GrantRadar

Applications closed on 16 October 2026.

Many funders run the same grant every year, so check the funder’s site for a new round. The details below are what the funder published when it was open.

Peak District National Park Foundation

Connect Fund

The Peak District National Park Foundation's Connect Fund gives grants of up to £500 to schools, charities and community groups to take disadvantaged and marginalised people on trips into the Peak District National Park. Trips must help people learn about, connect with or enjoy the Park, and the grant can cover costs such as transport and walking or heritage guides. Groups should apply only if the Peak District is their closest national park. Applications are reviewed against fixed deadlines, next 16 October 2026.

Check the funder’s site

Open grants like this

Grants you can apply for now, for the same kind of work or place.

You could get
Up to £500
Deadline
Closed
the deadline has passed
Effort
Light
short form, little evidence needed

Who can apply

  • Registered charities, CIOs, CICs, community groups, societies and associations, and companies limited by guarantee (if they have an asset lock or are also a registered charity)
  • They need an organisational bank account
  • The organisation and the trip must focus on supporting disadvantaged and marginalised groups
  • State-funded schools can also apply if 30% or more of pupils are eligible for free school meals (checked on the Get Information About Schools service)
  • The Peak District must be the applicant's closest national park
  • Applicants must have returned evaluation forms for any earlier Foundation grants and waited at least a year since their last Connect Fund grant
  • Groups visiting Chatsworth House or Thornbridge Hall should apply to those estates' own travel funds first

What it funds

Trips to destinations inside the Peak District National Park boundary for disadvantaged and marginalised groups (including but not limited to low-income families, people with disabilities and ethnically diverse communities). Each trip must focus on at least one of:

  • Helping people learn about the Park (nature, landscape, history and heritage)
  • Building the skills and confidence to spend time in the Park and the countryside
  • Showing the benefits of noticing and connecting with nature

The grant can pay for anything essential to make the trip happen, e.g. coach hire, fuel, bus or train fares; learning provider fees such as a walking guide, heritage expert or farmer; and trip equipment such as maps or a first aid kit.

Food is covered up to £6 per person only where it is a major barrier to taking part.

The trip must take place within six months of the grant.

What it will not fund

  • Trips to destinations outside the National Park boundary
  • Trips to tourist attractions
  • Days out solely to villages or towns in the Peak District such as Bakewell
  • Ongoing organisational expenses such as staff wages, vehicle maintenance or insurance
  • Equipment that serves a longer-term purpose for the organisation (e.g. clipboards, pens, compasses) is unlikely to be funded
  • Food costs above £6 per person, or food where it is not a major barrier to participation
  • Groups whose closest national park is not the Peak District
  • Groups that received a Connect Fund grant less than a year ago, or have not returned an evaluation form for a previous Foundation grant

How to apply

  1. Check eligibility: the trip destination is within the National Park boundary, the Peak District is your closest national park, and at least a year has passed since any previous Connect Fund grant
  2. If visiting Chatsworth House or Thornbridge Hall, apply to their own funds first (say so on your Connect Fund application if unsuccessful)
  3. Plan the trip in full and prepare a budget breakdown, with supplier quotes where possible
  4. Download the Connect Fund application form (https://www.peakdistrictfoundation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Connect-fund-application-form-May-25.docx) and complete it
  5. Email the form, budget and any quotes to hello@peakdistrictfoundation.org.uk by the deadline (16 October 2026; next 19 February 2027)
  6. The Foundation aims to tell you the outcome within two weeks of the closing date
  7. If funded, acknowledge the Foundation publicly, run the trip within six months and send an evaluation with feedback and photos

Schools and other organisations have separate guidance pages but use the same form

To discuss eligibility, email hello@peakdistrictfoundation.org.uk or call 01629 700 606. Around 60% of applications were funded last year

Have ready

  • Completed Connect Fund application form (organisation, trip details, outcomes, amount and budget table)
  • Full budget breakdown of planned spending

Include supplier quotes wherever possible; without a quote you must show evidence of how you worked out the costs

Connect Fund (closed) — Peak District National Park Foundation — GrantRadar