Grants for charities in the UK

Sir Halley Stewart Trust

Sir Halley Stewart Trust grants

£5,000 – £60,00026 February 2027

Grants for innovative research and pioneering development projects that aim to prevent (rather than alleviate) human suffering, in three themes: Social, Medical and Religious, with education running across all three. Main Grants of £5,001-£60,000 over one to three years (at most £30,000 a year), usually for salaries, where the Trust is the sole or major funder; Small Grants of up to £5,000 for scoping or pilot projects costing no more than £5,000. Grants go only to or through UK charitable organisations. The Trust funds about 1 in 10 applications, and a round closes early once it has enough.

• Health and Wellbeing
• Faith
• Education and Skills

Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation

Daiwa Foundation Awards

£9,000 – £18,00031 March 2027

Awards of £9,000 to £18,000 for collaborative projects in which British and Japanese partner organisations work together, preferably within an existing institutional relationship: museums and galleries, theatres and performing arts groups, schools and universities, grassroots and professional bodies. The money mainly pays for UK-Japan travel and subsistence; the average award is about £9,000, a contribution rather than full funding. Organisations only, and both a British and a Japanese partner are required. Two deadlines a year, 31 March and 30 September.

Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation

Daiwa Foundation Small Grants

£2,000 – £9,00031 March 2027

Grants of £2,000 to £9,000 for individuals, societies, associations and other bodies in the UK or Japan, for projects that promote interaction between the two countries: grassroots and educational exchanges, research travel, conferences, exhibitions and events. The money mainly pays for UK-Japan travel (up to £1,200 per return flight) and subsistence (£100 per person per day); typical awards are £3,000-£4,000, a contribution rather than full funding. Small Grants suit small projects and pump-priming early collaborations, and no partner is needed. Two deadlines a year, 31 March and 30 September; the success rate is roughly 14-25%.

Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust

Reveal & Respond programme

£20,000 – £300,00028 October 2026

Grants to improve access to appropriate mental health and wellbeing support for specific underrepresented groups within the armed forces community, through tailored interventions that respond to identified barriers, needs and experiences. Strand 1 offers £20,000 to £40,000 for a two-year discover, pilot and learn project (with up to £20,000 more in exceptional cases for an extra year); Strand 2 offers £150,000 to £300,000 for two to three years to scale an approach already tested. Projects must be partnerships between armed forces organisations and specialist non-armed forces organisations. Closes 12 noon, 28 October 2026.

• Veterans/Military
• Health and Wellbeing

The Fine & Country Foundation

The Fine & Country Foundation grants

Up to £3,00031 October 2026

Grants of up to £3,000 for registered charities, in the UK or overseas, working on homelessness and poverty, from the charity of the estate agent Fine & Country. A charity must first be nominated by its local Fine & Country office, which signs the form. There are two rounds a year: applications in March (spring) and October (autumn), with grants paid in May and December. Charities near a Fine & Country office are more likely to be funded.

• Poverty

The Archer Trust

The Archer Trust grants

£1,000 – £5,000Rolling — apply any time

Grants of £1,000 to £5,000 for small UK charities that aid or support a defined group of disadvantaged or marginalised people, where a small amount will make a big difference. Most grants go to general funds. The Trust prefers charities working in areas of high unemployment and deprivation, that make good use of volunteers and have tapped local sources of wealth, and supports overseas work only through UK charities. Trustees meet twice a year, and unsuccessful applicants are not told.

• Poverty
• Community

British Motor Sports Training Trust (British Motorsport Trust)

Safety Development Fund

Up to £300Rolling — apply any time

The British Motorsport Trust's Safety Development Fund gives grants to Motorsport UK Registered Clubs and other Motorsport UK Registered or Licensed organisations for additional or enhanced safety improvements that comply with Motorsport UK requirements. It covers four main strands: closed road event safety, venue safety and sustainability, rescue units and equipment, and recovery units and equipment. Applications are considered in batches about every four weeks; around 60 grants are approved in a typical year.

