How to apply
Before you apply
- Watch our short video summary of The UK Fund.
- Read through the complete list of questions from the application form.
How to apply
Apply online Continue online application
If you need help with your application
If you or a partner organisation cannot complete the online form, we can offer different ways to tell us about your project.
- an Easy Read version of the application form and guidance
- a PDF version of the application form
- sharing a video describing your project idea, rather than describing it in words
- a British Sign Language (BSL) version of the application form and guidance.
if you need communication support, contact us .
How much funding can you apply for
We aim to fund around 20 projects each year.
You can apply for:
- between £500,000 and £5 million
- funding can lasts from 2 to 10 years
What to include in your application
In the application form, we’ll ask you:
- what you want to do and why
- how does your idea meet our funding aims and criteria (listed in what we're looking to fund) (LINK)
- what you hope to learn and what impact your learning will have.
We ask for the contact details, home addresses and dates of birth of two people from your organisation. We need a different email address for each person.
One person should be someone we can talk to if we have any questions about your project. The other should be a senior member of your organisation, who'll be legally responsible for the funding. Both need to live in the UK.
These two people cannot be related. Related can mean:
- related by marriage
- in a civil partnership with each other
- in a long-term relationship with each other
- related through a long term partner
- living together at the same address
- related by blood
How long does it take to get a decision?
On average, it takes 9 months to get funding.
There are 2 stages to our application process. It can take:
- up to 4 months to get your decision at the first stage, from when you submit your application
- up to 6 months to send us extra information and get your decision at the second stage.
We’ll discuss the timings for your application if we take it to the second stage.
What happens after you apply:
- We’ll review your application
We might contact you to talk about your project, or to get more information. Because this fund is highly competitive, we will only invite applications to the next stage if your application strongly fits with what we’re looking to fund.(LINK)
- We aim to let you know if we want to take your application to the second stage
We will let you know if you are moving on to the final stage. If you are not successful, we will explain why. If you are successful, we will email you to request more detailed information about your project.
- You’ll send us more information
At this stage, we will ask for things like financial information and a more detailed project proposal. You will have at least 2 weeks to send us this information. One of our team will review what you send and get in touch to learn more about your plans. This may include phone calls or email conversations.
- We’ll make a final decision
We'll let you know if we’re going to fund your application or not. If not, we'll give you feedback explaining why.
- If you are awarded funding
We’ll help you make the most of your grant. This includes:
- celebrating your success
- sharing what you learn with others
- helping you connect with other funded projects
Read about what happens when you’re awarded funding.
We want to be honest about our funding limits
We only have a limited amount of funding, and we get many strong applications. That means we sometimes have to say no, even to promising projects that meet our criteria and have strong potential.
To find out how we use your personal data
You can read our data protection statement.