadline to submit an expression of interest (EOI) is 24th September 2025.

Tel: 0345 4102 030

Email: i.willfund@tnlcommunityfund.org.uk

Trusts and Foundations

Architectural Heritage Fund - Heritage Revival

The Heritage Revival Fund helps communities rescue and repurpose neglected historic buildings in their local areas, particularly in areas of high deprivation.

The Fund supports community organisations take ownership of, adapt and reuse the local heritage assets that matter to them, transforming them into thriving spaces that meet their needs.

This programme provides:

Project Viability Grants award up to £15,000, to help you establish if your project is viable. Work will probably focus on understanding the condition of the building, how it might be used, and whether that intended use is appropriate for the building and likely to be sustainable
Project Development Grants award up to £100,000 to support development work on historic building projects. Project Development Grants can contribute towards the costs of developing and co-ordinating your project and taking it towards the start of work on site. To qualify, an organisation must have established that the end use of the project is likely to be viable and have decided to take the project forward

To apply, complete the Fund’s short online Expression of Interest form. You can submit this anytime and will hear the outcome within 6 weeks.

If your organisation and project are eligible and appear to be a good fit with our priorities, you will be invited to submit a full application.

The next deadline for Project Development Grant applications is 13th October 2025.

Tel: 020 7925 0199

Email ahf@ahfund.org.uk

Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust-Apart, not Alone 2025-26 – Second deadline

The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust is once again inviting applications to the ‘Apart, not Alone 2025-26’ grants programme which aims to improve the quality of life for those impacted by service-related separation.

This fund supports families experiencing separation, recognising the significant impact it can have on various aspects of family life, including emotional wellbeing, mental health, social connections and family dynamics.

Armed Forces Covenant’s Support for Serving Families Facing Service-Related Separation offers grants between £5,000 and £50,000 for projects that help mitigate the impact of service-related separation for families of serving personnel and reservists.

This Fund is open to registered charities and Community Interest Companies (CICs) who have substantial recent experience of supporting Armed Forces communities as well as to Armed Forces units or bases.

The second deadline for applications to the Support for Serving Families is 21st January 2026.

Email: info@covenantfund.org.uk

Benefact Trust - Heritage Skills for Christian Buildings

Benefact Trust aims to ensure that heritage skills, essential for the conservation of historic Christian buildings, are preserved and promoted through apprenticeships, scholarships and training courses.

The Trust supports organisations offering such opportunities, enabling them to train individuals pursuing a career within the heritage sector.

This grants programme is open for applications from any registered charity offering training in heritage skills, providing they can demonstrate that funding will support skills relevant to the preservation of Christian buildings.

The Trust does not specify grant values but will support individuals for the duration of their training up to a maximum period of three years.

The Trust welcomes applications from Christian charities and churches.

You can apply anytime.

Tel: 01452 873189

Email: info@benefacttrust.co.uk

BFBS Big Salute

BFBS is inviting forces charities to apply for grants to support specific projects for the serving military, families or veterans.

They award grants up to £10,000 for projects related to one of the armed services, either regular, reservist, veteran or family member.

The Big Salute’s application window closes on the 30th of September of 2025.

Contact.

Childwick Trust - re-opens for applications this October

The Childwick Trust supports registered charities across Southeast working in healthcare.

The Trust has a strong emphasis on helping charities which offer care and support for people who are terminally ill, or have a serious illness, older people, adults and children who have mental health problems or a learning disability.

The Trust also gives help to both children and adults with physical disabilities. Organisations who offer care and support for ex-servicemen and women who have been injured or traumatised from past and recent conflicts can also be funded.

The majority of the Trust’s grants for their health category typically range between £5,000 and £20,000. Funding can be used towards specialist equipment, respite care, holidays, education and core costs.

The Trust invites applications twice a year. Their next funding round re-opens on October 1st.

Email: kirsty@childwicktrust.org

Comic Relief Community Fund

Comic Relief’s Community Fund is for small organisations supporting people living in, or at risk of, poverty or hardship.

The Fund awards up to £5,000. Grants can be used on core organisation costs, direct project related costs or a combination of both.

