Discover Funding Opportunities

UK Small Grants

The UK Small Grants programme is designed to support excellent local organisations and projects that work with disabled children and young people, children and young people with life-limiting conditions, and their families. It provides grants of up to £10,000, although many grants are smaller than this. The programme is open to applications at any time and aims to respond with a final decision within twelve weeks. The programme supports projects including activities for disabled children and their families, activities which support siblings, bereavement support for children and families, family support and parent-led peer support, and respite which supports the whole family. It also funds equipment and materials such as renovation and upgrading of hydrotherapy pools and multi-sensory rooms, minibuses, and specialised play equipment. The Trust funds UK registered charitable organisations and CICs with annual income less than £350,000 that deliver projects in the UK. The organisation is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion and is particularly keen to receive applications from organisations operating in areas of high deprivation. Recipients must adhere to the Trust's safeguarding policy and provide a report within 12 months of payment. Organisations are unlikely to be funded in consecutive years.

Hardship Grants

The National Benevolent Charity's Hardship Grants are aimed at individuals experiencing poverty or hardship in Bristol, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, and Swindon. Grant awards range from £150 to £750 (with an average of £379) and are normally made in the form of e-vouchers, bank transfers, or direct payment to suppliers. The grants support essential needs including white goods, household items, food, clothing, priority debts, bankruptcy costs, training or work tools, and floor coverings. In exceptional circumstances, grants may also cover disability aids, minor home repairs, or rent arrears. Applications can be made by individuals themselves with support from a professional support worker, or by support workers on behalf of clients. The charity processes applications through Lightning Reach portal and aims to respond within 15 working days. Households can receive only one grant in any 12-month period, up to a maximum of three grants in any five-year period.

Learning Disability Assessment Bursary

This bursary program helps part-time or full-time students with the up-front costs of learning disabilities assessments. Up to $3,500 is available to eligible students who need a recent learning disability assessment to determine eligibility for services and/or equipment. The program is administered through StudentAid BC and requires students to be enrolled at designated public post-secondary institutions in British Columbia. To be eligible, students must qualify for student funding through StudentAid BC, be enrolled in full-time or part-time post-secondary level courses at a designated public post-secondary institution in B.C., and have been recommended to have a learning disability assessment by the accessibility services office at their school.

Canada Student Grant for Students with Disabilities

This program helps full-time or part-time students with a permanent disability, or a persistent or prolonged disability with the cost of education. The grant provides financial assistance to eligible students enrolled at designated post-secondary institutions in Canada. Students who qualify for a federal student loan and have verified their disability status with StudentAid BC are automatically assessed for this grant without needing to submit a separate application. The grant amount is temporarily increased by 40% from pre-pandemic levels until July 31, 2026.

Canada Student Grant for Services and Equipment – Students with Disabilities

This program helps full-time or part-time students with a permanent disability, or a persistent or prolonged disability pay for exceptional education related costs for services and equipment. The grant covers services and equipment such as notetakers, tutors, interpreters, and technical aids that support students with disabilities in their post-secondary studies. To be eligible, students must qualify for a federal student loan, be enrolled in full-time or part-time studies at a designated post-secondary institution, have a permanent disability or persistent/prolonged disability as defined by the Canada Student Financial Assistance Program, and have exceptional education related costs for services or equipment due to their disability. Students apply by contacting the accessibility services office at their school, who will help determine which services and/or equipment will assist in their post-secondary studies. If the disability has not yet been verified by StudentAid BC, students must complete the Appendix 8 – Disability Programs Application form.

B.C. Supplemental Bursary for Students with Disabilities

The B.C. Supplemental Bursary for Students with Disabilities provides financial support to post-secondary students in British Columbia who have a permanent, persistent, or prolonged disability. The bursary offers $800 per program year for students studying at a course load of 40% or greater, or $400 per program year for those studying at a course load of 20% to 39%. To qualify, students must be eligible for the Canada Student Grant for Students with Disabilities and be enrolled in a designated public or private post-secondary institution taking post-secondary level courses. The bursary is automatically assessed for students who have previously submitted verification of their disability to StudentAid BC. Students who have not yet verified their disability status must complete the Appendix 8 – Disability Programs Application form. This bursary is designed to supplement other disability-related financial assistance and help reduce financial barriers for students with disabilities pursuing higher education.

B.C. Assistance Program for Students with Disabilities

This program helps students with disabilities pay for exceptional education-related services and adaptive equipment. Grants of up to $10,000 (or $12,000 if an attendant is required at school) are available to students attending public and private post-secondary schools in British Columbia. This grant is designed to cover costs that exceed what is provided through federal disability assistance programs, specifically requiring students to have first exhausted funding from the Canada Student Grant for Services and Equipment – Students with Disabilities (CSG-DSE). The program supports students with permanent disabilities or persistent/prolonged disabilities who are enrolled at designated institutions in B.C.

