The Royal Society of Chemistry’s Outreach Fund is open for applications of up to £10,000 to support exciting and creative chemical science engagement activities across the UK and ROI.
We fund a broad range of projects that connect communities from all backgrounds with the chemical sciences.
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year, with this year's final deadline at 5pm (UK time) on 2 October 2026.
If you work with or have an idea to engage schools, community groups, families, public audiences or underserved communities, this fund could help support your work or bring a brand‑new idea to life. Or if you are looking for inspiration - take a look at the RSC Education Outreach Hub. If you have any questions about a project or application, get in touch via outreach@rsc.org.
The Biochemical Society's EDI and Outreach Grants provide grants of up to £1,000 to strengthen inclusion and participation within the molecular biosciences.
Help create and support a representative scientific community with our EDI and Outreach Grants!
Our EDI and Outreach Grants are a new funding scheme designed to strengthen inclusion and participation within the molecular bioscience community. As the Biochemical Society is committed to supporting a more accessible community with diverse identities at all levels, we are looking for innovative projects or activities that aim to promote EDI principles and/or develop outreach to underrepresented communities.
With grants of up to £1,000 available, we welcome applications from individuals, groups, charities or not-for-profit organisations all across the world. You do not need to be a member of the Biochemical Society to apply.
This scheme aims to support projects that enhance public understanding of molecular bioscience, remove barriers to participation, elevate underrepresented voices, or foster a more accessible and inclusive environment across education, research, and public engagement.
We are particularly interested to receive applications that address one or more of the areas identified as priorities by our community in our recent EDI Data surveys:
Support for carers in STEM
Address attitudinal barriers towards LGBTQ+ groups
Ensure diverse representation on panels and public platforms
Support for women and minoritised groups in accessing more senior roles
Engagement with minoritised young people and promotion of access to STEM
Improving support and accessibility for people with disabilities
Deadlines
Applications are considered twice a year. The next deadline for applications is 5th October 2026.
Projects must be taking place at least 1 month after the deadline applied for, and be completed within 8 months.
Better Community Business Network Grant Initiative
BCBN’s Grant Initiative aims to provide small third-sector grant awards to empower charities and local community projects.
This initiative will distribute a one-off grant award of up to £3,000 per charity or to small but credible community projects, which are able to demonstrate their positive impact on the communities they aim to serve.
Key dates:
Term 2 – NOW LIVE Applications: 7 July to 7 September 2026 Finalists Awarded: 28 September 2026
Term 3 Application Deadline: 9 November 2026 Finalists Awarded: 30 November 2026
Small Eco Awards, The National Lottery Community Fund
Grants of £300 to £20,000 for community environmental projects in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, such as community gardens, biodiversity work, outdoor learning, citizen science and repair, reuse and recycling scheme
We’ll fund projects that meet at least one of our priorities:
help people connect with and care for nature in their area
make a positive difference to the environment
help people tackle pollution in their communities
You can use our funding to:
start a new activity or continue an existing one (if it meets our priorities)
help your organisation or community (or both) adapt to new challenges
run one-off events that have a clear environmental benefit
Deadline: Rolling - open year-round, decisions within 12 weeks
Core (Organisational) Costs Fund, BBC Children in Need
Our Core Costs funding stream supports essential organisational and administrative spending. These are the key expenses required to keep your organisation running.
We know it’s sometimes harder to secure funding for organisational running costs whilst delivering projects for children and young people. If you need funding for the types of costs listed below, or for other “Core” costs that would help to strengthen your organisation’s ability to support children and young people, then this might be the programme to choose. Core funding isn’t about delivering a specific project or service, it’s about having a solid foundation to do so.
Core Costs funding can be spent on your organisation’s central day-to-day operations. These might include, for example:
Management and administration
HR and payroll– this includes salaries for roles that are considered essential for the sustainability of the organisation as well as HR related costs
General office expenses
Accountancy and audit
Communications and outreach
Monitoring, evaluation, and learning
Governance, regulatory, and compliance costs
Our Core Costs funding stream is for charities and not-for-profit organisations working with children and young people. Applicants to this programme can apply for grants for up to three years. We aim to give quicker decisions for grants of £15,000 or less per year.
We will only consider applications for over £15,000 per year from organisations who have registered with the appropriate regulatory body. We do not make grants of over £120,000 (or £40,000 per year), and most grants we make are for much less than this.
Note: We seek to prioritise smaller, local organisations. As a result, for Core Grants we will not fund any organisations with a turnover of over £1m in the most recent, complete financial year
This funding stream has no application deadline – you can apply at any time
UK Small Grants, The True Colours Trust
This 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.
We will consider applications from organisations working with children and young people aged from 0 – 25 years.
Projects: • Activities for disabled children, children with life-limiting conditions and their families. • Activities which support siblings of disabled children or siblings of children with life-limiting conditions. • Bereavement support for children and young people and for families bereaved of a child. • Family support / parent-led peer support for parents of disabled children. • Respite which supports the whole family.
Equipment and Materials: • Renovation, upgrading and additional equipment for hydrotherapy pools and multi-sensory rooms. • Minibuses. • Specialised play equipment / access to play and leisure for disabled children, children with life-limiting conditions and their families.
The programme is open to applications at any time. We aim to respond to your application with a final decision within twelve weeks. During peak times, this can take longer but we will keep you informed of timelines.
Our main grants programme provides support for places. These grants are for capital initiatives, i.e. buildings (new build or refurbishment) and equipment.
We fund a broad range of organisations working across the fields of education, science & medicine, health & disability, heritage, humanities & the arts.