Project examples include:

Organisations tackling the immediate and urgent impacts of being in poverty
Organisations working to empower communities to take positive steps to lift themselves out of poverty in the longer term, including projects that build skills, increase access to employment, strengthen financial resilience or develop community-led solutions

The Fund prioritises organisations delivering in areas that rank highly on the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD).

Comic Relief welcomes applications from not-for-profit organisations with an annual income less than £250,000. To be eligible to apply, your organisation must be working in a local area to tackle the immediate impacts of poverty or build resilience to poverty and hardship. Your governing document should include information about how your organisation specifically supports people at risk of or experiencing poverty.

Their deadline for applications is Friday 6th October (12 pm).

Tel: 0121 237 5800

Email: comicrelief@groundwork.org.uk

Congregational and General Charitable Trust

The Congregational and Charitable Trust supports capital projects to repair, improve or extend church buildings, particularly those of the United Reformed and Congregational denominations and other churches of the Protestant tradition.

The Trustees also consider applications from church community projects for funding towards capital costs (but not for ongoing work).

The Trust awards £1,000 - £25,000. The level of grant awarded is at the Trustees discretion and will depend on the denomination of the church and type of work being undertaken. The maximum percentage project cost is 25% to the nearest £100.

Their next deadline for applications is 24th October 2025 (10am).

Email: enquiries@candgtrust.org.uk

Edgar E Lawley Foundation

The Edgar E Lawley Foundation offers grants within the categories of Hospices, Children & Young People, Elderly, Community, Disabled and Medical Research.

The Foundation prefers to award unrestricted grants to smaller charities and not for profit organisations.

In 2025/26 the Trust’s total annual grants programme will be between £150,000 to £200,000 with successful grantees each receiving £2,000 each.

The Trust generally opens for applications once a year.

Their deadline for applications for 2025/26 closes 31st October 2025

Tel: 01372 805 760

Email: edgarelawley@gmail.com

Esmée Fairbairn Communities and Collections Fund

The Esmée Fairbairn Communities and Collections Fund supports museums and their community partners to improve inclusion and equitable working with community partners.

This Fund is run by the Museums Association (MA) on behalf of the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.

The fund has a twin focus on inclusion and collections. It is anticipated that this will result in work that explores and influences key themes in social and climate justice, such as wellbeing, decolonisation, climate crisis, antiracism and others

The fund offers £40,000 - £100,000 over a period of up to three years:

Core grants to museums that have established strategic aims for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), and that are ready to use their collections and the funding to support social and climate justice, in ways that are relevant to local contexts and relationships. The Fund expects to fund smaller and medium sized museums where funding of this size can make the most long-term difference
Partnership project grants to museums and community organisations that work equitably together, and share aims for DEI, and which have ambitious and compelling ideas for inclusive project work with collections. Partnership applications must include at least one MA institutional member museum partner. It is expected that the museum partner(s) will hold collections that will be used during the partnership project and that a museum partner is typically well positioned to receive and coordinate funding on behalf of the group

Applying entails a two-stage application process, starting with submitting an Expression of Interest. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to submit a second stage application 13th May 2026, with awards made towards the end of June 2026.

The deadline for Expressions of Interest is 21st January 2026.

Tel: 020 7566 7851

Email: sally@museumsassociation.org

Fidelio Charitable Trust

The Fidelio Charitable Trust supports the arts, in particular music, including opera, Lieder, Composition and dance.

The Trust looks to provide support for individuals (over the age of 21) or groups of exceptional ability, to enable them for example, to:

Receive special tuition or coaching (e.g. in the case of musicians to attend masterclasses)
Participate in external competitions
Be supported for a specially arranged performance
Receive support for a special publication, musical composition or work of art

The Trust awards up to £5,000. Applications need to be supported by institutions, colleges, arts festivals and other arts organisations or by persons with recognised relevant expertise.

Fidelio’s Trustee meetings are normally held three times a year, in the spring, summer and autumn.

Their next deadline for applications is September 12th (midday) 2025.

Email: admin@fideliocharitabletrust.org.uk

Help the Homeless

Help the Homeless supports charities helping homeless people return to the community and enabling them to resume a normal life.

This Funder awards grants up to £5,000 to support capital costs.

They accept applications from small and medium-sized organisations registered with the charity commission.

They have quarterly deadlines each year. The next deadlines this year are 15th September and 15th December 2025.

