How to apply
Before you apply
- Watch our video summary of The UK Fund on YouTube. It includes tips, examples and a checklist to help with your application. Read the transcript.
- Read through the complete list of questions from the application form.
How to apply
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
- how will you meet our funding criteria
- what you hope to learn and what impact your learning will have.
Who we need contact details for
We’ll ask for the contact details, home addresses and dates of birth of two people from your organisation. Each person must have a different email address and live in the UK:
- one should be the main contact for your project, someone we can speak to if we have any questions
- the other must be a senior member of your organisation who’ll be legally responsible for the funding
These two people must not be:
- married or in a civil partnership
- in a long-term relationship or living at the same address
- related by blood or through a partner
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’ll only invite applications to the next stage if your application strongly fits with what we’re looking to fund.
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 second stage. If you’re not successful, we will explain why. If you are successful, we’ll 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’ll 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 privacy notice.