Your weekly roundup of funding news and deadlines from GrantTracker.
Funding News
The Awards offer rural community-based organisations in Northern Ireland or the border counties of Sligo, Donegal, Cavan, Monaghan, Leitrim and Louth, the opportunity to apply for and secure £1000 or €1000 towards their volunteer led community action project. The scheme is open to constituted rural community-based organisations including charities, not for profit community groups, sporting and cultural organisations, heritage groups, Parent Teacher Associations, youth groups/clubs and social enterprises. The current call for applications will close on 20 June 2026.
Henry Smith Foundation: Early Years Parenting Fund
The Early Years Parenting Fund will support organisations that improve the development of children most at risk of poor early childhood outcomes, by investing in effective, culturally grounded parenting support. In this round, they’re focusing on communities where outcome gaps are largest. They aim to fund organisations that are trusted by the communities they serve and that can evidence the difference their work makes. Open to charitable organisations registered in and working in the UK, including registered charities, CIOS, CICs (with asset lock) and other not for profit organisations aligned with their object. Grant amount: £56,250 per year for four years (£225,000 total). Application opens: 3 June 2026, 9am; Submit Expression of Interest by deadline: 1 July 2026, 5pm
Nuffield Foundation: Racial Diversity UK Fund
The Nuffield Foundation offers research funding under the Racial Diversity UK Fund to understand the barriers and pathways to a racially just and inclusive society. Funding from £15,000 – £500,000. Priority theme for 2026 applications: Inter-generational changes, continuities and challenges in racially diverse UK. Opens once a year, next deadline 5 October 2026.
Legal Education Foundation (LEF) Open Grants Programme
LEF funds small and medium-sized organisations, closely connected to their communities, who are using – or would like to use – the law to drive wider change and greater equity. Their Emerging Justice fund offers up to £50,000 (up to 12 months); or £50,000 to £75,000 per year (up to 3 years) while their Strengthening Justice fund provides flexible grants of £50k-£100k per year over 3–5 years to support. Deadline 17 September 2026.
Colmcille is a partnership between Foras na Gaeilge in Ireland and Bòrd na Gàidhlig in Scotland. This scheme aims to promote relations between the language communities of Scottish and Irish Gaeilge and to strengthen Scottish and Irish Gaelic through these relations. Colmcille has three funding schemes: Small Grants Scheme for research and planning joint initiatives, Project Funding Scheme (Colmcille main grant scheme), and Bursary Scheme to help people learn Scottish Gaelic. Grants of € 2,000/£1,750. Closes 18 December 2026.
Upcoming Deadlines
They want to fund organisations supporting young people facing or experiencing homelessness. Organisations that want to make their services safer and more inclusive for LGBT+ young people. The fund aims to help homelessness organisations become safer and more inclusive for LGBT+ young people, ensuring they experience respectful and consistent support when seeking help. And to improve practice and learning across the sector. Grant amount: £200k (£50k per year) over 4 years. Six organisations will be funded. EOI deadline 5pm, 3 June 2026.
Community Foundation for NI: Social Justice Small Grants Programme
The Social Justice Fund is part of, and supported by, the Northern Ireland Human Rights Fund (NIHRF). NIHRF Purpose: This collaborative Fund will work to advance a fairer and more equal society where the human rights of all are protected. The fund will support locally based community groups and locally based ‘communities of interest’ with an interest in promoting or embedding human rights and social justice in their day-to-day work for and with their chosen communities. Grants will be available up to £5,000. Application deadline 1pm, 5 June 2026.
New Addressing Poverty and Social Exclusion Fund launched
Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council has launched a new Addressing Poverty and Social Exclusion Fund to support local community organisations working with residents facing hardship or social isolation. The fund will help projects that strengthen community resilience, ease financial pressures, and promote resource sharing and connection. Eligible groups can apply for grants up to £3,000 for programme delivery, volunteer costs, training, equipment, transport and more. Deadline 8 June 2026 at 12 noon.
Guest Blog: The Spaces, Places & Belonging Community Hub
Sophie Anstee de Mas, Hub Programme Manager lets us know what’s open, what’s next, and why Northern Ireland applications are encouraged. Project Grants next deadline is 12 June 2026.
£2.2million Rural Micro Capital Grant Scheme (RMCGS) 2026/2027 now open
DAERA Minister Andrew Muir MLA has announced the Scheme is now open for applications. It offers capital grants of between £500 and £2,500 to eligible rural community and voluntary organisations and Social Economy Enterprises to support small-scale capital projects that help tackle locally identified issues of rural poverty and/or social isolation. The scheme will close for applications at 12.00pm midday on Monday 22 June 2026.
Events & Training
Wednesday 10 June 2026 | 8:45 - 5:15
ICC Belfast
NICVA has announced the return of its flagship NICVA Summit, taking place on 10 June at ICC Belfast amid growing pressures on voluntary organisations. The event will bring together hundreds of leaders, practitioners and decision makers from across the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector, alongside partners from government and the business sector. Find out more and register here.
Fundraising Articles and Resources
Guest Blog: Prizefunder - a Collaborative Approach to Strengthen Grassroots Funding
Lawrence O’Kane, founder and CEO of Prizefunder explains how this Northern Ireland community fundraising platform could help communities to work together, raise funds, strengthen local services and build lasting support for the causes they care about.
New £3m Fund to help communities shape the future of AI
The National Lottery Community Fund in partnership with UK Community Foundations and Centre for the Acceleration of Social Technology (CAST) has announced a new £3 million funding programme which will track AI’s real-world impacts at a local community level across the UK, and fund ground-breaking community-led AI tools.
Queen Elizabeth Trust launched to strengthen communities across the United Kingdom
A new UK-wide independent charity, the Queen Elizabeth Trust, has been established on the occasion of the centenary of Queen Elizabeth II’s birth to honour her lifelong commitment to public service.
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