Children in Need Core Grants

The funding is intended for not-for-profit organisations that work with disadvantaged children and young people, under the age of 18, living in the UK.

• Applications for grants of £15,000 or less per year will receive a quicker decision from us, and so will be able to start sooner if successful
• Our Core Grants stream supports organisations for up to three years
• We will only consider applications for over £15,000 per year from organisations that have registered with the appropriate regulatory body. Please see more information in our A-Z Eligibility Guidance on Applications for over £15,000 per year and Unregistered Organisations
• 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. Each year we receive far a higher number of funding requests than we are able to support. Applications for larger amounts are always more difficult for us to fund
• If your work directly supports certain groups of especially vulnerable children and young people, you’ll be unable to apply for less than £15,001 per year. In particular, this means working with children affected by child sexual exploitation, child criminal exploitation, or serious youth violence. Our approach to funding work in these areas involves making larger grants and building deeper relationships with delivery organisations

Registered charities and not-for-profit organisations that work with disadvantaged children and young people of 18 years and under living in the UK, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands are eligible to apply.

The following organisations can apply:

• Community interest companies (CIC).
• Companies limited by guarantee (CLG), including social enterprises.
• Housing associations.
• Industrial and provident community benefit societies.
• Registered charities.
• Religious institutions.
• Special schools (These are provisions for children with learning difficulties or disabilities which cannot be met within a mainstream setting).
• Hospices.

To be eligible, applicants must be:

• Working with children and young people aged 18 years and under.
• Working in the heart of their communities, particularly in times of crisis.
• Putting children and young people at the centre of everything they do, from design to delivery.
• Addressing challenges faced by children and young people, building their skills and resilience.
• Empowering children and young people, and extending their choices in life.
• Keen to keep learning about and developing their work with children and young people.
• Committed to making a difference in children and young people’s lives.

Priority will be given to applications from smaller, local organisations with an annual turnover of more than £1 million in the most recent, complete financial year.

In recognition of the fact that there are some organisations with a higher income delivering vital work for children and young people, the following types of organisations can apply regardless of their turnover:

• Hospices (including children's hospices).
• Housing Associations.
• Groups delivering nationwide (across a whole nation) or UK-wide work (across multiple nations within the UK).

Core Costs grants are awarded as restricted funding and must be used to cover the organisation’s essential running expenses.

The funding is to be used for an organisation's central day-to-day operations, including:

• Management and administration.
• HR and payroll.
• General office expenses.
• Accountancy and audit.
• Communications and outreach.
• Monitoring, evaluation, and learning.
• Governance, regulatory, and compliance costs.

Applications can be made at any time. There are no deadlines.

Groups requesting £15,000 or less will receive a quicker decision and be able to start sooner.

There is a two-stage application process:

• An initial Expression of Interest form can be found on the Children in Need website.
• Successful applicants will receive a link to the full application form and have 120 days to complete it.

Organisations can only apply for and hold one grant at any time.

Organisations with a current BBC Children in Need grant that is due to end within 12 months can usually reapply. However, the new funding will not be released until the current grant has ended.