Contact

Henry Smith Foundation – Domestic Abuse Fund

The Domestic Abuse Fund is specifically for organisations led-by-and-for marginalised and minoritised communities providing specialist domestic abuse support.

The Fund expects to make 20 grants and intends to award all successful applicants with £250,000 over five years (£50,000 per year).

This funding is intended to enable grantee organisations to continue to contribute to meaningful, lasting change for survivors of domestic abuse.

The Foundation welcomes applications from formally registered, not-for-profit organisations of all sizes with a charitable purpose (eg, registered charities, Community Interest Companies, Community Benefit Societies) providing direct service delivery.

To be eligible, applicants must:

Have a strong track record with at least three years’ experience providing specialist domestic abuse services to their community
Offer ongoing in depth and consistent support that responds to an individual’s changing needs
Provide person-centred services are tailored to the unique needs of each individual. One-to-one support, such as casework, needs to be a core part of their approach
Provide holistic, wrap-around support that addresses an individual’s range of needs. This means that ideally, they will provide a number of services such as counselling, safe accommodation, casework, immigration advice and practical

The Foundation provides a webinar recording on their website.

Applying involves a staged process: Starting with a short online eligibility quiz on the Foundation's website. Eligible organisations will then be able to submit an Expression of Interest. Those who are successful will hear by 29th September if they are invited to submit a full application.

The deadline for Expressions of Interest is 10th September 2025 (5pm).

Tel: 020 7264 4970

Email: saferfutures@henrysmith.foundation

Heritage Crafts Association - Endangered Crafts Fund

The Association supports craft practitioners, community groups and voluntary organisations to deliver projects that protect endangered crafts and provide opportunities for makers and trainees to develop their skills.

The Association has a total of £30,000 for this latest funding round, with individual grants of up to £2,000. A number of grants are ringfenced for East Sussex, West Sussex, and Brighton and Hove.

The funding is intended to support projects focusing on crafts listed as endangered or critically endangered on the Red List of Endangered Crafts.

The next deadline for applications is 17th October 2025 (5pm)

Email: info@heritagecrafts.org.uk

JJ Charitable Trust - Literacy small grants scheme

The JJ Charitable Trust seeks to improve the effectiveness of literacy teaching in primary and secondary education for children with learning difficulties, including dyslexia.

The Trust’s small grants scheme supports organisations directly helping children and young people develop literacy skills, with a focus on supporting those with learning difficulties such as dyslexia.

The Trust has a particular focus on areas of those who are at risk of non-inclusion in society and the world of work.

The Trust is keen to see projects that use volunteers and reading mentors and those that help during transitional points. For example, when students move from primary to secondary school, and when they transition to further education, college, or the workplace. They will consider grants for literacy support at any primary or secondary key stage.

The Trust accepts applications from registered charities, Community Interest Companies, Charitable Incorporated Organisations or those registered as an exempt charity.

You can apply for grants between £5,000 and £20,000. You can apply for a multi-year grant, over a maximum period of 3 years.

The trustees consider applications three times a year. The next deadline to apply before their next meeting is 1st October 2025.

Tel: 020 7410 0330

Email: info@sfct.org.uk

London Hearts – Defibrillator grants

London Hearts wants to ensure no one is more than 100 meters away from a defibrillator and is awarding grants of £300 towards its cost and storage. They also offer a free online training video.

Community and voluntary groups, charities and other not for profit organisations throughout the UK can apply at any time.

Tel: 020 70432493

Email: info@londonhearts.org

National Garden Scheme - Community Gardens Grants

This funding scheme supports the creation of a garden or a similar project (such as an allotment) with a horticultural focus for the benefit of the local community.

The Fund awards £1,500 - £5,000 for projects that aim to bring a community together by creating a space where people can share, acquire and share gardening knowledge and skills and inspire a love of gardening.

Grants can be used for numerous things, including but not limited to:

Plants and containers
Materials for flower or vegetable beds and other hard landscaping
Greenhouses, polytunnels and sheds
Seating
Hand tools and certain garden power tools (eg strimmers)
Materials for providing refreshment

This scheme is open to community groups, Registered charity and Community Interest Companies.

The Community Garden Grants Scheme will open on 15th September 2025 and close 20th October 2025 (12 noon). (Note, only the first 300 eligible submissions will be considered for a grant).

