Children & Young People1506+ Funders

Children & Young People Grants & Funding

There are 1506 UK funders offering grants for children & young people charities, with typical awards from £100 to £6,000,000.

The UK has a strong tradition of philanthropic support for children and young people, with hundreds of trusts and foundations dedicated to improving outcomes for under-25s. Funding priorities range from early years education and child poverty relief to youth employment programmes and mental health support for teenagers. Many funders in this space prioritise preventative work — early intervention projects that stop problems before they escalate. Others focus on specific demographics such as looked-after children, young carers, or those not in education, employment, or training (NEET). Geographic focus varies widely: some funders operate nationally while others target specific local authority areas or regions with high deprivation indices. Grant sizes span from small awards under £5,000 for grassroots youth clubs to six-figure multi-year grants for established charities running evidence-based programmes. The sector has seen increased funding since 2023, particularly for digital inclusion and youth mental health initiatives.

Quick Stats

Total Funders
1506
Grant Range
£100 - £6,000,000
Open to Applications
44%

Children & Young People Funders

39 of 1506 match your filters

Checked against verified programme data for 358 of 1506 funders. 1148 not yet verified are listed below; 319 that don't fit were excluded.

Addison Youth Club

Verified open

Matching programme: Annual Grant Round (General Fund)

Addison Youth Club is an independent grant-making charity with a founding mission to foster holistic development—physical, intellectual, social, emoti...

Grant Range
£5,000 - £10,000

Barbara Ward Children's Foundation

Verified open

Matching programme: Barbara Ward Children's Foundation Grants

The Barbara Ward Children's Foundation, established in December 2001 by Barbara Irene Ward, is a UK-registered grant-making charity dedicated to trans...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £15,000

Bedfordshire and Luton Community Foundation

Verified open

Matching programme: London Luton Airport Operations Ltd (LLAOL) Community Trust Fund

Bedfordshire and Luton Community Foundation (BLCF), established in 1999 and registered as a charity in 2001 by founders Geoffrey Farr MBE DL, Sir Samu...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £10,000

Buckinghamshire Community Foundation

Verified open

Matching programme: Heart of Bucks General Fund

Buckinghamshire Community Foundation, operating as Heart of Bucks, serves as a catalyst for social change by connecting philanthropy to local causes, ...

Grant Range
£2,000 - £10,000

Cardiff YMCA (1910) Trust

Verified open

Matching programme: Tier 2 – Larger grants scheme

Cardiff YMCA (1910) Trust, established in 1910 to support Cardiff YMCA's charitable work in South Wales, is a grant-making trust dedicated to fosterin...

Grant Range
£250 - £5,000

Co-Operative Community Investment Foundation

Verified open

Matching programme: Young Gamechangers Fund

The Co-operative Community Investment Foundation, known as the Co-op Foundation, is the charitable arm of the Co-operative Group, established in 2002 ...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £30,000

Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust

Verified open

Matching programme: Brighter Futures

The Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust, an independent grant-making charity founded in 1969 by Sir James Colyer-Fergusson, is dedicated to improving li...

Grant Range
£5,000 - £60,000

Community Foundation North East

Verified open

Matching programme: Newcastle Culture Investment Fund

Community Foundation North East, established in 1988 by local business and civic leaders in North East England, serves as the UK's largest community f...

Grant Range
Up to £25,000

Duke of Devonshire's Charitable Trust

Verified open

Matching programme: Duke of Devonshire's Charitable Trust

The Duke of Devonshire's Charitable Trust is a family-led foundation embodying stewardship, heritage responsibility, and community flourishing through...

Grant Range
£250 - £10,000

Eric Wright Charitable Trust

Verified open

Matching programme: Community Grants

The Eric Wright Charitable Trust embodies a founding vision of responsible business stewardship channeling construction industry profits into perpetua...

Grant Range
£500 - £24,000

Ernest Kleinwort Charitable Trust

Verified open

Matching programme: Medium Grant

The Ernest Kleinwort Charitable Trust (EKCT), established in 1963 by Ernest and Joan Kleinwort, is a family-led grant-making foundation dedicated to m...

Grant Range
£2,000 - £25,000

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation

Verified open

Matching programme: Grants

The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, established in 1961 by Ian Fairbairn in memory of his wife, is one of the UK's largest independent funders, dedicated ...

Grant Range
From £30,000

Frieda Scott Charitable Trust

Verified open

Matching programme: Main Grants

The Frieda Scott Charitable Trust is an independent grantmaker rooted in a family legacy of compassion, established to strengthen community life by ad...

