The Seafarers' Charity

Merchant Navy Fund Grants Programme

Grants for registered charities whose work benefits UK Merchant Navy seafarers (UK passport holders) in need and their families: older seafarers and their dependants, working-age seafarers, and the families of working-age seafarers. The Merchant Navy Fund is run by The Seafarers' Charity with the Merchant Navy Welfare Board and is applied for through the same online portal as the charity's other grants. Charities that also serve other groups must hold the grant in a restricted fund used only for UK Merchant Navy beneficiaries. The fund awarded £106,000 across four grants in 2024, from £1,600 to £50,000.

Apply on the funder’s site

You could get: Amount not specified; no fixed round
Deadline: Rolling; apply any time
Effort: Heavy; budgets, references, often several stages

Who can apply

Registered charities whose project benefits UK Merchant Navy seafarers, meaning those who hold a UK passport, within one or more of: older seafarers and their dependants; working-age seafarers; or the families and dependants of working-age seafarers
The applicant must be satisfied of beneficiaries' UK Merchant Navy eligibility (for example logbooks showing more than one day's service)
The organisation must have a bank or building society account in its own name that needs at least two unrelated people to sign cheques or make withdrawals
Charities that also support people from other sectors can apply but must place the grant in a restricted fund used only for their UK Merchant Navy beneficiaries
The Seafarers' Charity's general criteria also apply: annual accounts filed within the Charity Commission's 10-month deadline and passing its due diligence
Individuals cannot apply

What it funds

Aim: projects and welfare services that benefit UK Merchant Navy seafarers in need and their families, within one or more of these groups:

Older seafarers and their dependants (partners and children)
Working-age seafarers
Families and dependants (partners and children) of working-age seafarers

past awards include renovation of retired seafarers' accommodation, help with essentials for children from Merchant Navy families on low incomes, digital inclusion for older residents, health and wellbeing navigation, emergency grant top-up funds, and activities tackling isolation and loneliness

the charity's general funding types (core, project, some capital and capacity-building costs) and five Strategic Outcomes apply across its programmes

What it will not fund

Grants to individuals (individuals are signposted to Seafarer Support and other partner charities)
Beneficiaries who are not UK Merchant Navy seafarers or their families (charities serving wider groups must ring-fence the grant for UK Merchant Navy beneficiaries)

How to apply

Check eligibility against the Merchant Navy Fund criteria and read The Seafarers' Charity's Grant Funding Principles and Overview and 2026 Step By Step Guidance
Register on The Seafarers' Charity's Benefactor online grants system (seafarerscharity.benefactorcloud.co.uk) and confirm your email address
Start a new application, choose the programme and pass the four-question eligibility quiz, which guides you to the correct funding pool
Complete and submit the online application form with your budget and latest financial statements
Respond to the due diligence request sent after submission

The Seafarers' Charity may move an application to a more suitable fund; questions about the Fund can go to mnfund@theseafarerscharity.org and application queries to impact@theseafarerscharity.org

if offered a grant you must provide a recent bank statement to verify the account details

Have ready

Budget for the application (.pdf or .xls)
Latest financial statements or annual report
Recent bank statement (if offered a grant) to verify bank account details

The Seafarers' Charity's standard due diligence documents (constitution, policies, trustee information) are requested after submission

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