This week's Funding Bulletin (September 7th - September 11th 2026)

Eloise Hall

9 hours ago

9 min read

A short summary of funding opportunities that have come to our attention this week.

Central Birkenhead Pride in Place Board’s Community Engagement Events Fund

The Central Birkenhead Pride in Place Board is inviting VCFSE organisations with strong connections to local communities to apply for funding to deliver events and activities that bring people together and help shape the Central Birkenhead Pride in Place Plan. Pride in Place will invest £20 million over 10 years in Central Birkenhead, with local people playing a central role in determining priorities for the area and future investment.

Funding is available for events that use activities such as food, culture, creativity, sport, music, family activities, celebration or social connection to create welcoming opportunities for people who live, work and spend time in Central Birkenhead to share their experiences, ideas and priorities. Funding can support new activity or enhance events that organisations are already planning to deliver. PLACED will support the engagement element, either by attending funded events or providing organisations with materials, guidance and activities to gather people's views.

Applications are particularly encouraged from organisations with established relationships in Central Birkenhead and proposals that reach communities whose voices may be less frequently represented in local decision-making. Applications will be assessed on community connection, the diversity of people reached, quality of engagement, value for money and deliverability. Activities must take place within the Central Birkenhead Pride in Place boundary and all funded events must be delivered before 16th October 2026.

Current deadline: 14th September 2026

The Better Community Business Network Grant Initiative

Charities, community groups, and other not-for-profit organisations are invited to apply for grants of up to £3,000 for initiatives that have a positive impact on their local community.

The Better Community Business Network Grant Initiative aims to improve the quality of life and expectations of people and their communities, especially those who come from disadvantaged or socially deprived backgrounds.

The types of causes supported include:

Arts and culture
Children and education
Disability
Elderly
Environment
Health
Homelessness/Poverty
Prisoners/Ex-offenders
Social cohesion/Community
Sport and recreation

A total of £36,000 in funding is awarded annually to grassroots charities and community initiatives across the UK (excluding Northern Ireland).

Current deadline: 9th November 2026

To read more: GRANT INITIATIVE | BCBN

The Leeds Building Society Charitable Foundation

Small and medium-sized charities across the UK can apply for funding from the Leeds Building Society Charitable Foundation to support people experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity.

The Foundation offers Small Grants of up to £2,500 to UK-registered charities with an annual income under £500,000 for core, project or capital costs.

Funding prioritises projects that help people access or sustain a safe and secure home, including support with financial hardship, housing access, tenancy sustainment, and health and wellbeing linked to poor housing. Previously funded projects have included homelessness prevention services, supported accommodation schemes, and initiatives providing essential household items for vulnerable individuals.

Current deadline: 11th November 2026

The ASDA Foundation's Foodbank Fundamental Fund

The ASDA Foundation has opened its Foodbank Fundamentals Fund, offering grants of up to £1,000 to organisations providing food aid in their local communities. The Foundation supports grassroots organisations such as foodbanks or community based food service providers that need to stock up on food, invest in equipment to expand their reach.

Funding can support essential food, baby food and formula, basic hygiene products, fridges and freezers, storage equipment and fuel costs for delivering food to isolated people. Eligible organisations include foodbanks, community pantries, social supermarkets, soup kitchens and breakfast clubs where food provision is their core purpose.

UK not-for-profit organisations can apply
annual income must be £250,000 or less
grants of up to £1,000 are available
applicants must directly provide food aid
groups funded by Asda Foundation during 2026 cannot apply.

Current deadline: 22nd September 2026

UK Government's Better Futures Fund

The Social Investment Business has opened the first round of the UK Government’s £500 million Better Futures Fund, with up to £37 million available to improve outcomes for children, young people and families affected by poverty. SIB is one of the UK’s largest social investors, supporting charities and social enterprises with finance and practical support.

The first round will fund a small number of England-based Social Outcomes Partnership pathfinder projects. Supported activity could include:

Family support programmes that help families experiencing poverty and prevent children from entering care.
Early years projects that improve child development and school readiness.
Education programmes designed to improve school engagement, attendance or attainment.
Youth employment and skills projects that help young people move into training or work.
SEND support programmes for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.
Youth justice and prevention projects aimed at reducing offending or preventing young people entering the justice system.
Wellbeing, safety and resilience initiatives for children and young people affected by poverty.

Round 1 targets organisations and partnerships with experience delivering Social Outcomes Partnerships (SOPs) and projects sufficiently developed to begin delivery within six months of funding approval.

Up to £37 million is available in round one. Applicants must have previous Social Outcomes Partnership experience and projects must demonstrate a clear link to child poverty outcomes.

Current deadline: 23rd September 2026

The Triangle Trust

The Triangle Trust has announced that grants of up to £100,000 are available for projects supporting young women aged 17 to 30 who are already in contact with the criminal justice system.

The Trust is a UK charity that funds organisations working to improve outcomes for vulnerable young people.

Funding is available for long-term support for young women aged 17 to 30 who are already in contact with the criminal justice system, including housing, employment, and family relationships; pre-release, through-the-gate, and post-release support; and support for mothers before and after custodial sentences.

Projects must aim to reduce reoffending and use gender-responsive, trauma-informed and culturally responsive approaches.

Examples of projects that could be supported include:

Support for young women leaving prison, including help with accommodation, benefits, services and resettlement.
Employment support combined with mentoring, confidence building and practical help to secure and retain work.
Family relationship programmes helping young women rebuild relationships with children, parents or other family members.
Specialist programmes for neurodiverse young women or those from Black and minoritised communities.

The Trust is seeking longer-term, consistent wraparound support that addresses multiple needs and helps reduce reoffending.