• Sport and Recreation

Innovate UK (UKRI)

Efficient, Structured and Controllable AI Systems

£50,000 – £150,00018 November 2026

Innovate UK competition for UK SMEs to experimentally validate novel, reusable AI or machine learning mechanisms (new learning, causal, modular or geometric/physics-structured architectures) that could underpin future generations of efficient, structured and controllable AI systems. Projects are short (1 to 3 months), start at TRL 1 to 3 and must have total eligible costs of £50,000 to £150,000; the grant covers up to 70% of costs for micro and small businesses and 60% for medium-sized ones. It is aimed at research-intensive AI start-ups, deep tech SMEs and university spinouts, sits under the Sovereign AI Unit's mandate, and is phase 1 of a possible two-phase competition. Innovate UK says similar competitions suggest about a 4% chance of success; it closes at 11am on 18 November 2026.

• Enterprise
• IT/Digital

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

Eureka collaborative R&D: Globalstars Japan 2027

£1,000 – £600,00019 January 2027

Innovate UK funding of up to £600,000 per project for the UK partners in business-led collaborative industrial research projects with Japan, under the Eureka Globalstars Japan 2027 call. Projects must include at least one UK registered business and at least one Japanese SME, can add partners from 14 other Eureka countries, and must focus on semiconductors, quantum, AI, cyber security, advanced connectivity, biotechnology (including engineering biology) or space. Two applications are needed: the joint Eureka application form, due 11pm GMT on 19 January 2027, and the Innovate UK application, due 11am on 20 January 2027. Innovate UK puts the chance of success at about 10%.

• Enterprise
• IT/Digital

Innovate UK (UKRI)

Climate Tech FOAK Builder: Programme Entry Expression of Interest

£1,000 – £315,0005 November 2026

Phase 1 of Innovate UK's Climate Tech FOAK Builder pilot, for UK SMEs approaching the first commercial-scale deployment of a climate technology project (TRL 7 or above). This phase gives no cash: successful companies get a dedicated mentor, a FOAK Development Plan and in-kind expert advisory and technical assistance worth up to £315,000, delivered by a Technical Assistance Supplier, to move the project towards Final Investment Decision. Only companies with an agreed Development and Support Plan can be invited to apply for Phase 2 development-cost grants (£4 million in total), which are not guaranteed. Projects must be in sustainable fuels, grid technologies, engineered carbon removals or low carbon materials, and Innovate UK expects about a 10% chance of success; it closes at 11am on 5 November 2026.

• Enterprise
• Environmental

Innovate UK (UKRI), for the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade

Investor Partnerships – Battery Innovation Programme

£50,000 – £2,000,00025 November 2026

Innovate UK grant for UK SMEs with battery technology R&D projects, paid only alongside equity investment led by one of Innovate UK's approved investor partners. Projects can be feasibility studies (£50,000 to £300,000 total costs), industrial research (£100,000 to £1 million) or experimental development (£250,000 to £2 million); the grant covers 70% or 60% of costs for the first two and 45% or 35% for experimental development, and the aligned investment must at least equal the grant (or twice the grant for experimental development). The investor partner must submit an expression of interest to Innovate UK and invite the SME to apply, so a relationship with an approved partner has to be in place first. Delivered as part of the Battery Innovation Programme; closes at 11am on 25 November 2026.

• Enterprise

Innovate UK (UKRI)

Frontier AI: SME Champions, Phase 1

£150,000 – £250,00011 November 2026

Innovate UK grants for UK SMEs to run short feasibility or industrial research projects (1 to 3 months, total costs £150,000 to £250,000) that validate a genuinely frontier AI or machine learning innovation, meaning state of the art performance or new to the world capability from new architectures, training methods or learning or control algorithms. Projects must start at TRL 1 to 3, fit one of four themes (AI for health and life sciences, AI for advanced materials, secure AI for national security and defence, or AI safety and assurance) and show a route to defensible IP. It is Phase 1 of a three-phase pipeline linked to the Sovereign AI Unit: only Phase 1 winners can be invited to a Phase 2 of up to £1 million. Innovate UK estimates about a 2% chance of success; it closes at 11am on 11 November 2026.

