UK grants for children and young people

Funding for youth work, play, education outside school, and projects supporting children and young people.

242 grants open now, each read from the funder’s own pages. More added as we read them.

Mid Suffolk District Council
Living Well in Winter Grant
Up to £2,00022 November 2026
Grants of up to £2,000, with no match funding needed, for constituted voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise organisations to help Mid Suffolk residents through winter: warm and social spaces, lunch clubs, after-school clubs, subsidised family sport and similar activities tackling isolation, heating pressures and wellbeing. It is a competitive round open from 12 October to 22 November 2026, with outcomes by 27 November; any money left reopens first come, first served. The council says about two thirds of unsuccessful applicants had not contacted the Grants Team first.
- Community
- Health and Wellbeing
- Cost of Living Crisis
Who can apply →
Culham St Gabriel's Trust
Religion & Worldviews Home Educators' Fund
Up to £1,00015 December 2026
Small grants for home-educating families and home ed groups in the West Midlands, Leicestershire and Northamptonshire to help children learn about religious and non-religious worldviews. A quick-response grant of up to £200 for a mini-project has no closing date and is decided within a month; a larger grant of £200 to £1,000 for a shared project bringing together two or more families or a home ed group closes on 15 December 2026. Co-designed with home educators by Culham St Gabriel's, All Saints Educational Trust and St Peter's Saltley Trust, and decided by a panel of home-educating parents.
- Education and Skills
- Faith
- Children and Young People
Who can apply →
Swansea Council
School Essentials Grant (Swansea)
£125 – £20031 May 2027
A Welsh Government grant, run by Swansea Council, to help low-income families with the cost of school essentials: £125 for each eligible learner, or £200 in Year 7. It covers Reception to Year 11 pupils who get free school meals on benefits grounds, looked-after children at Swansea schools, and those with no recourse to public funds. Formerly the school uniform grant (PDG Access). Applications for 2026/27 run from 1 July 2026 to 31 May 2027.
- Children and Young People
- Education and Skills
- Cost of Living Crisis
Who can apply →
Lashes Foundation
Lashes Foundation grants
Amount not specifiedRolling — apply any time
Small grants from a local charity set up in memory of Evie Wilson, for people in need in Clipstone Parish, Nottinghamshire, and surrounding areas. Its objects cover relieving financial hardship, sickness and poor health (particularly among elderly and disadvantaged people), helping young people take part in recreational, leisure and educational activities they could not otherwise afford, and supporting young people with exceptional commitment or ability in academic work, sport or the performing arts. Anyone can apply, for themselves or for someone else, through a short online form.
- Poverty
- Health and Wellbeing
- Children and Young People
Who can apply →
Ed De Nunzio Charitable Trust
Ed De Nunzio Charitable Trust grants
£100 – £10,000Rolling — apply any time
Grants of £100 to £10,000 to charities and voluntary organisations in York and the York area that help children and young people aged 5 to 21 reach their full potential, primarily those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The Trust was set up in memory of Edward De Nunzio, who died aged 18 in 2011. Multi-year and larger grants are considered in exceptional cases. Enquiries are made first through the website, and an application form is sent if the enquiry meets the criteria.
- Children and Young People
- Education and Skills
Who can apply →
Manchester Relief in Need CIO
Manchester Relief in Need and Children's Relief in Need: grants for individuals and families
Up to £500Rolling — apply any time
Grants, generally no more than £500 and typically £50 to £500, for adults, and children and young people under 25, living in the City of Manchester who are in financial need or hardship, for a specific item or help such as a household item, essential clothing or equipment, or furnishings for a tenancy. People cannot apply themselves: a health or social care worker, or a worker from a charity or voluntary organisation working directly with them, applies on their behalf. Trustees meet monthly.
- Poverty
- Children and Young People
Who can apply →
Ford Britain Trust (Ford Motor Company Limited)
Ford Britain Trust
Up to £3,00031 October 2026
Small capital grants from Ford's UK charitable trust, running since 1975, for registered charities, state schools and PTAs, and non-profit clubs and societies anywhere in the UK. Grants help buy equipment, furniture and computers, contribute to refurbishments, or go towards a new vehicle. Small grants are up to £250 and large grants £251 to £3,000. Projects near Ford sites (Essex including East London, Bridgend, Southampton, Daventry, Manchester, Liverpool) are weighted more highly. Applications are by emailed form in fixed windows; the small grant window is open until 31 October 2026, while large grant applications are paused until a new form is published in October.
