Aims and priorities:
The 2026/27 programme will focus on supporting the following thematic areas:
- Basic Needs - projects tackling homelessness, food and other essential goods, community hubs, welfare advice agencies and other cost of living-related issues.
- Early Childhood Development - supporting children up to the age of eight to grow, play and learn in safe environments with people who love and care for them.
- Safety - preventing violence against women and girls, forced migration or refugees/asylum seekers.
Organisations must be located in the same region where projects will be delivered
Who can apply: Organisations from the voluntary and community sector can apply.
This can include:
- Constituted voluntary and community groups.
- Charities.
- Social enterprises.
- Community Interest Companies (CICs) limited by guarantee which have been running for at least two years.
- Not-for-profit companies limited by guarantee.
To be eligible, applicants must:
- Be based within the area where they are carrying out activities.
- Have local people involved in the running of the organisation as trustees/staff/volunteers.
- Be not for profit.
- Have an annual income of £250,000 or less.
- Have a governing document (e.g. constitution or memorandum and articles of association) which includes appropriate statements on members not benefiting financially from the organisation or its dissolution.
- Have its own safeguarding policy.
- Have at least two unrelated people on the committee.
- Have its own bank account with a minimum of two unrelated signatories.
- Not be a statutory organisation.
The applicant's governing document should also include information about how the organisation specifically supports people at risk of or experiencing poverty. This could include wording along these lines in their aims or objectives:
- To support people in our community experiencing financial hardship
- To address the root causes of poverty, enabling people to build resilience
- To empower those at risk of poverty to achieve long-term financial stability
- To provide support to people experiencing poverty overcome the challenges associated with financial hardship
Grant amount: Grants of up to £5,000 are available from a total of £600,000.
It is anticipated that around 120 grants will be awarded in the 2026/27 round.
Projects must be completed by 30 September 2027.
Application process: The first step in the application process is to complete an online Eligibility Checker. Eligible groups will then be given a link to the online application form.
Full guidelines and the Eligibility Checker can be found on the Groundwork website.
Deadline: Applications open on 1 September 2026 and close on 30 September 2026 (17:00).
Contact information:
Email: comicrelief@groundwork.org.uk
Website: Groundwork - Comic Relief Community Fund (England)