• Enterprise
• IT/Digital

Innovate UK (UKRI), part of UKRI's Engineering Biology Programme

Engineering Biology Investor Partnerships Round 1

£250,000 – £2,000,0002 December 2026

Innovate UK grants of £250,000 to £2 million for UK-registered SMEs to take close-to-market engineering biology products and services through 24-month experimental development projects. The grant covers up to 45% of project costs for micro and small firms (35% for medium), and is paid only if the company also secures aligned equity or convertible-loan investment of at least twice the grant, led by an investor from Innovate UK's approved investor pool, with heads of terms by 29 July 2027. Single applicants only; Innovate UK puts the chance of success at about 20%. Closes 11am on 2 December 2026; the total pot is £8 million.

• Enterprise

Innovate UK (UKRI), with Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE)

UK-Germany Bilateral Collaborative R&D: Round 5

£100,000 – £350,0001 December 2026

Innovate UK grants for UK-registered SMEs to run business-led industrial research projects jointly with at least one unlinked German business, in clean energy, life sciences or engineering biology. The UK side of each project can request £100,000 to £350,000 for 12 to 24 months starting 1 August 2027, while the German partner applies in parallel to Germany's ZIM programme through AiF Projekt GmbH; both funders must select the project. Innovate UK puts the chance of success at about 10%. Closes 11am on 1 December 2026; the total UK pot is £2.4 million.

• Enterprise

Government Office for Technology Transfer (GOTT), Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade; administered…

Commercialising Knowledge Assets Fund (CKAF) – Winter 2026 call

£50,000 – £250,0001 December 2026

Grants of £50,000 to £250,000 per project, at 100% of eligible costs, for UK government research organisations to move an existing public sector Knowledge Asset (know-how, IP, designs, R&D outputs, source code, creative outputs) with an identified potential market towards commercialisation. It is for public sector research establishments, UKRI wholly owned institutes and other public bodies whose primary function is research; universities, local government, devolved administrations' bodies, NHS trusts and private companies cannot apply. Projects run for 6, 12 or 18 months from March or April 2027, and shortlisted applicants pitch at an interview. Run by GOTT with three calls a year; this Winter call closes at 11am on 1 December 2026.

• Enterprise

Sovereign AI Fund (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)

Sovereign AI Visa Reimbursement Scheme

£500 – £151,650Rolling — apply any time

Reimburses visa-related fees when AI companies backed by the government's Sovereign AI Fund hire international talent into UK-based R&D roles. It is only for companies that already have Sovereign AI support: portfolio companies with completed equity investment can claim for up to 10 hires, and a small allocation lets companies with Sovereign AI compute, Strategic Assets grants or R&D procurement contracts claim for up to 5 hires if they pass a strategic fit assessment. It covers Certificate of Sponsorship, visa application, Immigration Health Surcharge, Immigration Skills Charge and priority processing fees, paid in arrears once the hire has started, with claims accepted until 31 March 2030.

• Enterprise
• IT/Digital

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

Engineering Biology Collaborative R&D: Round 3

£750,000 – £2,500,0003 November 2026

Innovate UK collaborative industrial research grants, funded from UKRI's Engineering Biology Programme, for business-led projects that develop and scale engineering biology platforms, products and services and de-risk adoption of engineering biology technologies with high market potential. Projects must apply engineering biology to health, agriculture and food, chemicals and materials, low carbon fuels, waste and environment, or cross-cutting technology and service development, and involve a named end user. A UK registered business must lead, with at least one grant-claiming SME. Total eligible project costs must be between £750,000 and £2.5 million, and there is a two-stage assessment with an interview.

