Your weekly roundup of funding news and deadlines from GrantTracker.
Funding News
£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.
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.
OCN: 2026 Centre Learning Grants Programme
Open College Network Northern Ireland (OCN) has announced the launch of its 2026 Centre Learning Grants Programme, with up to £50,000 in funding available for OCN recognised centres to support learner-focused initiatives and projects. Grants ranging from £500 - £3,000 will be awarded to recognised OCN NI centres to help fund impactful learner initiatives. Accepting applications until 14 June 2026.
Belfast Healthy Cities: Explorer Bursary 2026
Belfast Healthy Cities is delighted to launch the Explorer Bursary 2026, offering an exciting opportunity for an individual or organisation based in Belfast to visit another city, learn from innovative practice, and bring fresh ideas back to Belfast. For 2026, all applications must focus on the theme of: Ending Violence Against Women and Girls. The maximum award available is £1,500 towards a short study visit to a European Healthy City (can be multiple cities) covering travel, accommodation, and subsistence for one person. Deadline 30 June 2026.
The Cellnex Community Fund provides grants of up to £5,000 to not‑for‑profit organisations across the UK. Open to registered charities, CIOs, CICs, or not‑for‑profit organisations, or an unregistered community group applying through an accountable body. UK projects must fit one of the four themes Digital Inclusion and Skills, Circular Economy, Biodiversity and Conservation, and AI and Education. Requests can be up to £5,000. Applications can be submitted at any time.
Upcoming Deadlines
The Co-Ownership Community Fund supports projects that have a positive social impact in the lives of individuals, neighbourhoods, or communities in Northern Ireland. The Fund has a budget of £20,000 per annum allocated at their discretion. For the 2026/27 Community Fund they want to support a project (or projects) which will Regenerate, rebuild, and revitalise neighbourhoods and communities; Support disabled people; and/or Encourage energy efficiency, biodiversity, sustainability, and the circular economy. They particularly welcome applications from small community based and/or volunteer led organisations. Deadline 29 May 2026 at 5pm.
Belfast Harbour: Harbouring Connections Community Awards 2026
Harbouring Connections Community Awards are designed to support the work of grassroots community organisations and charities. The Harbouring Connections Community Awards will be given to projects in which two or more grassroots, community embedded, not-for-profit organisations with a charity number or a governing body affiliation, work together on the creation and delivery of the project or enhance their organisational resilience. The Harbouring Connections Community Awards Fund will provide two grants of up to £5,000 each. Apply via their online portal by 5pm on 29 May 2026.
The Pink Ribbon Foundation Grants
The Pink Ribbon Foundation provides grants of up to £6000 for practical projects and initiatives, which aim to help registered charities to deliver good physical and mental health to individuals with, and recovering from breast cancer. They expect projects that receive funding to be delivered within 12 to 18 months. To be considered for a grant in 2026, please submit your grant application to the Foundation by Friday 31st May 2026. Grants are awarded annually in late July.
Arts Council NI: National Lottery Project Funding 2026-2027
The Arts Council has designed this programme to assist organisations to deliver arts projects which contribute to the growth of arts in the community for new and existing audiences and which reflect the diversity of Northern Ireland’s society and culture. The minimum grant available under this programme is normally £10,001. The maximum grant available will be £75,000. Deadline: 1 June 2026 at 12pm(noon).
Friends of the National Libraries
In saving the nation's written & printed heritage, they offer grants from £200-£20,000 to regional, national and specialist libraries, archives and museums to acquire books, manuscripts and archives that they could not otherwise afford. Purchases can be for rare, printed books; manuscripts; archives of historical, literary, artistic, architectural, musical or other interest; as well as fine bindings. Applications should be received by 1st March, 1st June, or 1st November.
Shared Island Civic Society Fund
The Shared Island Civic Society Fund encourages and supports civic society and community organisations to develop new cross-border links, to further strengthen existing partnerships, or to create or broaden cross-border connectivity on issues of concern for the island of Ireland. The Fund has an allocated budget of €6m over the 2025-2027 period with €2 million available in grant funding in 2026. The maximum grant awarded to any project is €50,000. Application deadline 23:59 on 2 June 2026.
Events & Training
Meet the Funder: Rosa Stand With Us Fund 2026
28 May 2026 - 11:00am to 12:00pm
Join us to meet some of the grants team at Rosa, the UK fund for women and girls, to learn more about their recently launched Stand With Us fund and how to apply. The funding available is for women-led organisations working to address male violence against women and girls, for organisational development work. This is an opportunity to learn about the programme criteria and to share your questions.
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: 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.
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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