Email: vince.hagan@ngs.org.uk

NFU Mutual Charitable Trust

The NFU Mutual Charitable Trust supports charities working in agriculture, rural development and insurance.

Currently, the Trust's main objectives are to:

Advance public education of agriculture through research and information sharing
Advance the education of young people within rural areas
Relieve poverty within rural areas
Encourage associations between inhabitants, local authorities, voluntary and other organisations to advance education and leisure
Promote research into agricultural associated activities
Advance public education of insurance through research and sharing information

NFU focuses on funding larger initiatives which will have a significant impact on the rural community. The Trustees are particularly interested in initiatives in the areas of education of young people in rural areas and relief of poverty.

Grants awarded are discretionary, however most tend to range between £1,000 and £50,000.

The Trustees meet twice a year (June and November) to consider applications.

Applications for the Trustees November meeting must be submitted by 10th October 2025.

Email: nfu_mutual_charitable_trust@nfumutual.co.uk

Paul Hamlyn Foundation - Teacher Development Fund

This Fund supports teachers develop arts-based approaches which create equitable classrooms where all children learn and thrive.

It aims to do this through supporting teachers and school leaders to develop the necessary skills, knowledge, confidence and experience.

The Development Fund awards up to £165,000 for projects lasting two academic years.

To be eligible, lead applicants must be one of the following:

Primary schools operating in the state sector. They can be mainstream, SEND or Alternative Provision settings, working with primary-age children
Arts organisations can be charities, community organisations, social enterprises and not-for-profit companies active in the arts and culture sector

A minimum of six and a maximum of ten schools should be involved in each project, regardless of whether the lead applicant is either an arts/cultural organisation or a school.

Each participating school should commit at least two teachers and one senior leader to the project, though flexibility can be offered to small, rural schools. Projects may include teachers of Nursery and Reception classes in primary schools.

The Fund is open for applications now with a deadline of 12th November 2025 (12 noon).

Tel: 020 7812 3300

Email: information@phf.org.uk

Rees Jeffreys Road Fund

The Rees Jeffreys Road Fund provides grants for research, education and roadside improvement projects that promote advances in road-related UK transport policy, design, management and practice.

There is no upper or lower limit for grant applications although grants most commonly fall in the range £5,000 - £30,000.

The Trustees favour proposals which have national, rather than local, significance and those which involve other funding partners.

Trustees deliberately choose not to set defined criteria about what projects they fund, as they want to see innovative, new and novel ideas. As a guide, the Trust provides examples of project outcomes they are interested in (but not limited to):

Improved experience for road users, whether walking, wheeling, driving or a passenger
Improving the way roads are provided, managed and maintained, their economic and environmental performance and the role roads play as part of an integrated transport approach
Improvements in managing roads in a sustainable and aesthetical way, including how roads sit within the urban and natural landscape. This includes both resilience to, and contribution to the mitigation of, the impact of climate change

The Fund welcomes applications from registered charities, researchers and academic institutions.

The next deadline for applications is 3rd October 2025

Tel: 056 0384 9370

Email: secretary@reesjeffreys.co.uk

Road Safety Trust – Small grants programme to open soon

The Road Safety Trust aims to reduce death and injury on the UK’s roads by funding vital research and practical interventions into new approaches to road safety.

The Trust will publish their theme for Autumn 2025 when they re-open their Small Grants programme later this month. (The theme for the Autumn 2024 round was ‘Inequalities in Road Safety).’

Overall, the Trust’s objectives are to:

Generate new knowledge about what works
Translate ideas into new measures
Influence road safety policy and practice
Support partnership working and collaboration

Their Small Grants funding round for 2025 has a total of £150,000 to distribute in grants.

Applicants can apply for £10,000 - £50,000 over two years. Please note, the Trust requires match funding. All projects should have other sources of funding, which can be cash or in-kind.

The Trust expects an element of partnership or collaborative working. Applications should have a lead organisation which must be a local public sector organisation, university, registered charity, not-for-profit, social enterprise or community interest company.

The Trust expects to open for ‘Expressions of Interest’ for the small grants programme on 23rd September and close on 29th October 2025.

Email: info@roadsafetytrust.org.uk

The Rowing Foundation

The Rowing Foundation contributes to the cost of boat equipment or boat refurbishments to support junior & student rowers, and adaptive rowing for all ages.