• Enterprise

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

Engineering Biology Access to Infrastructure Pilot

£200,000 – £750,00021 October 2026

Innovate UK grants, part of UKRI's Engineering Biology Programme and funded by the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, to help SMEs take lab-proven engineering biology innovations to pilot or demonstration scale. Projects must be led by a UK registered SME and must include, as a partner or subcontractor, a UK organisation with scale-up and validation facilities, such as a catapult, bio-foundry or contract manufacturing organisation. Projects cost £200,000 to £750,000 in total, run for up to 24 months and must fit one or more themes: health, agriculture and food, chemicals and materials, low carbon fuels, waste and environment, or cross-cutting technology. Businesses get 50-70% of their costs depending on size.

• Enterprise

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

National Materials Innovation Programme: CR&D Rd1

£500,000 – £1,000,00028 October 2026

Innovate UK collaborative industrial research grants, the first collaborative R&D round of the National Materials Innovation Programme, to speed the translation and adoption of advanced materials innovations for the eight growth-driving sectors (IS-8) of the UK's Modern Industrial Strategy. Projects must fit one of four themes: future healthcare solutions, structural materials innovation, power electronics and connectivity, or metamaterials and metasurfaces. A UK registered business must lead, with at least one grant-claiming SME and at least one named end user in an IS-8 sector. The project's total grant request must be between £500,000 and £1 million, for projects of 18 to 30 months.

• Enterprise

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

UK-Singapore CRD 2026

£100,000 – £900,00016 December 2026

Innovate UK grants of £100,000 to £900,000 for business-led collaborative industrial research projects between UK and Singapore companies, in advanced manufacturing, clean energy, life sciences, or frontier digital technologies (semiconductors, quantum, AI, cyber security, advanced connectivity and engineering biology). A UK registered business leads, and the consortium must include at least one unlinked Singapore business, which applies in parallel to Enterprise Singapore for its own funding. Projects last 24 to 36 months and start no earlier than 1 May 2027; the competition closes at 11am on 16 December 2026, and Innovate UK puts the chance of success at about 15%.

• Enterprise

UK Space Agency (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)

International Bilateral Fund – Call 3

£1,000,000 – £1,500,0004 November 2026

UK Space Agency grants for UK-led space projects that build partnerships with organisations overseas, to strengthen the UK as a trusted space partner, grow exports and investment, and build priority UK capabilities. Each project can receive up to £1.5m (expected range £1m to £1.5m) for up to 18 months starting 1 April 2027, and must include at least one formal international partner and match funding under subsidy control rules. Partnerships with Canada, France, Germany, India, Japan and the USA are particularly encouraged; each lead organisation may submit only one application, and the call closes at 3pm on 4 November 2026.

• Enterprise

Department for Business and Trade

Visa Fees Reimbursement Scheme for Scale Ups (VFRS4SU)

£500 – £25,0001 March 2027

A government grant that reimburses visa application fees for international specialist hires, and their dependants, made by UK scale-ups in Clean Energy, Life Sciences, and Digital and Technologies. A business can claim up to £25,000 a year, with a maximum of £5,000 per international hire including their dependants, for hires on the Skilled Worker, Global Talent or Scale-up visa routes. Only the employer can apply (not individuals), it must meet the government's scale-up definition and hold a sponsor licence, and costs incurred before the application was submitted are not eligible.

• Enterprise

Great British Energy

Great British Energy (GBE) Supply Chain Fund: Offshore Wind and Networks

£1 – £300,000,00010 December 2026

Capital grants from Great British Energy for companies building new, or extending existing, UK factories that will primarily make one of 29 listed 'Critical Components' for offshore wind and the electricity networks (for example blades, towers, monopiles, HVDC cables, power transformers and switchgear). There is no set minimum or maximum grant: the request must be the minimum needed for the project to go ahead, and GBE expects an average grant intensity of about 15% of eligible costs, so most of the investment must come from the applicant. Applications go through Eligibility, Readiness Review and Full Application stages; Round 4, the final round, closes at 5pm on 10 December 2026, or earlier if the £300 million fund is fully allocated.

