This week's Funding Bulletin (January 19th - January 23rd 2026)
- eloisehallwcvs
- 4 days ago
- 6 min read
A short summary of funding opportunities that have came to our attention this week.
Wirral CVS Funding Opportunities
Step Up Resilience Fund
The Step Up Resilience Fund is designed to support VCFSE organisations to strengthen their resilience, sustainability and capacity, rather than to fund new service delivery.
This fund recognises the vital role that existing community organisations play in improving health and wellbeing across Wirral. To be eligible, organisations must be able to demonstrate how their current core activity contributes to one or more of the Wirral Health & Wellbeing Strategy Gamechangers, such as:
Employment
Early years
Violence reduction
Cardiovascular health
Fuel poverty
Funding can be used to invest in the systems, skills, governance, and planning that enable organisations to continue and strengthen the work they already do. This might include workforce development, governance improvements, digital systems or strategic planning.
Applicants do not need to design a new project. Instead, Wirral CVS is interested in understanding how your existing work aligns with public health priorities, and how organisational development support will help you deliver that work more effectively and sustainably over the long term.
Current deadline: 15th February 2026
Small Grants Programme
Wirral CVS has £100,000 from Wirral Council Public Health to deliver a Small Grants Programme, offering grants of up to £5,000, with the majority of awards expected to be under £3,000.
This programme is aimed at small, local organisations that are deeply embedded in their communities. To be eligible, organisations must:
Be based and operating in Wirral
Have had an income of under £10,000 in the last year
Be a charity, social enterprise, or community group with a governing document
Have a bank account in the organisation’s name with at least two unrelated signatories, or an agreement with an appropriate organisation to hold funds on their behalf
Funded activities should contribute to one or more of the following outcomes:
Improved physical and mental wellbeing
Reduced health inequalities
Preventative approaches to health
Enhanced social inclusion and community resilience
Increased access to health and wellbeing activities
Improved self-management of health conditions
Empowered communities taking charge of their wellbeing
This programme is particularly well suited to smaller organisations delivering targeted, community-led activity with a clear health and wellbeing benefit.
Current deadline: 30th January 2026
Apply: Small Grants Programme
Arts & Culture Fund
The Arts & Culture Fund is open to VCFSE organisations delivering arts and cultural activities that benefit Wirral communities. Grants of up to £5,000 are available.
This fund focuses on strengthening the sustainability and resilience of organisations working in the arts and culture sector, while also increasing volunteer engagement.
Funding can be used to:
Build organisational capacity, including governance, workforce development, financial planning, and digital skills
Support innovative approaches to income generation and long-term sustainability
Enhance the ability of organisations to respond to challenges and opportunities in the sector
Enable arts and culture organisations to adapt, grow, and secure their future
Eligible applicants include registered charities, CICs, CIOs and unincorporated associations with a governing document, provided they are delivering arts or cultural activity that benefits people and communities in Wirral.
Current deadline: 12th February 2026
General Funding Opportunities
The People's National Postcode Trust
Charities and community organisations will soon be able to apply for funding to support projects that improve the lives of disadvantaged and marginalised people across England, Scotland and Wales.
The People’s National Postcode Trusts are funded by players of the People’s Postcode Lottery. Together, they support hundreds of good causes that aim to:
Prevent or reduce the impact of poverty
Support marginalised groups
Tackle inequality
Improve mental health
Eligible organisations include registered charities, community interest companies, and charitable community benefit societies. Grants of up to £50,000 are available over a three-year period, with the amount awarded depending on the organisation’s annual income.
Applications must be submitted through one of six regional Trusts. Each Trust covers a specific area of the country and has its own application deadline. Please use the links below for more information about each Trust.
Priority will be given to organisations that:
Have an annual income of £250,000 or less
Work in communities ranked among the most deprived 15% in England, Scotland or Wales
Focus on supporting marginalised groups, such as disabled people, communities experiencing racial inequality, and LGBT+ people
Are based in areas that have not received funding recently
Each funding round is open for one week only, so early preparation is strongly recommended.
Current deadline: 2nd March 2026
To read more: Apply for a grant | Postcode Neighbourhood Trust
The Happy Days Children's Charity
The Happy Days Children’s Charity is inviting applications for funding towards trips, respite breaks and group activity holidays for disadvantaged children and young people with additional needs.