They provide grants towards the cost of boat equipment or boat refurbishments to support junior & student rowers, and adaptive rowing for all ages.

They match your spending up to a maximum of £4,000 per grant.

Organisations can apply for a boat refurbishment grant anytime. Equipment Grants applications are normally considered three times a year.

The next deadline to apply for equipment is 29th September 2025

Email: enquiries@therowingfoundation.org.uk

Royal Society of Chemistry – Outreach Fund

The Royal Society’s Outreach Fund supports individuals and organisations run a broad range of chemistry-based public and schools engagement activities.

The Royal Society wants to support projects that:

Develop chemists’ public engagement and science communication skills- building opportunities to engage schools and public audiences
Engage with school students, nurturing a future generation passionate about the sciences
Engage the public, involving a wide range of people
Provide underrepresented audiences, communities and places with inspiring engagement opportunities coordinated and delivered by skilled people

The Society’s Outreach Fund offers Small Grants up to £5,000 and Large Grants between £5,001 - £10,000.

This Fund is open to all (individuals and organisations) including, but not limited to, Royal Society members, researchers in academia or industry, community groups, not for profit organisations, arts groups and libraries.

Their deadline for applications is 3rd October 2025.

Tel: 01223 420066

Stobart Sustainability Fund

The Stobart Sustainability Fund is supporting community-led sustainability projects transforming local communities by tackling climate change, reducing carbon emissions or protecting the environment.

The Fund is awarding discretionary grant amounts and welcomes applications from community groups and educational settings.

You can apply anytime.

Tel: 01925 605400

Email: enquiries@eddiestobart.com

Ulverscroft Foundation for Visually Impaired People

The Ulverscroft Foundation gives financial help to universities which carry out research into the causes and treatment of eye diseases. They also fund eye clinics, hospitals, schools, libraries and other organisations helping visually impaired people.

Ulverscroft’s grants range from around £100 to £500,000.

The Foundation prefers projects which will lead to longer-term benefits after the initial funding has ended. Applications which have a short life span will have little weighting. For example, a bid to fund an audio-described theatrical performance is unlikely to succeed, while a bid to purchase equipment to provide this service on an ongoing basis would be more attractive.

Applicants need not necessarily be a charity; they can be a Community Interest Company or social group.

Trustees meet quarterly to consider applications.

Their next deadline for applications is 15th September 2025.

Tel: 0116 236 1595

Email: foundation@ulverscroft.co.uk

Valpak Limited - Beyond the Bin Fund

Beyond the Bin Fund is a new innovation scheme from the National Cup Recycling Scheme (NCRS), administered by Valpak.

This fund supports innovative solutions that increase the recycling or reuse of on-the-go paper cups.

The Fund is looking for projects that drive progress in:

Awareness campaigns: Bold, creative behaviour change projects that promote cup recycling in workplaces, events or public spaces
Recycling infrastructure improvements: Groundbreaking innovations to enhance cup collection, return, and sortation at shopping centres, travel hubs, hospitality venues, or other high-footfall locations
Research projects: High-quality, novel research addressing strategically important challenges in paper cup recycling, such as improving recyclability, recovery rates, environmental performance, or evaluating the feasibility of collection through household recycling schemes.

The Fund awards up to £45,000. Grants can be used for staff time, project materials and equipment, communications, venue or travel expenses, data and evaluation, professional fees, and reasonable project-related overheads.

Beyond the Bin is open to a wide range of organisations ready to make a real impact and is welcoming applications from:

Businesses and brands (e.g. coffee chains, retailers, venues)
Local authorities and councils
Universities and research institutions
Startups and social enterprises
Collaborations and partnerships (with one lead applicant)

The deadline for applications is 31st October 2025.

Tel: 01789 208 700

Email: beyondthebin@valpak.co.uk

Veolia Environmental Trust

Veolia Environmental Trust awards capital grants to improve community facilities and natural environment located near qualifying Veolia sites. Eligibility depends on postcode. The Trust provides an eligibility post code checker.

