Apply for Funding

BEFORE YOU APPLY

Please ensure that:

  • You are applying on behalf of a UK-registered or regulated exempt charity.
  • Your request is between £500 and £8,000.
  • Your work will begin at least two months after you have been informed of the decision (please see the Home page for the timing of our next round), unless you have secured at least 75% of the funds you require.
  • You can provide a project or organisational budget as appropriate to support the application.
  • You have appropriate safeguarding policies in place.
  • You can provide appropriately examined annual accounts for your most recent financial year.
  • A senior-level colleague can co-sign the application to confirm suitability.
  • You can provide bank details in the name of the organisation that is applying.

Incomplete applications cannot be assessed.

REAPPLICATION POLICY

  • Successful applicants must wait 12 months before reapplying.
  • Unsuccessful applicants must wait two years before reapplying.
  • Charities that have received three grants within five financial years must wait three years before applying again.
  • Organisations that have not submitted the required monitoring reports are not eligible to apply.

HOW WE ASSESS APPLICATIONS

We consider:

  • Fit with our funding themes.
  • Evidence that people who will benefit face identifiable barriers to opportunity.
  • How the people who will benefit from the work are identified and prioritised.
  • Evidence that the Charity can deliver the intended outcomes.
  • Financial management and reserves.
  • Inclusive practice.
  • Appropriate safeguarding arrangements.

We review Charity Commission filing history and expect accounts to be up to date.

What we DO NOT fund:

  • Capital projects and routine maintenance
  • General and round-robin appeals
  • Individuals
  • Medical research
  • Mainstream education across all key stages (e.g. nurseries, playgroups, primary/secondary schools, post-16 institutions)
  • Projects taking place or providing benefits outside the UK
  • Retrospective funding
  • Sport
  • Universities
  • Direct to Hospices (we fund indirectly via Hospice UK).

APPLICATION PROCESS

  1. To access our application form, click the button below. As part of the process, you will be prompted to create an account with Plinth AI (unless you already have one).
  2. Complete the eligibility quiz to be directed to the relevant application form; Small Charity grants for those with an income of £5m and below per year, or Large Charity grants for those with an income above £5m per year.
  3. Eligible Large Charities will be asked to complete the first-stage application by the 8th May 2026 and will be contacted to as soon as possible to let them know if they are invited to proceed to a second-stage application.
  4. Small Charity applicants and second-stage Large Charity applicants must complete by 23:59 on 1st June 2026. Late applications will be rolled over to the next meeting.

Plinth includes AI-powered features that help charities complete their applications more effectively. These tools save time, improve answer quality, and reduce the barrier to applying – especially for smaller organisations with limited resources. All assessments and decisions are carried out by our team of people (no AI will make any decision in our processes).

MONITORING

An end-of-grant report is required. We aim to make reporting proportionate to your grant size and organisation income.

You will be asked to provide:

  • Summary of outcomes achieved.
  • Participant numbers and ages.
  • Main characteristics of those who have participated.
  • Challenges encountered.
  • Learning and reflections.
  • Case studies or evidence of impact.

TRUSTEE MEETINGS

2026

July

November

2027

March

July

November