GrantRadar

NHS Blood and Transplant

NHS Blood and Transplant Community Grants Programme

Two-year grants from NHS Blood and Transplant (formerly the Community Investment Scheme) for community and faith/beliefs organisations to build awareness, trust and support for blood, deceased organ and living kidney donation among Black, Asian, mixed heritage and minority ethnic communities. Smaller and grassroots organisations can apply for £10,000-£20,000 a year; established partners can apply for £50,000 a year for blood, living kidney or combined projects. Blood projects must engage Black African and/or Black Caribbean communities, and NHSBT particularly welcomes blood projects that lead to donation bookings. Projects run from December 2026 to December 2028; applications close on 24 November 2026.

Apply on the funder’s site
You could get
£10,000 – £50,000
Deadline
25 days left
24 November
Effort
Moderate
full application with documents

Who can apply

  • Community and faith/beliefs organisations, including registered charities, charitable incorporated organisations, limited companies, community interest companies and unincorporated groups
  • The organisation must be able to receive the funding into its own bank account; groups without one, and individuals with an idea, must partner with an organisation that takes responsibility for the application, funding, delivery and reporting
  • Marketing, PR and advertising agencies, research bodies, market research organisations and current NHSBT staff cannot apply
  • Blood donation projects must focus on Black African and/or Black Caribbean communities and be carried out in England; deceased organ donation activity can be in England or Wales
  • Current grant holders can apply, but panels will consider their existing funded work
  • No income limit or minimum track record is stated

What it funds

Projects that positively engage Black, Asian, mixed race and minority ethnic communities in donation, addressing misinformation and barriers, sharing information and increasing support for donation, in one of these areas:

  • Blood donation, focused on Black African and/or Black Caribbean communities only (for example raising awareness of the need, helping people understand who can donate, myth busting, and securing donation bookings through group bookings or NHSBT's QR code registration links)
  • Deceased organ donation, engaging all ethnic minority and faith communities (for example improving understanding, building trust, encouraging people to talk to their families and share their wishes, and work with donor families, transplant recipients and others with lived experience)
  • Living kidney donation, engaging all minority ethnic communities (for example raising awareness of the need for living donors, explaining what living donation involves, and training others in the community to talk about it)
  • Combined blood and organ donation projects, where the blood element focuses on Black African and Caribbean communities

posts can be funded, but NHSBT takes on no employment liability for them. Budgets should include unrecoverable VAT; travel for people attending events must be standard class. Applications must show the activity in year one and how it will develop in year two.

What it will not fund

  • Research projects
  • Activity carried out retrospectively
  • Activity that duplicates what NHSBT already delivers
  • Creating new mobile blood donation sessions (blood projects should drive people to existing sessions)
  • Applications from individuals on their own behalf
  • Applications from marketing, PR or advertising agencies, research bodies or market research organisations
  • Applications from current NHS Blood and Transplant staff
  • £50,000 awards for projects focused only on deceased organ donation

How to apply

  1. Read the application guidance document (PDF) and the FAQs; an online webinar on the new round is held on Thursday 5 November 2026
  2. Choose the funding stream (blood, deceased organ, living kidney, or combined) and band (£10,000-£20,000 or £50,000 a year)
  3. Complete the online application form (Formstack), including project timeframes, the number of people you expect to engage, how you will capture progress and learning, and the budget, using NHSBT's project objectives and budget breakdown templates
  4. Submit by 24 November 2026
  5. Applications go through a sifting stage and then full judging
  6. If successful, sign a contract and issue an invoice before funding is released; year two funding follows the next December subject to year one being delivered as agreed

the FAQ gives the closing time as both 5pm and 23:59 on 24 November 2026; submit by 5pm to be safe. Funded projects provide interim monitoring and final evaluation reports and meet regularly with an NHSBT project support officer.

Have ready

  • Completed online application form
  • Project objectives template (provided by NHSBT)
  • Budget breakdown template including unrecoverable VAT and any match funding (provided by NHSBT)

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