Grant Range
Up to £20,000

Garfield Weston Foundation

Verified open

Matching programme: Regular Grant

The Garfield Weston Foundation, family-founded in 1958, drives its mission to strengthen society through enduring philanthropic support for charities ...

Grant Range
£5,000 - £30,000

Geoffrey Watling Charity

Verified open

Matching programme: General Grant Programme

The Geoffrey Watling Charity embodies entrepreneurial generosity, local pride, and civic friendship, channeling resources to vitalize communities thro...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £30,000

Haberdashers' Foundation

Verified open

Matching programme: Resilience Fund

The Haberdashers' Foundation embodies centuries-old stewardship and social responsibility, empowering young people from all backgrounds to realize the...

Grant Range
£3,000 - £5,000

Hertfordshire Community Foundation

Verified open

Matching programme: HCF Foundation Grants

Hertfordshire Community Foundation is an independent charity dedicated to channeling local philanthropy into grassroots solutions that alleviate depri...

Grant Range
£240 - £10,000

James Knott Family Foundation

Verified open

Matching programme: Main Grants Programme

The James Knott Family Foundation, known as the Sir James Knott Trust, was established in 1924 by Tyneside shipowner Sir James Knott to honor his sons...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £10,000

John Lyon's Charity

Verified open

Matching programme: Open Programme (Main Grants Fund)

John Lyon's Charity, rooted in a 1572 Royal Charter by Harrow School founder John Lyon, advances educational and social opportunities for children and...

Grant Range
£5,000 - £35,000

Keith Howard Foundation

Verified open

Matching programme: Main Grant Programme

The Keith Howard Foundation is an independent charitable trust founded in 2008 with a mission to create lasting societal change and positive impact in...

Grant Range
£5,000 - £30,000

Legal Education Foundation

Verified open

Matching programme: Emerging Justice fund

The Legal Education Foundation (LEF), established in 2013 from the sale of the College of Law, is an independent UK grantmaker with roots in 19th-cent...

Grant Range
£20,000 - £500,000

Lewin Trust

Verified open

Matching programme: The Lewin Trust Grant Programme

The Lewin Trust, an independent grant-making charity established in 2021 and registered with the Charity Commission in 2022 (no. 1197855), channels ph...

Grant Range
£10,000 - £50,000

Lincolnshire Community Foundation CIO

Verified open

Matching programme: Michael Cornish Core Grants Programme

Lincolnshire Community Foundation CIO, established in 2002, is an independent charity dedicated to tackling social inequalities and fostering thriving...

Grant Range
£500 - £10,000

Mercers Charitable Foundation

Verified open

Matching programme: Church & Communities

The Mercers’ Charitable Foundation, established in 1983 as the principal grant-making trust of The Mercers’ Company—London’s premier livery company fo...

Grant Range
£25,000 - £150,000

Milton Keynes Community Foundation Limited

Verified open

Matching programme: Oak Grants

Milton Keynes Community Foundation is an independent place-based funder with a mission to strengthen communities and improve quality of life by channe...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £15,000

P H Holt Foundation

Verified open

Matching programme: Main Grant Programme

The P H Holt Foundation is a legacy-driven grantmaker rooted in over a century of philanthropy aimed at improving everyday life for Merseyside residen...

Grant Range
£3,000 - £10,000

Robertson Trust

Verified open

Matching programme: Small Grants

The Robertson Trust, Scotland's largest independent grant-making trust, was founded in 1961 by sisters Elspeth, Agnes, and Ethel Robertson, who donate...

Grant Range
£2,000 - £50,000

Salford Community & Voluntary Services

Verified open

Matching programme: Salford Centenary Fund – Large Grants

Salford Community & Voluntary Services (Salford CVS), established in 1919 as part of post-WWI social service efforts and independent since 1973, serve...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £5,000

Shanly Foundation

Verified open

Matching programme: Training & Careers in Construction Fund

The Shanly Foundation, established in 1994 by property developer Michael Shanly as the charitable arm of the Shanly Group, drives practical, hands-on ...

Grant Range
£5,000 - £50,000

Sir James Reckitt Charity

Verified open

Matching programme: Main Grant Programme

The Sir James Reckitt Charity, founded by Quaker industrialist Sir James Reckitt, advances social, material, and moral welfare for Hull and East Yorks...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £10,000

Sir Walter St.John's Educational Charity

Verified open

Matching programme: £5k grants

Sir Walter St. John’s Educational Charity, established from a 1660s endowment by Sir Walter St John for a Battersea school, is a historic grant-giving...

