2025/2026 Community Engagement Fund

You can apply if you are: 

·         An unincorporated charity or community organisation, a community interest company, or a company with a charitable purpose.

·         A grassroots organisation.

·         A registered charity.

·         A consortium or partnership (with a lead organisation that is one of the above).

Unincorporated charities, community organisations, community interest companies and companies with a charitable purpose

You can apply if you:

o        Were established for charitable and public benefit purposes.

o        Have a governing body with at least 3 members.

o        Can provide a valid governing document for your organisation with a set of rules on how your organisation is structured and its purpose.

o        Can provide audited accounts for the last 2 financial years or an income-expenditure statement for two years if you were established after April 2021.

Grassroots organisations

You can apply if you can support your application with:

o        A governing document for your organisation with a set of rules on how your organisation is structured and its purpose.

o        A copy of your 2022/23 audited accounts and current bank statement.

o        A projected cashflow statement for 2024-25.

Registered charities

You can apply if:

o        You can provide a valid registration number issued by the Charity Commission.

o        Have a governing body with at least 3 members.

o        Can provide a valid governing document for your organisation with a set of rules on how your organisation is structured and its purpose.

o        Can provide audited accounts for the last 2 financial years or an income-expenditure statement for two years if you were established after April 2021.

Your details on the Charity Commission website will be checked as part of the assessment process.

Consortiums or partnerships

You can work with other organisations on a project and apply as a group. There is no limit on the number of organisations that can be involved in a consortium.

You can apply if you have:

o        A lead organisation that meets one of the above criteria for eligibility.

o        Details of the lead organisation and how it is structured.

o        Details of partners you plan to work with and their role in your project.

Audited accounts will need to be provided for the lead organisation. Any funding awarded will be paid directly to the lead organisation.

What you can get funding for

Examples of how funding could be used include:

Holding events, for example cost of venue, refreshments, and other related costs.

Creating and sharing marketing materials, like leaflets and posters.

Running communications campaigns both in person and online.

Accessing and using communication channels, for example social media or local radio.

Getting support from corporate partners, public figures, or advocates.

Funding can also be used to cover costs for staff time to work specifically on the project (you will have to clearly justify this).

What you cannot get funding for

The Community Engagement Fund will not support:

·         Projects that look to provide an opportunity for a political platform.

·         Organisations whose objectives conflict with the Fund.

·         Organisations that seek to provide immigration advice and services, which are not regulated by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner.

·         Where the organisation has objectives or runs services that are contrary to the principles of openness, tolerance, and respect.

·         Costs for fundraising activities.

·         Loan repayments or costs covered by other funding sources.

·         Input VAT reclaimable from HMRC.

·         Gifts to individuals other than promotional items with a value of no more than £25 a year to any one individual.

·         Payment of statutory fines, criminal fines, or penalties.

·         Activities that promote religion.

Further prohibited purposes of the Fund are set out in clause 3.2 of the draft grant agreement available in the How to apply and Supporting information tab 

The Home Office will only fund project activities that meet the relevant criteria.

The purpose of the Community Engagement Fund 2025/2026 is to:

1.    Raise awareness of and address any misinformation about the Windrush Compensation and Windrush Schemes (Documentation) with a focus on non-Caribbean communities and encourage them to apply to these Schemes.

2.    Build on the insights and learning taken from our existing work on Windrush (e.g. the Windrush Community Fund and Windrush national communications campaigns) to understand:

(a)  why individuals are not applying for the Windrush Compensation Scheme and/or the Windrush Scheme (Documentation); and

(b)  how best to encourage eligible individuals to apply to these Schemes.

Indicative Timings are:

23/04/2025– Launch of competition

01/05/25 –06/05/2025 Bidder information sessions

21/05/2025 – 9am Deadline for Bidder clarification questions

21/05/2025 – 5pm dissemination of responses to Bidder clarification questions

28/05/2025 – Deadline for Bid submissions

09/06/2025 to 07/07/25 - Bid Evaluation, Moderation,

Due diligence on winning bids

21/07/25 – Bidders notified of award decisions.

31/03/26 – Funding window closed.

Please find the following links / documents which should be downloaded to assist with the application process. 

1. Guidance for Applicants

2. CEF FAQs

3. Draft Grant Agreement

4. CEF Funding Toolkit Template

5. Applicant Clarification Question Submission Template

6. CEF Information sessions 1st and 6th May 2025

7. Find A Grant Walkthrough- Introducing Find a Grant for grant applicants

Please ensure you have watched the short video and have read all the documents before completing the Application Form.

Please ensure you have signed up to receive notifications for updates during the application window, as shown in the Find a Grant Walkthrough video.

The deadline for applications is 4pm on 28th May 2025.

Information sessions will be held for organisations who are interested to learn more about the Fund and how to submit an application. These virtual sessions will be held on Thursday  1st May from 2pm to 3:30 pm and Tuesday 6th May from 11am to 12:30pm. The presentation will be available to all applicants after each session.

Please find the following links / documents which should be downloaded to assist with the application process. 

1. Guidance for Applicants

2. CEF FAQs

3. Draft Grant Agreement

4. CEF Funding Toolkit Template

5. Applicant Clarification Question Submission Template

6. CEF Information sessions 1st and 6th May 2025

7. Find A Grant Walkthrough Introducing Find a Grant for grant applicants

It is important that Applicants read all the documents before completing their application, and fully understand what is required as part of the application process.The Authority expects grant activities to commence once the Grant Agreement has been signed.