- Education and Skills
- Environmental
- Children and Young People
Who can apply →
The Harris Charity
The Harris Charity Grants
Amount not specified31 March 2027
Grants from a Preston charity, founded from the sale of the Harris Orphanage, for young people under 25 who live in Lancashire, with special priority for Preston. Individuals can apply for things such as specialist study equipment, vocational training, essential furniture in exceptional circumstances or overseas service projects, and charitable groups and organisations can apply for projects that benefit under-25s. Trustees decide twice a year, with deadlines of 31 March and 30 September, on a downloadable paper or Word form.
- Children and Young People
- Education and Skills
- Poverty
Who can apply →
J. N. Derbyshire Trust
J. N. Derbyshire Trust Grants
£1,000 – £10,00031 January 2027
Grants from a 1944 Nottingham family trust to charities and not-for-profit community and voluntary groups for charitable projects that support people in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. Projects can cover physical and mental health, disability, education, relief of poverty, distress and sickness, or the protection and welfare of children and vulnerable people. Most grants are £1,000 to £5,000, rising to £10,000 in exceptional circumstances; applications go through Forever Notts (Nottinghamshire Community Foundation) for two review meetings a year, and organisations need at least two years of filed accounts.
- Health and Wellbeing
- Disabled People
- Education and Skills
Who can apply →
The Livewell Foundation
Livewell Foundation Large Grants
Up to £10,00030 November 2026
Grants of up to £10,000 from The Livewell Foundation, the charity set up by health and social care provider Livewell Southwest, for charities and community groups running projects that improve health and wellbeing, reduce mental and physical ill health or reduce social isolation in Plymouth, South Hams and West Devon. The large grants round opens once a year, and the current window closes on 30 November 2026. Projects addressing children's mental health, women's health or child obesity score extra points, and applications can be made in writing or by a video of up to five minutes.
- Health and Wellbeing
- Children and Young People
- Women and Girls
Who can apply →
The Daisie Rich Trust
The Daisie Rich Trust grants
£500 – £5,000Rolling — apply any time
Grants from the Daisie Rich Trust, an Isle of Wight charity founded under Miss Daisie Rich's 1955 will, for charities, community groups and organisations with charitable goals whose work benefits the Isle of Wight and its residents. It funds five areas: youth; health; welfare; services to the community; and arts, culture and environment, and can pay for specific projects or general running costs. Typical grants are £500 to £5,000, and many partners receive funding over several years. Trustees meet four times a year, usually in March, June, September and December.
- Children and Young People
- Health and Wellbeing
- Community
Who can apply →
The Tom Bowdidge Youth Cancer Foundation
Tom Bowdidge Youth Cancer Foundation grants for young people with cancer
Up to £500Rolling — apply any time
Grants to individual teenagers and young adults aged 13-24 who have been treated for cancer in the last 12 months, to ease the money worries that come with treatment. Grants can help with travel, household expenses, clothing and hospital food costs, or buy specific items that make treatment easier or less isolating or help a young person continue studying. Requests should not normally exceed £500; larger requests go to the trustees in exceptional circumstances. Applications need details of the young person's healthcare professional.
- Children and Young People
- Health and Wellbeing
Who can apply →
The Swan Mountain Trust
The Swan Mountain Trust grants
£2,000 – £4,000Rolling — apply any time
Small, one-off grants from a small trust that works in mental health (not disability) and penal affairs. For the next three years it is focusing on organisations working with refugees and asylum seekers, with particular emphasis on the mental health of young refugees and asylum seekers. Grants are usually £2,000-£4,000, mainly to small organisations with income under £500,000, across the UK. Trustees meet in February, June and October and applications can be made at any time, starting with an email enquiry.
- Health and Wellbeing
- Communities Experiencing Racial Inequalities
- Children and Young People
Who can apply →
LGBT+ Fund (powered by Consortium), with The National Lottery Community Fund
LGBT+ Fund: Youth Joy Fund
£5,000 – £25,00018 November 2026
18-month grants of £5,000 to £25,000 for England-based non-profit organisations and youth groups with at least two years' youth work and existing LGBT+ youth provision, to foster joy, belonging and positivity for LGBT+ young people aged 11-25 through projects, trips and enriching experiences. Funded by The National Lottery Community Fund's You Decide programme, with a panel of LGBT+ young people making the decisions. The fund has £300,000 in total and the funder expects about 1 in 5 applications to succeed. Video and supported (phone) applications are offered.