• Enterprise
• Environmental

Department for Business and Trade and Department for Culture, Media and Sport (delivered by the BPI)

Music Export Growth Scheme (MEGS)

£5,000 – £50,0001 April 2027

Match-funding grants for UK-based independent music SMEs, normally management companies or record labels, to run marketing and promotion campaigns, usually linked to international tours, that help an artist who has achieved reasonable commercial success in the UK break into an overseas market. The grant covers no more than 50% of eligible expenditure and no UK activity can be funded. Funded by DBT and DCMS and run in rounds by the BPI; grants range from £5,000 to £50,000.

• Arts
• Enterprise

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (Office for Life Sciences)

Life Sciences Transformational R&D Investment Fund (TRIF) Pilot

£5,000,000 – £25,000,000Rolling — apply any time

Capital grants from the Office for Life Sciences for large-scale life sciences R&D investments in the UK, in human medicines, medical diagnostics and MedTech, that strengthen health resilience, drive innovation and create economic benefit. Only single-company projects with total costs of at least £100m can apply; the grant is set at the minimum needed for the project to proceed, typically 10-20% of total project costs, and awards are capped at £25m. Applications are taken on a rolling basis until 31 March 2028 or until the £50m pilot fund is allocated.

• Enterprise

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (Office for Life Sciences)

Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund (LSIMF)

£1,000,000 – £130,000,000Rolling — apply any time

Capital grants from the Office for Life Sciences for UK manufacturing investments in human medicines, medical diagnostics and MedTech that increase UK health resilience and create high-wage, high-skilled jobs. Single-company (or same-group) projects with eligible costs of at least £8m can apply; the maximum grant is 25% of project costs, typically 10-20%. Expressions of Interest are taken at any time and assessed in quarterly rounds, with Round 9 closing at 12pm on 13 November 2026.

• Enterprise

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

Idlewild Trust

Conservation: Objects and Works of Art

Up to £8,00012 February 2027

The Idlewild Trust's Conservation grant gives one-off grants of up to £8,000 to UK Registered Charities and UK Publicly Exempt Charities to conserve objects and works of art of recognised national or international importance, held in museums, libraries, galleries, historic buildings or landscapes that the public can visit. Applicants must own the object and must already have a conservation report or treatment proposal from an accredited conservator. Priority goes to projects that share knowledge with other professionals or the public. The next round opens on 7 December 2026 and closes at midday on 12 February 2027.

• Heritage

Meetings Industry Meeting Needs

Meeting Needs project grants

Amount not specifiedRolling — apply any time

Project grants for small charities from Meetings Industry Meeting Needs, the events industry's charity foundation, funded by money raised within the meetings and events industry. Every applicant needs a supporter from the UK events industry (a Meeting Needs board member or charity partner, a member of the events industry community, or someone who works in the industry). Charities in the UK and charities working overseas have been funded; recent grants listed range from about £2,500 to £5,000. Applications are taken all year and decided at quarterly board meetings.

Thomas Wall Trust

Thomas Wall Trust Grants for Individuals

Up to £1,500Rolling — apply any time

Grants of up to £1,500 for motivated adults on low incomes living in the UK, towards accredited vocational courses up to level 3 and associated study costs, to improve their chances of employment. Up to £750 of the grant can go on childcare, travel and equipment. Applicants must be 18 or over, from a low-income household and facing financial and other challenges, and need a professional referee. The programme normally runs all year on a first come, first served basis, but closes temporarily from 22 October to 30 November 2026 while the Trust upgrades its application system.

• Education and Skills
• Poverty