B.C. Access Grant for Students with Disabilities

This grant program helps full-time students with a permanent disability, or a persistent or prolonged disability with the cost of education. The grant replaces up to $1,560 ($30 per week of study) per program year in B.C. student loan funding, effectively converting loan amounts to non-repayable grant funding. Students who have previously submitted verification of their disability to StudentAid BC are assessed automatically for this grant. New applicants with qualifying disabilities must complete the Appendix 8 Disability Programs Application Form to verify their eligibility.

B.C. Access Grant for Deaf Students

This grant helps deaf and hard of hearing students with the additional costs incurred while attending specialized post-secondary institutions where curriculum is delivered in American Sign Language. The grant is available to students who can demonstrate financial need and are enrolled full-time (60 percent or greater course load) at eligible institutions. Eligible institutions include Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf in Rochester, New York. Students must establish that they are deaf or hard of hearing and submit documentation including an audiogram for assessment.

The Julie Tullis Memorial Award

The Julie Tullis Memorial Award is a small grant to assist deserving female mountaineers or any disabled climbers or mountaineers, both male and female, to achieve their climbing or mountaineering ambitions. Named after Julie Tullis, the first British woman to climb an 8,000m peak who died on K2 in 1986, the award was initiated by the Sandstone Climbing Club as a permanent memorial to her life and achievements. The fund and its associated campground at Harrisons Rocks have been handed over to the British Mountaineering Council for administration. The grant is awarded on an annual basis, with applications reviewed by the BMC International Committee with input from two representatives of the Sandstone Climbing Club, including Chris Tullis, Julie's son.

BMC Expedition Grant

The British Mountaineering Council provides grants for international mountaineering expeditions through two separate funding streams. The first stream supports British people from under-represented groups going on mountaineering expeditions, including students and younger BMC members under 35, women, people from diverse ethnic communities, trans & non-binary people, people from LGBTQ+ community, people with a disability, and people with mental health conditions. The second stream supports British people going on innovative high-level mountaineering expeditions with significant, cutting edge and innovative ascents as their main objectives. The BMC recognizes the climate emergency and will only support expeditions in remote environments when applicants can demonstrate commitment to minimizing environmental impact, have a plan to offset carbon emissions, leave no trace behind, and respect local populations. Grant support is given to those who have considered the environmental impact including carbon emissions and sustainability initiatives. Expedition members must be BMC members, and grants are awarded with consideration to team composition and prior grant history. Recipients must submit a summary report within 4 weeks of return and a final report in due course, waiving copyright for publication. They must also contribute to BMC lecturer events if required. Grants are not available for commercial expeditions or fee-paying client situations.

The Yapp Charitable Trust Grant Programme

The Yapp Charitable Trust provides grants exclusively to small registered charities with total annual expenditure of less than £50,000. The Trust funds ongoing core costs associated with regular activities or services that have been operating for at least a year. Priority is given to charities working with elderly people, children and young people, people with physical impairments, learning difficulties or mental health challenges, people overcoming life-limiting social problems such as addiction or abuse, and education and learning particularly for the educationally disadvantaged. The Trust prioritises charities delivering services in areas of high deprivation, work that is unattractive to the general public or unpopular with other funders, services helping marginalised, disadvantaged or isolated people, and applicants demonstrating effective use of volunteers and elements of self-sustainability through user fees or subscriptions.

Holiday Grants

The Holiday Grants Programme offers one-off grants for schools, youth groups and non-profit organisations to take children aged 13 and under on recreational day trips or short residential trips. The programme helps provide memorable experiences that can have a lasting impact, boosting wellbeing, building confidence, and offering a break from daily pressures for children who face financial hardship, systemic inequity or disability. The foundation prioritises groups supporting disabled children and those with limited access to funds to go on holiday, with 60% of grants in 2025 going to organisations working in the UK's most deprived areas. Trips must be recreational only with no educational or religious aims, and must take place within the UK, Isle of Man or Channel Islands.

Catherine Cookson Charitable Trust Grants

The Catherine Cookson Charitable Trust continues Dame Catherine's generous philanthropy through grants and funding to charitable organizations. The Trust primarily supports local charities within the North East of England, or those in which Dame Catherine had an interest and/or have a local benefit. The Trustees prefer projects and schemes which involve or are directed towards capital expenditure. Areas of support include education and training, medical health and sickness, children and young people, religious activities, animal welfare, disability, and arts and culture. As a matter of general policy, the Trustees do not consider applications which would involve core funding or on-going financing, applications with a foreign element, personal applications, or applications for sports clubs and associations.