- Children and Young People
- Health and Wellbeing
Who can apply →
Forte Charitable Foundation (formerly Trusthouse Charitable Foundation)
Major Grants
£10,000 – £100,000Rolling — apply any time
Revenue grants from Forte Charitable Foundation (renamed from Trusthouse Charitable Foundation in June 2025) for small and medium local charitable organisations focused on family support in communities of extreme urban deprivation or deprived rural areas across the UK. Single-year grants are £10,000-£50,000; multi-year grants are up to £100,000 over three years, with no more than £50,000 in any year. The grant can cover no more than 50% of the cost, applicants must have income up to £500,000, and their postcode or project area must meet strict deprivation rankings. It is a rolling, two-stage process taking 12-15 weeks; CICs cannot apply.
- Children and Young People
- Poverty
- Community
Who can apply →
UK Space Agency (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
ESERO-UK (European Space Education Resource Office UK) grant
£1 – £4,500,00020 January 2027
A single grant of up to £4.5 million over 2027/28 to 2029/30 for a lead organisation, ideally heading a consortium, to run ESERO-UK: the UK-wide space education and engagement programme for young people aged 4-19 across schools, colleges and cultural, community and social settings. The programme focuses on young people under-represented in STEM and space careers and on equipping teachers and other educators. ESA expects to add up to €750,000 through a separate contract with the winner. This is a national delivery contract-scale grant, suited only to large, experienced education organisations or consortia.
- Education and Skills
- Children and Young People
Who can apply →
The Mrs Smith and Mount Trust
The Mount Fund – Small Grants Programme
Up to £10,00019 October 2026
One-year grants of up to £10,000 for registered charities with income up to £500,000 whose beneficiaries are in Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Kent, Surrey or London. Each round takes one category: the window that opened on 12 October 2026 for one week is only for charities supporting therapeutic interventions in mental health (December 2026 meeting); the March 2027 round is for charities supporting refugees and asylum seekers. Small, rural charities are encouraged.
- Health and Wellbeing
- Children and Young People
Who can apply →
The Mrs Smith and Mount Trust
The Mount Fund – Large Grants Programme
£15,000 – £25,00019 October 2026
Grants of generally £15,000-£25,000 a year for up to three years for the strategic development of services, for registered charities with income up to £1m whose beneficiaries are in Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Kent, Surrey or London. Priority areas are therapeutic interventions in mental health, homelessness, community youth services, and refugees and asylum seekers. The application window opened on 12 October 2026 for a minimum of one week, for the December 2026 Board meeting.
- Health and Wellbeing
- Children and Young People
- Community
Who can apply →
Teachers Group Educational Trust
Teachers Group Educational Trust Grants
Amount not specifiedRolling — apply any time
Grants to promote education in the UK and overseas, focused on young people aged 4 to 19, particularly from disadvantaged backgrounds. Most of the Trust's giving goes to three long-term strategic partners (The Steve Sinnott Foundation, SHINE and STEMunity), but trustees also make a number of smaller grants to other projects, including some that do not fully match the main criteria. Projects should be replicable across the wider education arena. Approaches are made by email; no amounts or deadlines are published.
- Education and Skills
- Children and Young People
Who can apply →
The John Thaw Foundation
The John Thaw Foundation Grants
£1,000 – £3,0007 December 2026
Small grants from the charity John Thaw set up, for projects supporting underprivileged and disadvantaged children and young people across the UK, run by established organisations and smaller grassroots groups. The Foundation is likely to fund between £1,000 and £3,000 and considers applications at two meetings a year (roughly January and June/July). The next is January 2027, with a deadline of Monday 7 December 2026; guidelines must first be requested by email.
- Children and Young People
Who can apply →
The Charlotte Bonham-Carter Charitable Trust
The Charlotte Bonham-Carter Charitable Trust Grants
Amount not specified1 January 2027
Grants to smaller registered charities, mainly in Hampshire, for causes Lady Charlotte Bonham-Carter cared about: the arts, projects of cultural interest, preservation of the countryside, young carers, older people, and early intervention for disadvantaged children and young people. The average grant is under £5,000. Applications are by post with a covering sheet, twice a year, with closing dates of 1 January and 1 September, and only successful applicants hear back.
- Arts
- Environmental
- Older People
Who can apply →
The Dixie Educational Foundation
Dixie Educational Foundation Grants
Amount not specified19 October 2026
Small local grants from a 400-year-old Market Bosworth educational foundation for the educational benefit of young people under 25 living in Market Bosworth and nearby villages in Leicestershire. Both individuals under 25 and organisations or groups running activities for under-25s can apply, for education, sport, music, the arts or personal development, including regular or one-off events. Trustees meet in early March, June and November; applications must arrive before the 20th of the month before the meeting.
