The Happy Days Children’s Charity is inviting applications for funding towards trips, respite breaks and group activity holidays for disadvantaged children and young people with additional needs. The charity awards funding for different types of activities to support families with children aged 3-17 who have a disability, a special need or have been abused. Activities include family day trips, and family holiday breaks. Applications can be submitted by parents, guardians, grandparents or siblings, as well as GPs, consultants, nurses or social workers. Groups that work with special needs children, including SEN schools and women’s refuges, are also eligible to apply for funding for either a day trip, theatre visit, or a group activity holiday. Applications can be made at any time. Funding for Leisure Activities for Children with Additional Needs (UK)
The government is looking for a civil society organisation to manage an £11.6 million fund aimed at enhancing partnerships between charities and local authorities. Learn more here.
Michelle Benson, Founder of Culture of Philanthropy, offers her tips for using LinkedIn as a relationship-building tool for fundraisers. Gain some tips on using LinkedIn here.
Grants of up to £35,000 are available for charitable organisations working to improve the lives of people experiencing homelessness. The grants are available to support new and untested ideas and projects that could lead to wider changes in policy or practice in addressing homelessness. The grants can be used to support organisations’ day-to-day running costs as well as funding for specific projects or activities. Within the programme there is a strong focus on new and innovative approaches to delivering services and developing organisations. Priority is given to projects that focus on homelessness among people involved in the criminal justice system, people affected by migration, and young people and women with specific support needs. The funding is available through the London Homelessness Foundation Grants Programme. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and reviewed every three months. Grants of up to £35,000 Available for Projects that Help the Homeless (London)
Applications are now open for the Small Charity Week 2026 match funding campaign, which provides a valuable opportunity for small charities to secure vital unrestricted income.
Closing date: 11th February 2026.
Small charities and community groups in England can apply now for grants of £500–£2,000 to support community-led projects tackling local issues. The Grassroots Grants programme, delivered by the environmental regeneration charity Groundwork, supports organisations with annual income under £25,000, prioritising those serving marginalised communities and areas in the top 15% of deprivation. Previous projects have ranged from youth clubs and food-growing schemes to mental health workshops and activities reducing isolation among older residents. Funding can cover staff or volunteer expenses, equipment and materials, core running costs like rent and utilities, training, and consultancy for organisational development. Applications can be submitted at any time between January and September 2026. Decisions will usually be made within 10 weeks of the application being submitted. Grassroot Grants of up to £2,000 Available to Tackle Local Issues (England)
Grants of up to £500 are available for individuals, community groups, schools, and other not-for-profit organisations to encourage people across the UK to get involved with outdoor activities and experiences. The funding is provided by the Alpkit Foundation, which aims to break down barriers to outdoor participation by supporting projects that promote diversity and inclusion in the outdoors, as well as participation, education, conservation and protection of the natural environment, and health and wellbeing. The grants aim to provide some level of support rather than fully funding projects. Applications can be submitted at any time and are reviewed every two months. There is no limit to how many times an applicant may apply, but applications should be submitted at least three months before the project start date. Grants of up to £500 for Outdoor Activity Projects (UK)
Meet the Funder session with The Giving Machine and The Giving Lottery.
You can find the event details and register here:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/meet-the-funder-the-giving-machine-the-giving-lottery-tickets-1834397896489
Schools, colleges and community groups in England can apply for grants to support the education and development of children and young people through educational, cultural, sporting and other projects. Projects that will help enhance the self-confidence, teamwork skills and future employability of children and young people are of particular interest. In most cases, grants are made on a relatively small scale. Many grants will be under £2,000, most will be under £5,000, and in only a few cases will grants exceed £10,000. The funding provided by the BlueSpark Foundation can be for physical assets (such as iPads, sports equipment, or lighting for stage productions) for services or facilities (such as sports coaching or music or drama tuition) or simply for the provision of experiences (such as theatre visits). These examples are intended to be illustrative and not restrictive regarding the funding BlueSpark may provide to support projects. Applications can be submitted anytime and must be made online using BlueSpark Foundation’s standard application form. Funding for Projects that Support the Education and Development of Children and Young People (England)
Go! London—a partnership between the Mayor of London, London Marathon Foundation, Sport England, London Marathon Events and London Sport—has launched two new Open Innovation Challenges.
The two challenges will help explore how physical activity and sport can help to address some of today’s biggest challenges:
- Sport for Climate Action: Inviting bold, creative solutions that are harnessing the power of sport and physical activity to build climate awareness in young people, and shift behaviours in response to climate change.
- Reimagining Sport & Play: Seeking innovations that increase the availability of safe, inclusive, and affordable spaces for sport and physical activity by adapting or reimagining spaces previously not used for this purpose, and those that make existing spaces more welcoming and relevant to engage young people who have been excluded.
We’re looking for ideas that bring different stakeholders together and work directly with young people to create safe, inclusive spaces where they can play and be active.
Apply to the Go! London Open Innovation Challenges for a chance to:
- Receive up to £100,000 in funding
- Join a two-month capacity building programme
- Connect with social innovators across London who are looking to positively impact children and young people in their communities.
Are you eligible?
- Initiatives must be designed for and delivered in London.
- The lead applicant or organisation must have a registered legal entity, and should be a non-profit organisation (including schools, universities and local authorities). For-profit organisations can be part of the partnership, but not the lead applicant.
- Previous and existing Go! London grantees are eligible to apply and/or be part of a partnership that is applying.
Learn more and apply here. Applications close at 5pm on 17 February 2026.
Please help us reach more changemakers by sharing this opportunity with your networks and partners. For any questions, contact golondonchallenges@ashoka.org.
Go! London is a multi-year, £22.5m partnership between the Mayor of London, London Marathon Foundation and Sport England, supported by London Marathon Events and London Sport. The Open Innovation Challenges are being delivered in partnership with Ashoka and Play Verto.
sobus
20 Dawes Road, London, SW6 7EN
Telephone 020 7952 1230
Email info@sobus.org.uk
Registered Charity No.1071089
and Company Limited by Guarantee. Registered in England No.03471416
Sobus is a new Community Development Agency for Hammersmith & Fulham. It has been created through the merger of the Community and Voluntary Sector Association Hammersmith & Fulham (CaVSA) and the Fulham Community Partnership Trust (FCPT). Building on the strengths of both organisations, sobus aims to provide a wider range of support services for local charities, community groups, social enterprises and start up businesses.