The charity awards funding for different types of activities to support families with children aged 3-17 who have a disability, a special need or have been abused.
Grants are available for the following activities:
Family Day Trips - eligible trips include zoos, farm parks, theme parks, the seaside or the theatre
Family Holiday Breaks - a short break family holiday by the seaside or in the countryside, usually in the United Kingdom. Other destinations will be considered according to cost.
Group Day Trips and Visiting Theatre - a day trip to a wide variety of destinations, for example, the seaside, a theme park, the theatre, or for a theatre workshop to visit the applicants' premises. Items that can be funded are tickets/passes and transport costs
Group Activity Holidays - a group activity holiday to a wide variety of destinations such as outdoor activity centres, holiday camps and sailing breaks
Applications for family activities are accepted from parents, guardians, grandparents or siblings, as well as GPs, consultants, nurses or social workers.
Applications for group activities are accepted from organisations such as SEN schools and groups, young carers and women's refuges.
Applications can be made at any time.
To read more: Happy Days Children's Charity UK - Apply for Funding
The Souter Charitable Trist
The Souter Charitable Trust invites applications from UK-registered charities that work to relieve human suffering in the UK and overseas. The Trust particularly supports organisations with a Christian ethos, although charities without a Christian emphasis are also welcome to apply.
The Trust works with organisations that share its values and aims to support vulnerable and underserved communities. Funding is intended to help charities provide practical assistance and improve both physical and spiritual wellbeing.
There is no fixed minimum or maximum grant amount, but most awards are between £1,000 and £3,000. The Trust has funded a wide range of projects, including malaria prevention programmes and the provision of daily school meals for children in Africa.
Current deadline: 16th February 2026
To read more: Souter Charitable Trust
The Aviva Community Fund
Aviva has announced the launch of the Aviva Foundation, bringing together the Aviva Community Fund and its previous grant programmes under one structure. The aim is to strengthen the impact of Aviva’s charitable funding by taking a more coordinated and long-term approach.
The Aviva Foundation will focus on two main areas across the UK: improving financial resilience and supporting community-led climate action. It will continue to fund organisations working at both local and national levels, while increasing the reach, consistency and lasting impact of its investment.
The Communities Fund supports smaller, local charities and community organisations, building on the existing Aviva Community Fund. It is open to UK organisations with an annual income of £1 million or less and focuses on projects that improve financial wellbeing and address climate action. Funding is provided through a matched-funding model, with Aviva matching public donations up to £250 per donor, usually up to a maximum of £25,000 per organisation each year. Applications can be submitted at any time.
The Foundation will also focus on learning from the organisations it supports and sharing insights to help inform wider practice and policy across the sector.
To read more: Aviva Foundation
Strategic Legal Fund
Not for profit organisations and private law firms assisting young migrants can apply for grants from the Strategic Legal Fund (SLF) for Vulnerable Young Migrants.
These grants aim to support strategic legal work that benefits disadvantaged migrant children and young people (under 25 years old) who are living in poverty and facing significant disadvantage or discrimination due to their immigration status.
The SLF only supports strategic legal work carried out in the UK. This is defined as work where the impact is likely to go beyond an individual case, and to result in changes to law, policy and practice that will benefit a wider group of people. Applications must be to fund one of two kinds of strategic legal work:
The SLF funds two types of strategic legal actions:
the research and development of cases pre-litigation, including gathering evidence to test a hypothesis or research to establish authorities' policy and practice, identifying potential plaintiffs/applicants/appellants, researching whether to proceed, translating relevant material, and evaluating a litigation strategy.
third party "interventions" in existing cases, which allow a non-party intervener to assist the court in arriving in its decision in a case, acting as an amicus curiae, a friend of the court.
The maximum grant amount is £30,000, but applicants are encouraged to request lower amounts due to limited funding. The average grant size is approximately £12,000 - £15,000.
Current deadline: 26th January 2026
To read more: About the SLF - Strategic Legal Fund
Our past Funding Bulletins will also have grant opportunities that are still open!
Need support applying to any of the above? Get in touch with us at groups@wcvs.org.uk to access bespoke advice and one-to-one support with grant funding.
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