UK not-for-profit organisations with a registered UK office can apply. Applicants must be women-and-girls-led organisations or relevant issue experts. Grants of £50,000 to £100,000 are available over 18 months to three years, with a maximum of £50,000 per year and priority will be given to work supporting neurodiverse young women and those from Black or minoritised communities.

Current deadline: 15th October 2026

The True Colours Trust's Small Grants Programme

The True Colours Trust has announced that its UK Small Grants programme is open for applications from small charities and community interest companies supporting disabled children and young people, children and young people with life-limiting conditions, and their families across the UK.

The Trust is an independent funder working in the UK and Africa to improve access to palliative care and help disabled children and young people live their lives to the full. Grants of up to £10,000 are available, although many awards are smaller.

Eligible applicants must be UK-registered charitable organisations or CICs with an annual income below £350,000, delivering projects in the UK. The programme will consider work for children and young people aged 0 to 25. Priority is also given to organisations operating in areas of high deprivation.

Funding can support a range of activities and equipment, including family support, sibling support, bereavement support, respite, specialised play and leisure opportunities, improvements to hydrotherapy pools or sensory rooms, minibuses, and other materials that benefit children and families.

Applications can be submitted at any time using either the online form or a Word version, and the Trust aims to confirm receipt within a week and give a final decision within 12 weeks.

Laughology's Happiness Fund

Laughology has opened the second 2026 round of its Happiness Fund, offering two grants of £5,000 to grassroots community organisations across the UK. The fund supports projects that improve mental health, wellbeing, inclusion, and learning or skills development.

Laughology is a learning and development organisation specialising in happiness, wellbeing and positive psychology. Its Happiness Fund aims to build stronger, more resilient communities by backing locally led projects with sustainable, longer-term benefits.

Applicants must be grassroots, community-based, not-for-profit and non-political. Funding can support neighbourhood projects and activities, but priority is given to initiatives capable of continuing beyond the initial grant. Large national charities, salaries, rent, medical research, retrospective costs and projects outside the UK are excluded.

Current deadline: 2nd October 2026

To read more: Happiness Fund | Laughology

Rewilding Britain's Rewilding Challenge Fund

Rewilding Britain has announced that applications are open for its Rewilding Challenge Fund, which will award £100,000 to one large-scale rewilding project in Britain.

Rewilding Britain supports the restoration of nature at scale across land and sea.

The fund aims to help one landscape, seascape or combined project develop an ambitious, joined-up approach to nature restoration and share the knowledge gained with other projects through the Rewilding Network.

Projects should involve groups such as landowners, sea-users, organisations, communities and businesses working together to develop new approaches to scaling up rewilding.

Examples of activity that could be supported include:

Restoring natural processes, habitats and missing species.
Developing partnerships between organisations, communities and other stakeholders.
Community-led or co-designed rewilding projects.
Habitat surveys and ecological research.
Volunteer training and citizen-led monitoring.
Community workshops and stakeholder engagement.
Developing future fundraising and investment proposals.

Priority will be given to ambitious projects that restore natural processes and deliver lasting social, economic and ecological benefits for local communities.

Applications are through a two-stage process, starting with an Expression of Interest. Shortlisted applicants will then submit a full application and take part in a presentation and Q&A.

Current deadline: 9th October 2026

The Wise Music Foundation

Funding is available to small UK charities supporting vulnerable people facing hardship, distress, illness, or poverty. The Wise Music Foundation offers grants of £500-£5,000, with an average award of £1,500.

Priority is given to projects that help:

Children
The homeless
The elderly
People with disabilities

The Foundation also supports a wider range of causes, including education, cultural activities, arts and heritage, health and disability support, overseas famine relief, food banks, and other charitable initiatives. Charities with an annual turnover of up to £500,000 are eligible to apply.

Current deadline: 30th November 2026

To read more: Home - Wise Music Foundation

Strategic Legal Fund for Vulnerable Young Migrants

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 October 2026

To read more: About the SLF - Strategic Legal Fund

The Vinehill Trust's 2027 Health Funding Cycle

The Vinehill Trust has opened its 2027 Health funding cycle, offering grants typically ranging from £10,000 to £100,000 for UK projects delivering direct healthcare interventions. The Trust is a UK grant-making charity supporting projects in health, heritage and music.

For 2027, funding will focus on rehabilitation or aftercare following physical trauma or surgery, health-related green space projects, and oral and dental health outreach, particularly services for homeless and vulnerable people and rural communities.

UK-registered charities, non-profits and CICs can apply. Public sector organisations, including NHS bodies, must apply with a non-profit lead.

Projects must benefit UK residents with limited access to essential healthcare, with priority given to people affected by poverty, isolation, disability or serious health disadvantage.

Current deadline: 30th June 2027

To read more: Health - Vinehill Trust

UK Government's Heat Network Efficiency Scheme

Public, private and third-sector organisations in England and Wales can apply for funding to improve the performance of existing heat networks.

The £32 million Heat Network Efficiency Scheme (HNES,) funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, will provide funding to heat network operators to make improvements to existing heat networks or communal heating projects that are not performing to their maximum efficiency, resulting in a better outcome for customers and operators. The scheme will provide up to 50% funding for capital works and up to 100% for Optimisation studies.

Organisations eligible to apply include:

Public sector organisations including: NHS Trusts and Universities, and other Government Departments.
Private sector organisations that are registered companies and submit annual accounts.
Third sector organisations such as registered charities, community investment companies and other such organisations that are officially registered and submit annual accounts.

The scheme will run until April 2030. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy have produced a series of guidance videos that set out practical steps that heat network operators can take to improve the performance of their systems under HNES.