Applying for your Grant
To apply for a grant please choose a link below, depending on where your project is located.
Before you apply please see our Applicant Guidance section.
If you would like help with using our online application form please see the links at the bottom of this page.
Important advice to applicants
Our mission statement describes our aim as a funder:
- "To positively change the lives of disadvantaged children and young people in the UK." (Including the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands)
We need to ensure that all the projects we fund help us to achieve this aim.
For every single penny donated to the charity, a penny will go towards a project helping disadvantaged children and young people in the UK. We are able to make this promise because the charity uses its investment income to cover all operational costs.
Important advice to applicants
- Please take time to read all the guidance on this website before you start
- We receive applications for significantly more money than we have available to distribute and our process is very competitive. Reading our guidance will give you the best possible chance of success
- We cannot assess applications that are incomplete or missing any attachments - these will be rejected. This is to ensure all our applications are assessed from the same information
- Please remember that we only fund projects in the UK for children aged 18 and under
- You can only hold one grant in each nation (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) at a time
- Read the whole application before writing your answers, and in particular have a look at our question by question guide so you can see what we are looking for
Please note: If your organisation has previously held a grant from BBC Children in Need, but your end of grant report is overdue, your application will not be processed until we have received this report. This might mean your application being delayed until a future closing date.
Before you start
We are committed to making sure our grants change the lives of children and young people for the better and we want to support organisations who are able to achieve this.
Because we think it is so important, we have developed a step by step guide to planning your project to help you plan and develop a successful project.
Projects delivered by organisations working with disadvantaged children and young people, who must be 18 years and under, living in the UK, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands.
Disadvantages experienced by children and young people include:
- Illness, distress, abuse or neglect
- Any kind of disability
- Behavioural or psychological difficulties
- Living in poverty or situations of deprivation
The application should focus on the children your project will work with and the differences that your project will make for them. You should clearly be able to demonstrate how your project will change the lives of the children involved for the better. Where possible it should take into account their views and involve them in decisions that affect them.
- Trips or projects abroad
- Medical treatment/research
- Unspecified expenditure
- Deficit funding or repayment of loans
- Retrospective funding (projects taking place before the grant award date)
- Projects unable to start within 12 months of the grant award date
- Distribution to another/other organisation/s
- General appeals or endowment funds
- Relief of statutory responsibility
- The promotion of religion
- Projects for pregnancy testing or advice, information or counselling on pregnancy choices
We also only award one grant to an organisation at any time. The only exception to this is if you are a UK-wide organisation operating in more than one nation (England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland). In this case you are eligible to submit one application per nation.
- While we have no upper or lower limit on grants, we do not expect to make many grants over £100,000, and the vast majority of our grants are for much less
- Funding can be awarded for between one and three years, depending on the nature of the request. Grants can only be made for one year at a time for holidays
- BBC Children in Need is committed to funding projects for success. It is important that you ask for the costs realistically needed to make the project successful
- Many of our grants are for relatively small amounts, but these can often achieve real impact for children and young people through being able to support the efforts of volunteers
- The total amount of money requested each year is much more than we have available to give: therefore requests for larger grants are inevitably more competitive
- When completing your application form we ask that you consider all costs and provide realistic and accurate figures for each aspect of the project you are requesting funding for. BBC Children in Need will consider funding support costs associated directly with the project that you are applying for, however, we cannot fund organisational overheads and running costs where these are not integral to the project you are applying for
- Once an application has been submitted it is not possible to increase the requested amount
You can apply at any time and we would strongly encourage you to apply in advance of the closing dates below.
BBC Children in Need has four closing dates throughout each year:
Closing date: 15 January - Awards given by end April 2009
Closing date: 15 April - Awards given by end July 2009
Closing date: 15 July - Awards given by end October 2009
Closing date: 15 October - Awards given by end January 2010
Applications received after the above closing date will not be considered until the following closing date.
Please note that applications that are incomplete (i.e. with any of the attachments missing or questions unanswered) will not be assessed. We will write to you within six weeks of the closing date to advise you of this. This is to help us ensure that all applications are considered fairly and equally.
BBC Children in Need has made the transformation to a fully online application system. All applicants will need to complete our online application form, and paper applications are no longer available.
If you would like to see a video or slideshow or guidance on how to use our online application form please click here. Remember we have also developed a question by question guide so you can see what we are looking for from each answer.
For support with completing your application online please contact pudsey@bbc.co.uk or call our Helpdesk on 020 8576 7788 or alternatively you can contact your local regional office.
Once your application form has been submitted online it will be assessed to ensure that it meets all our criteria and has all the required information and attachments.
Applications which have not answered all the questions in full, have not included all requested supporting documents, or which do not meet the eligibility criteria will not proceed further. Any applicants who are unsuccessful at this stage will be provided with feedback within approximately six weeks after the closing date. Applications which are rejected at this stage can be submitted again at any point in the next 12 months, as long as you have been able to resubmit a complete and eligible application.
If your application proceeds to the next stage you will be contacted to arrange a telephone assessment or to arrange for an assessor to visit your project. Assessors will also contact the referees supplied on the application. It is therefore vital that the person making the application and both referees are available to speak to an assessor in the six weeks following the closing date.
Assessors then make initial recommendations for funding, which are then considered by both regional committees and BBC Children in Need's trustees. Click here for information about where our regional and national committees and offices are based.
All applicants will be advised of the outcome of their application by the grant award date stated above.
Include everything we ask for...
When submitting your application form and supporting documentation it is vital that you check and double check that you have included all of the information we have requested. Your application cannot be processed without all the requested information. Please see our step by step guide for comprehensive guidance.
If you are unsure about any of the information you have been asked to submit then please contact our Helpdesk who will be happy to advise you. They can also answer general enquiries and offer support regarding your application. Contact the Helpdesk 0208 576 7788 or by email at pudsey@bbc.co.uk
If your enquiry requires regional support we will forward all details on to your local office. Please click here for a list of all our offices.
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