How to apply
You can tell us about your ideas using our online application form
Apply Continue your application
You can see a full list of questions we ask about your idea in our application form.
It’s worth noting this is an initial application form so you can tell us about your idea. Within about 6 weeks, we will let you know if we can take your application to the next stage or are unable to fund your project.
If you have any communication needs
You can contact us if you have any communication support needs that make completing a form difficult or impossible for you. We’re happy to talk about alternative ways for you to tell us about your funding idea.
Here’s what happens after you tell us about your funding idea:
- We'll email you to let you know we got your application form.
- Then we'll get in touch to talk about your idea within around 6 weeks.
- We’ll give you some feedback and let you know if we are taking your application further.
We’ll only take forward the strongest applications to the next stage.
If we take your application forward to the next stage
- We’ll ask you to complete an additional, more detailed application form within 30 calendar days. And send us this along with supporting information we ask for. This may include job descriptions, salary breakdowns, evaluation plans and an exit plan or sustainability strategy for the end of the project. We’ll ask you to send us a budget for your project. You can use your own budget. Or you can use our template budget table (Excel Spreadsheet, 28 KB).
- If your application is to continue or develop an existing project, you should also send us an evaluation showing the impact it has made.
- You'll get a funding officer. Your funding officer will get in touch to ask some questions about your project. They’ll also arrange a face to face assessment visit with you.
- You'll meet your funding officer. You'll have the face to face assessment visit with your funding officer. They’ll want to know how your project fits with this funding programme, as well as the difference you’re looking to make, and how you’ll run the project.
- Your funding officer will write a report. After the visit, your funding officer will write up an assessment report. They might get in touch with you again to ask some questions before they write their report. The report will assess:
- how you plan to run the project and how much it will cost
- how well your project fits with what this funding programme is asking for.
- We'll decide to fund you or not. Your funding officer will take your application to a decision meeting. As a group, we decide which projects get funding. This group will be made up of staff, or NI committee members. There are always lots of good applications, and we only have a certain amount of funding to give away. Making final funding decisions can be tough. It’s a competitive process.
- Your funding officer will let you know. If we decide to give you funding, your funding officer will let you know. They'll talk about next steps too. If we decide not to fund your project, your funding officer will get in touch with feedback.
This programme is closing for new applications on Monday 13 May 2024. We will still be assessing applications and making decisions about funding throughout 2024.
Reducing your environmental impact
We all have a responsibility to protect the environment for future generations. This includes the communities and projects we support.
We’ll expect all applicant organisations to consider their environmental impact and to have relevant policies and procedures in place.
Find out more about the environment considerations you could take on board when developing your project idea on The projects we fund page.
You can also access some links to local guidance on the Reduce your environmental footprint page.
Here’s what happens after we give you the funding
Once you’ve been awarded over £20,001 of funding from us, here’s what to expect. This page will also let you know about the things you need to do.