This week's Funding Bulletin (November 17th -November 21st 2025)
- eloisehallwcvs
- 31 minutes ago
- 6 min read
A short summary of funding opportunities that have came to our attention this week.
The Allen Lane Foundation's Young People Programme
The Allen Lane Foundation is offering grants of between £5,000 and £15,000 to charities and not-for-profit organisations working with young people aged 12-21 who are socially excluded or marginalised, and who may have experienced significant issues within their lives.
The grants can be used to support a range of activities, including core costs, project work, and capital expenditure.
The Foundation is particularly interested in supporting organisations that focus their work on:
Young people within the criminal justice system or those at risk of offending
Looked after children or care leavers
Those with significant mental health concerns or complex needs
Young people who have been traumatised by challenging family backgrounds, neglect, violence or abuse
Those that have fallen through the gaps in care and/or education
Those already affected by, or vulnerable to, exploitation
Whose experiences could seriously impact their transition into adulthood
To maximise the impact of its grants, the Foundation will only fund smaller organisations. Organisations that work across a local area, such as a village, estate, or town, must have an annual income of less than £100,000 to be eligible. Organisations that work across the entire UK must have an annual income of less than £250,000 to be eligible.
To read more: Young People’s Programme – The Allen Lane Foundation
Friends of the Elderly
Small grants of up to £600 are available to support vulnerable older people living on low incomes in England and Wales.
Grants can be used to cover essential expenses such as purchasing a new fridge, paying unexpected bills, food, clothing, or covering gas and electricity costs.
Friends of the Elderly currently have four grant streams open for older people who are of/over state pension age, have savings of less than £4,000 (£5,000 for couples) and who do not fit the criteria for other funders:
Home Essentials to help with the cost of replacing everyday items, small home repairs and mobility adaptations;
Digital Connection to help older people get online;
Financial Support to help with unexpected bills;
Essential Living Costs including clothing, food, medicines and books.
Applications must be made via a third-party Referral Agent such as charities, local authorities, religious organisations, housing associations, community organisations, Information, Advice and Guidance providers and social services representatives, etc.
Applications can be made at any time.
OFGEM's Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme
Energy regulator OFGEM has announced that round 14 of the Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme is now open for applications.
A total of £30 million is available to support projects in England, Scotland and Wales designed to help households most at risk from cold homes and high energy bills, tackle household carbon emissions, and support innovation and community-led renewable energy initiatives.
The scheme features several funding streams:
Main Fund: £19.5 million for grants between £50,000 and £2 million for projects aiding households in vulnerable situations.
Small Project Fund: £1 million for grants of £20,000-£49,999.
Innovation Fund: £4.5 million for grants of £20,000-£1 million targeted at new energy services or products.
Carbon Emissions Reduction Fund: £3 million for grants £20,000-£1 million to help households cut carbon footprints.
Just Transition Fund: £1.5 million for community renewables aiding vulnerable consumers, grants between £20,000-£250,000.
Impact Fund: £500,000 for monitoring and evaluation projects, grants £20,000-£500,000.
This funding round introduces revised eligibility criteria that now allow community energy groups to apply alongside registered charities, Co-operatives, community benefit societies and community interest.
Current deadline: 2nd December 2025
To read more: Energy Redress scheme
The Weavers' Company's Grants Programme
The Weavers' Company has launched a new funding round through its charitable grants programme.
The fund’s primary focus is on helping young offenders and ex-offenders, and other disadvantaged young people find pathways to meaningful employment and community participation. It also offers backing to smaller charities that work with under-funded groups within the criminal justice system.
Organisations eligible to apply include registered UK charities and charitable incorporated organisations (CIOs). In certain circumstances, community interest companies (CICs) may be considered.
There are two levels of funding:
Small grants of up to £5,000
Main grants with no formal cap, though many typical awards fall in the £10,000–£15,000 range.
Current deadline: 12th March 2026
To read more: Charitable Grants – The Weavers' Company
Cash4Clubs Grant Programme
To ensure more people have access to local sports, the Cash4Clubs grant programme is making grants of £2,000 available to support the sustainability of community sports clubs and organisations throughout the UK and Ireland.
The programme, funded by Flutter Entertainment and delivered by Sported, offers community groups the opportunity to access unrestricted funding to improve facilities, buy new equipment, gain coaching qualifications and invest in the sustainability of their club.
A total of £500,000 is available in this funding round. Applicants must solely be delivering activities to adults (18+) to be eligible for funding.
Costs that can be funded included:
Venue hire including floodlights/heating
Coaching costs
Volunteer expenses
Equipment
Kit
Marketing and communications
Training and qualifications
Insurances and affiliations
Applications are particularly welcomed from clubs targeting communities from deprived areas, as well as those using sport for other social purposes such as targeting under represented groups, developing skills, reducing crime or addressing anti-social behaviour.
Current deadline: 8th December 2025
To read more: Cash4Clubs - Sported
Help the Homeless
Small homeless charities can apply for capital grants of up to £5,000 to help individuals rebuild their lives.
Eligible applicants must be registered charities with an annual turnover below £500,000 and less than six months of unrestricted reserves. Typically, funding is awarded to organisations running residential or training facilities designed to provide homeless people with direct support and pathways to independence.
Projects previously supported include the Booth Centre in Manchester, which received £1,500 for centre improvements, and the Amber Foundation, which was awarded £3,000 to purchase new bedroom furniture for its residential centre in Devon.
Current deadline: 20th December 2025
To read more: Applying for Funding — Help the Homeless
Cosaraf Charitable Foundation's Hardship Grants
Grants of up to £2,000 are available to charities, housing associations, schools and social services providing support for individuals and families across the UK who are in financial need.
The Cosaraf Charitable Foundation’s Hardship Grants will support individuals and families who have exhausted all other sources of funding and are struggling with everyday costs, such as basic living expenses, household items and utilities, work- or education-related expenses, or rent arrears.
Priority will be given to:
The most financially excluded people
Families over individuals
Those with caring responsibilities
Items that will make the most difference to the individual/family’s long-term future
Other than in exceptional cases, Hardship Grants will only be made available for:
Household items (white goods and occasionally other items i.e. sofas, wardrobes etc.)
Basic Living Expenses (Utilities or food)
Work- or education-related expenses (interview clothes, school uniforms, laptops)
Rent arrears and Council tax arrears, but only where there is a clear and obvious risk of homelessness (for rent arrears involving a social landlord please outline what support has already been offered to your tenant)
Contribution to immigration-related costs, where the current immigration status directly causes financial hardship to the applicant
To read more: Hardship Grants - Cosaraf
Tesco Stronger Starts Programme
Schools and not-for-profit organisations can apply for grants of up to £1,500 for projects and activities that give children across the UK a stronger start in life. Priority is given to projects that improve access to healthy, nutritious food for children and young people.
The funding is being made available through the Tesco Stronger Starts Programme, which is managed by Groundwork across the UK and is working with greenspace scotland to support applicants in Scotland.
Every three months, three locally nominated good causes/projects are selected to be in the blue token customer vote in Tesco stores throughout the UK. Grants will be awarded depending on the number of votes their project receives.
Examples of eligible applications with a focus on food security, children and young people could be:
A voluntary organisation working with families to run a food bank.
An organisation addressing holiday hunger.
A healthy eating project that supports families to cook healthy meals on a budget.
A Brownie or Scout group needing funding for new play equipment or activities.
Schools, voluntary or community organisations (including registered charities/companies), health bodies (e.g., Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), NHS Hospital Trust, Foundation Trust), Parish/Town Councils, local authorities, and social housing providers are eligible to apply.
To read more: Tesco Stronger Starts
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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