Funding News – 18 August 2025

Your weekly roundup of funding news and deadlines from GrantTracker.

Funding News

Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Grants

Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Grants aim to empower communities to beat heart disease. Small, registered charities and community interest companies with annual incomes of less than £1 million can apply for up to £15,000 for projects that promote a healthy heart and help reduce the risk of developing heart disease through a primary focus of one or more of the four risk factors for heart disease: Nutrition and Healthy Eating, Physical Activity, Smoking and Alcohol. Funding can support salaries, overhead expenses/on costs and equipment for projects lasting at least three months to 12 months. The Northern Ireland fund opens 9am, 20 August 2025 and closes 5pm, 17 September 2025.

Belfast City Council: Cultural Multi-annual Grants 2026-28

The CMAG Arts and Heritage two-year grant 2026-2028 offers two strands of cultural multi-annual grants for different types of organisations. Arts and Heritage grants support arts and heritage organisations that have a recurrent, year-round programme of work. The Festivals and Events grants is open to all cultural organisations whether they work through sports, arts, heritage, architecture, language, food, etc., delivering festivals and events with an audience of more than 10,000 and so on running a large festival or event. Minimum grant is £10,000 up to a maximum of £50,000. Deadline 12 noon on 10 October 2025.Online Information sessions take place Thursday 28 August - 11am –12pm - Join the meeting now or Thursday 11 September- 2pm-3pm - Join the meeting now. Click on the link for the online session you wish to attend at the time it starts. 

LGBT+ Fund: Collective Nurture Fund

Consortium's new fund focuses on supporting LGBT+ global majority community groups and organisations across the UK. Funding should be used to achieve Connecting people and communities, Creating safer communities, Improving health and wellbeing, Improving policymaking, and Improved service provision. Grants range from £500 to £3000. Closes to new applications 12pm(noon) 3 September 2025. 

Virgin Media O2: Apprenticeship Talent Fund

Virgin Media O2 has announced it is creating a new £1 million talent fund to help charities, local authorities, small businesses and social enterprises train apprentices — removing financial and structural barriers that have long held smaller organisations back from investing in early careers talent. The programme is specifically designed to support women and people from global majority backgrounds looking to progress in a STEM-based role which could be construction, digital, engineering and manufacturing, health and science; legal, finance and accounting and others.

Steel Charitable Trust announce programme change for foreseeable future

The Steel Charitable Trust’s United Kingdom Under-26 Fund originally opened as a rolling programme will not be accepting further applications. Owing to a persistent high volume of applications for this fund, which saw applications running into several hundred each quarter and meant that only about 2% of applicants received an award, the Trustees have reluctantly decided that from 2026, applications to this fund will be by invitation only. 

Upcoming Deadlines

Henry Smith Foundation Shout!

In line with The Henry Smith Foundation’s new strategy, Elevate Your Impact (2025-2030), they have launched Shout! to make sure young people are heard, especially when the world does not listen. Focusing on organisations working with care-experienced young people, LGBT+ young people, and young people with learning disabilities and/or neurodivergences, eligible applicants can apply for up to £240,000 (£60,000 per year). Deadline 20 August 2025.
King Charles III Charitable Fund: Small Grants

The King Charles III Charitable Fund Small Grants Programme awards up to £3,000 per year, for up to three years, to approximately 100 UK registered nonprofit organisations each year. The small grants programme is now open applications for projects/activities across their environment and countryside theme. Deadline 20 August 2025 12pm(noon).

GSK Impact Awards

The GSK IMPACT Awards are open to registered charities that are at least three years old, working in a health-related field in the UK, with a total annual income between £150,000 and £3 million. The awards recognise success and achievements for existing work. Award winners are offered training and development valued at an average of £13,500 per organisation, support with press and publicity, a range of resources to help promote their work, such as short films and photography, and pro bono offers from GSK including 12 months of legal support. Up to 15 awards will be made, ranging from £4,000 to £50,000. Deadline 20 August 2025 5pm.

Greggs Foundation: Community Grants Programme

The Greggs Foundation latest round of funding is open to organisations within the district of Belfast City Council. The Greggs Foundation Community Grants programme recognises the essential role of local organisations in tackling the challenges facing communities.  They offer core funding grants to community organisations across the UK of up to £20,000 per year for two years. To receive a Greggs Foundation Community Grant, you must be a not-for-profit organisation that is addressing direct needs in the local community, providing food and support for individuals, reducing social isolation and widening networks, and/or building knowledge, confidence and opportunities. Closing date 12noon on 22 August.

Alzheimer’s Research UK: Inspire Fund

The Inspire Fund provides funding for projects that engage underserved communities with the topic of brain health and reducing the risk of dementia. 
The seed funding call is open to new applicants to the Inspire Fund. They particularly encourage collaborative applications, and those that build relationships between communities and researchers. They are particularly interested in receiving applications from the Devolved nations - Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales and select areas of England. Grant amount of £5,000. Deadline 8 September 2025.

Fundraising Support, Events & Training 

**NEW** Fundraising Workshop Series

Starting in September, our new Fundraising Workshop Series aims to support you and your fundraising knowledge, capability, and capacity to successfully navigate the competitive fundraising landscape. This workshop series covers the fundamentals of fundraising and a fundraiser’s role, fundraising readiness, using tools to maximise your time for fundraising and how to effectively select funders and complete funding applications. 

Latest Articles 

Communities Minister announces new fund for investment in sustainability of community facilities

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has announced a major new funding scheme that will deliver refurbishment works to buildings, halls and facilities used by community and voluntary organisations across Northern Ireland.

John Ellerman Foundation launches new Funding Strategy

The John Ellerman Foundation has launched a new funding strategy for 2025-2030 offering multi-year core costs funding that supports work with a national relevance addressing social justice and the environment. UK charities with an annual income of between £100,000 and £10 million can apply for up to £180,000. 

Henry Smith Foundation Announces New 5-Year Strategy

The Henry Smith Foundation, formerly known as the Henry Smith Charity, has published its new strategy, Elevate Your Impact (2025-2030) which ‘reaffirms their commitment to backing people and organisations driving change in communities across the UK.’

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