Grant Range
Up to £1,500

St Giles-in-the-Fields and William Shelton Educational Charity

Verified open

Matching programme: Community Investment Grant

St Giles-in-the-Fields and William Shelton Educational Charity is a historic independent grant-maker with 17th- and 18th-century roots from philanthro...

Grant Range
£3,000 - £15,000

Trades House of Glasgow

Verified open

Matching programme: The Incorporation of Bonnetmakers and Dyers of Glasgow Training & Education Charity Funding

The Trades House of Glasgow, established in 1605 as a historic charitable institution rooted in the city's craft guilds, protects and supports Glasgow...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £10,000

Trusthouse Charitable Foundation

Verified open

Matching programme: Major Grants

Forte Charitable Foundation (formerly Trusthouse Charitable Foundation), established in 1997 from the sale of Trust House Forte plc, is an independent...

Grant Range
£2,000 - £100,000

UnLtd

Verified open

Matching programme: Scaling Up Award

UnLtd, formerly The Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs, is a UK-registered charity established in 2002 by a consortium of seven non-profits with a £1...

Grant Range
£500 - £18,000

Walton on Thames Charity

Verified open

Matching programme: Community Grants – Small Grants (up to £10,000)

Walton on Thames Charity, known as Walton Charity, is an ancient local foundation with over 800 years of history rooted in the parish of Walton-on-Tha...

Grant Range
£5,000 - £25,000

William Adlington Cadbury Charitable Trust

Verified open

Matching programme: Ireland

The William Adlington Cadbury Charitable Trust, established in 1923 by Quaker philanthropist William Cadbury—former Lord Mayor of Birmingham—advances ...

Grant Range
£250 - £50,000

Wixamtree Trust

Verified open

Matching programme: Main Grant Programme

The Wixamtree Trust, an independent grant-making charity established in 1962 by Sir Humphrey Whitbread, focuses on enhancing the wellbeing and develop...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £10,000

Woodsmith Foundation Limited

Verified open

Matching programme: Community Grants

Woodsmith Foundation Limited, established in 2012 as the York Potash Foundation and now funded by Anglo American via a unique 0.5% revenue share from ...

Grant Range
£200 - £10,000
1148 funders not yet verified against these filters

We haven't confirmed these funders' programme details yet, so they may or may not fit. Showing the first 10.

Tips for Applying to Children & Young People Funders

When applying for youth-focused grants, demonstrate robust safeguarding policies and evidence that all staff and volunteers hold current DBS checks. Funders expect to see that young people have a genuine voice in project design and delivery — describe how you involve youth in decision-making through advisory panels, co-production workshops, or peer-led activities. Present measurable outcomes tied to recognised frameworks: NEET reduction figures, educational attainment improvements, wellbeing score changes, or progression into employment and training. Make your delivery model age-appropriate, showing that activities and communication methods are tailored to the specific age range you serve rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach. Include clear transition planning that explains what happens when participants age out of your programme — how you ensure lasting impact and connect young people to ongoing support. If your work targets specific vulnerable groups such as looked-after children or young carers, reference the evidence base for your approach and any partnerships with statutory services. Strong applications in this space balance ambitious vision with practical, evidence-informed delivery.

Frequently Asked Questions about Children & Young People Grants

What grants are available for children & young people charities in the UK?

There are 1506+ UK funders offering grants for children & young people charities. These range from small community grants under £5,000 to large multi-year funding programmes exceeding £100,000. Use Fundermatcher to find the best match for your organisation.

How much funding can children & young people organisations get?

Grant amounts for children & young people charities vary widely depending on the funder and project. Typical grants range from £1,000 to over £100,000. Many funders offer multi-year funding for established organisations with a strong track record.

How do I apply for children & young people grants?

Start by identifying funders whose priorities align with your children & young people work. Fundermatcher matches your charity's profile against 1506+ funders to find the best fit. Our AI assistant can then help you draft compelling grant applications.

How to Find the Right Children & Young People Funders

1

Describe Your Charity

Tell us what your charity does, who you help, and where you work. Takes 30 seconds.

2

Get Matched Instantly

Our AI ranks all 1506 children & young people funders by how well they fit your specific work.

3

Write Winning Applications

Our AI assistant helps you draft and refine grant applications tailored to each funder.

Which of These 1506 Funders Are Right for You?

Browsing 1506 funders manually takes hours. Describe your charity once and get your top matches ranked by compatibility — in seconds.

  • Personalised match scores
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