The Trust currently offers the following grant schemes:

Community Grants are for constituted, not-for-profit organisations and local authorities to create or improve community buildings or outside spaces for the benefit of the community. For example, improvements to community centres, public parks, play areas, skate parks, sports grounds, community gardens and public right of way
Habitat and Biodiversity Grants are for not-for-profit organisations and Environmental bodies enrolled with ENTRUST to support structural improvements to a single habitat, such as a waterway, woodland, or nature reserve.

The Trust awards £10,000 - £75,000 through either of these schemes. Projects must have a total cost of no more than £350,000.

The next deadline for applications is 2nd October 2025 (noon).

Tel: 0203 567 6820

Email: UK.Trust@veolia.com

Virgin Media O2 £1 Million Apprenticeship Talent Fund

Virgin Media O2’s new £1 million Apprenticeship Talent Fund supports organisations recruit and train apprentices in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) roles.

It is designed to increase participation from underrepresented groups, with a focus on supporting women and people from global majority backgrounds into STEM careers.

The fund covers the full cost of apprenticeship training for eligible roles by enabling organisations to access Virgin Media O2's apprenticeship levy funds through levy transfers.

The fund is open to small businesses, charities, social enterprises and local authorities that do not pay into the apprenticeship levy.

You can apply anytime.

WCIT – IT4Good Grant Programme

WCIT’s IT4Good Grant Programme has funds remaining to support innovative and sustainable IT projects across a number of themes.

Their focus areas cover:

Tech for charities: Encourages charities to pilot new technologies that will create efficiencies in the organisation, improve the lives of beneficiaries, or be scalable to the wider Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector. It does not cover funding for off-the-shelf hardware, software, networking or telephony costs, or the creation or hosting of websites, unless they are for the explicit use of beneficiaries
Inclusion: The Fund receives a very high volume of requests for community digital inclusion projects so encourage you to think about how a relatively small grant from could have the biggest impact on your beneficiaries. The Fund is most interested in projects which demonstrate the potential for a high Social Return on Investment. The Fund also looks favourably on organisations that are part of the Good Things Foundation’s National Digital Inclusion Network
Education: The Fund receives many requests for education-related projects, especially STEM training for younger children and girls. The Fund is therefore most likely to fund innovative approaches to improving learning outcomes or improving digital literacy, or projects that are developing technology-based educational tools

The Fund awards up to £15,000 has £19,000 remaining to spend in 2025. They have updated their application guidance so carefully read through.

Funded projects include:

Developing and delivering new services, solutions, training, apps, analytics, AI, robotics, or accessibility features/hardware
Projects where WCIT is a material or sole funder
Projects where WCIT is the sole funder of the IT component of a larger project
Organisations that may benefit from pro-bono support

WCIT accepts applications from registered charities and other not for profit such as Community Interest Companies.

The next deadline for applications is October 22nd 2025 (5pm) with decisions made by early December.

Email: charity@wcit.org.uk

Youth Music Trailblazer Fund – Round 11

The Youth Music Trailblazer Fund offers grants of £2,000 to £30,000 to not-for-profit organisations to run projects for children and young people (25 or under) to make, learn and earn in music.

Your project should trial work or test a new way of working, sustain a grassroots programme or disrupt the status quo (or all three!).

Your work must meet one of the Fund’s themes:

Early years
Disabled, d/Deaf and neurodivergent young people
Youth justice system
Young people facing barriers
Young adults
Organisations and the workforce

The next round of applications opens on 24th October and closes on 21st November 2025.

Tel: 020 7902 1060

Email: grants@youthmusic.org.uk

Zurich Municipal’s Diversity and Inclusion Award

Zurich Municipal’s Diversity and Inclusion Awards celebrate the initiatives that small organisations put in place to promote inclusivity and celebrate diversity within their communities.

These awards are designed to honour the achievements made by organisations striving to make their communities a welcome, safe and happy place for everyone.

The prizes for the Small Charitable/Not-for-Profit Organisation are:

First Prize: £10,000 grant to further support your inclusive culture initiative and a feature in Zurich Municipal's newsletter
Second Prize: £5,000 grant to further support your inclusive culture initiative and a feature in Zurich Municipal's newsletter
Third Prize: £3,000 grant to further support your inclusive culture initiative and a feature in Zurich Municipal's newsletter

Zurich welcomes applications from not for profits with an income below £100,000.

The closing date for applications is Tuesday 30th September 2025.

Contact.