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Civil Society Resilience Fund

The Civil Society Resilience Infrastructure Fund is an up to £2.5 million package of funding to support civil society infrastructure. DCMS is seeking to select a single grant recipient, which could be a single organisation, or a consortium (with a lead partner making the application). The successful bidder will deliver this funding between October 2026 and March 2029. This funding can only be used for activity in England.

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Contents

Summary

The Civil Society Resilience Infrastructure Fund is an up to £2.5 million package of funding to support civil society infrastructure. 

This fund aligns with the 2025 UK Resilience Action Plan's "whole-of-society" approach to national preparedness, as well as with the 2025 Civil Society Covenant, which sets out that government and civil society should work together to build community capacity, social cohesion and resilience.

DCMS is seeking to select a single grant recipient, which could be a single organisation, or a consortium (with a lead partner making the application). The successful bidder will deliver this funding between October 2026 and March 2029. This funding can only be used for activity in England. 

The following funding is available:

  • Up to £450,000 in financial year 2026/27

  • Up to £970,000 in financial year 2027/28

  • Up to £1,080,000 in financial year 2028/29

Fund Objectives

The objectives of the Civil Society Resilience Infrastructure Fund are to, by March 2029:

  • Enable civil society to share views and insights, and collaborate with Government on resilience work, including emergency preparedness, response and recovery;

  • Strengthen civil society knowledge, skills, relationships and capabilities to enhance the role civil society organisations play in emergency preparedness, response and recovery; and

  • Build upon and develop approaches to utilise the valuable role civil society can play in resilience - particularly:

  • Improving the resilience of communities and individuals who are disproportionately impacted during emergencies, 

  • Providing trusted information flows during emergencies, and

  • Coordinating civil society activities during emergencies (for example, spontaneous volunteers).

Please refer to the Competition Guidance document before submitting your application

Eligibility

Applicants may apply as a single organisation, or a consortium (with a lead partner making the application).

Eligibility 

Pass/Fail 

The grant funding will be provided under Section 70 of the Charities Act 2006. To be eligible to apply as a grant recipient for the Civil Society Resilience Infrastructure fund, the applicant or lead applicant organisation for a consortium must be able to demonstrate eligibility to receive a grant under Section 70, as a charitable, philanthropic or benevolent institution, and provide the below mandatory documents.

Pass/Fail 

Financial eligibility - the value of any grant requested in any given year must not represent more than 50% of the applicant or, in the case of a consortium bid, the lead applicant’s, average annual income for the previous 2 financial years.

Pass/Fail

Only one bid may be submitted by the lead applicant on the application form. The lead bidder may be included as a delivery partner in other applications by a different lead organisation.

Pass/Fail

You confirm that you have read the guidance in this document regarding the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE), acknowledging that you have factored any potential liabilities into your application. The full guidance can be found at Annexes B and C. Please note that you will need to allow time to complete a Non-Disclosure Agreement before accessing and considering relevant employment information.

Objectives

The objectives of the Civil Society Resilience Infrastructure Fund are to, by March 2029:

  • Enable civil society to share views and insights, and collaborate with Government on resilience work, including emergency preparedness, response and recovery;

  • Strengthen civil society knowledge, skills, relationships and capabilities to enhance the role civil society organisations play in emergency preparedness, response and recovery; and

  • Build upon and develop approaches to utilise the valuable role civil society can play in resilience - particularly:

    -      Improving the resilience of communities and individuals who are disproportionately impacted during emergencies, 

    -      Providing trusted information flows during emergencies, and

    -      Coordinating civil society activities during emergencies (for example, spontaneous volunteers).

Dates

Application dates

The timeline below is indicative and subject to change.

  • Competition opens for applications:  Friday 10th April 2026

  • Deadline for clarification questions: 23:59 Friday 24th April 2026

  • Publication of answers to clarification questions: Friday 1st May 2026

  • Deadline of the application: 23:59 Sunday 31st May 2026

  • Application Assessment: Monday 1st June - Friday 26th June 2026

  • Notification of recommendation for approval/ of unsuccessful applications: End June 2026

  • Final confirmation of appointment: Summer 2026

We expect the grant agreement will be finalised with the successful applicant(s) by September 2026, although the exact timing will be dependent on a number of factors. Delivery is expected to take place from October 2026 to March 2029, with all spending to be completed within this time period.

Any clarification questions should be directed to civilsocietyresilience@dcms.gov.uk by 23:59 Friday 24th April 2026.

All other enquiries should also be directed to civilsocietyresilience@dcms.gov.uk

How to apply

Complete the online application form hosted on Find A Grant (search ‘Civil Society Resilience Infrastructure Fund’).

Supporting information

Please refer to the Competition Guidance