- Children and Young People
- Education and Skills
- Arts
Who can apply →
Newcomen Collett Educational Foundation
Newcomen Collett Educational Foundation Grants for Schools and Other Organisations
Amount not specified13 November 2026
Grants for schools and other organisations working with children and young people under 25 in the London Borough of Southwark, for equipment, extra-curricular activities and educational opportunities brought into Southwark schools and colleges. With about £100,000 a year to give, the Foundation rarely funds a whole project and usually expects other funders to be involved; it does not fund salaries or administration. Its 2025 grants to named organisations were mostly £1,500 to £2,000. The next deadline is 13 November 2026 for the 10 December Governors' meeting.
- Education and Skills
- Children and Young People
Who can apply →
Newcomen Collett Educational Foundation
Newcomen Collett Educational Foundation Grants to Individuals
Amount not specified13 November 2026
Educational grants for young people under 25 who have lived in the London Borough of Southwark for at least two years and need financial help. The Foundation, which has served Southwark's young people for over 300 years, gives grants directly to students in tertiary education or apprenticeships and to young people pursuing courses in arts, music, dance and similar. Applicants are automatically considered for the St Mary Newington Educational Foundation too. The next deadline is 13 November 2026 for the 10 December Governors' meeting.
- Education and Skills
- Children and Young People
- Arts
Who can apply →
The Kerrison Trust
The Kerrison Trust Grants for Non-Profits and Community Projects
Amount not specifiedRolling — apply any time
Grants from a Norfolk and Suffolk youth charity for not-for-profit enterprises, community projects and charities based in Norfolk and Suffolk that have youth wellbeing at their core. Past grants have paid for an additional counsellor at a youth project, equipment for construction or mechanic training, courses and workshops, and toy boxes for children entering refuges. Applications are on a short form and reviewed at quarterly trustee meetings.
- Children and Young People
- Health and Wellbeing
Who can apply →
The Kerrison Trust
The Kerrison Trust Grants for Individuals
Amount not specifiedRolling — apply any time
Grants from a Norfolk and Suffolk youth charity founded in 1856 for young people aged 11 to 20 facing obstacles to achieving their best, such as learning or social difficulties, bereavement, family breakdown, or a lack of money for the equipment they need to succeed. The Trust says its grants can cover things like scholarships, access to training programmes, equipment and workshops. Applications are reviewed at quarterly trustee meetings; teachers and parents or guardians can also get in touch on a young person's behalf.
- Children and Young People
- Education and Skills
Who can apply →
The Earley Charity
The Earley Charity Grants to Organisations
£500 – £5,0006 November 2026
One-off grants, normally £500 to £5,000, from a large local grant-making charity for charitable, voluntary and community organisations working with people in its area of benefit in Earley and east and central Reading. Grants are for specific projects or equipment, not running costs. Requests of £3,000 and under close on 16 October 2026 (decision 5 November); requests over £3,000 close on 6 November 2026 (decision 25 November).
- Community
- Children and Young People
- Arts
Who can apply →
Millennium Point Charitable Trust
Millennium Point Charitable Trust STEM Grants
£1,000 – £20,0004 December 2026
Grants for STEM education projects in the West Midlands Combined Authority area, from the charitable trust that owns the Millennium Point building in Birmingham. Not-for-profit organisations, schools and colleges can apply for up to £20,000 for a project with a measurable impact on STEM education or STEM career choice, but the Trust encourages requests of £1,000 to £5,000 and gives only a few larger grants. The next round opens on 19 October 2026 and closes on 4 December 2026; projects must be completed within 12 months of payment.
- Education and Skills
- Children and Young People
Who can apply →
Dartington Cattle Breeding Trust
Educational Bursaries
£100 – £1,50031 October 2026
Bursaries for students living in Devon or Cornwall on courses or apprenticeships at UK colleges and universities that include livestock breeding, husbandry and welfare, and who intend to work in livestock production or a profession that supports it. Awards depend on course level: £100-£500 at levels 1-2, £600-£1,000 at levels 3-4 and £1,000-£1,500 at levels 5-6, with a lifetime limit of £4,000 per student. There is one window a year; the 2026 window closes on 31 October 2026.
- Education and Skills
- Children and Young People
Who can apply →
Merriman Charitable Foundation
Merriman Charitable Foundation Grants
Up to £20,00015 November 2026
A small family foundation, run by its trustees with no paid staff, funding three areas: young people's employability in London and North Yorkshire, international development overseas, and environment and conservation in the UK and overseas. It gives small grants of up to £5,000 a year and a limited number of larger grants, usually up to £20,000 a year, and will consider multi-year grants, core costs and match funding. Trustees meet in March, June, September and December; the deadline is the 15th of the month before, so the next is 15 November 2026.
- Children and Young People
- Education and Skills
- Environmental
Who can apply →

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