Education

These funds cover schools and colleges, plus organisations that provide education in and out of school settings.

Funding for Children and young people is covered on a separate page. As with any charitable project, it’s worth considering the funders that will fund a wide variety of projects.

This page is updated annually. Spotted an error? Please let us know.

CLA Charitable Trust

The CLA Charitable Trust provides one-off grants, typically under £5,500, to small to medium UK registered charities and not-for-profit organisations, dedicated to helping those who are disabled or disadvantaged to visit and participate in learning experiences about the countryside, to pursue health and well-being of people and to provide education opportunities. The CLA Charitable Trust is dedicated to helping.

Barbara Ward Children’s Foundation

The Barbara Ward Children’s Foundation welcomes applications from smaller non-religious charities who support severely disadvantaged children anywhere in the world where their grants are likely to make a real difference. Core and project funding is available for work in the following: Education, Support, Care & Respite, Holidays, Health & Wellbeing, Sport, Play & Leisure.

Ladbrokes Coral Trust

The Ladbrokes Coral Trust supports a range of causes, and grants are commonly given in the following categories:

Health: research/treatment, hospice services and disability support
Education: supporting people who are disadvantaged or who have disabilities
Community: with a focus on projects for people who are older or homeless or social activity projects for people who are at risk.

Ashworth Trust

The Ashworth Charitable Trust supports humanitarian causes operating locally, nationally and internationally by awarding grants of up to £5,000 (typically no more than £3,000) to small, UK-registered charities. Funding is prioritised to smaller charities where the impact is more significant, addressing:

Charities addressing social, physical, or educational re-habilitation
Charities offering information, support, relief or equipment for illness or disability
Charities supporting those members of society who may be considered as isolated, vulnerable, at risk or disadvantaged
Holidays for disadvantaged children
Youth clubs, especially in disadvantaged areas

The Speedomick Foundation

The SpeedoMick Foundation awards grants to small, local charities working in line with the Foundation’s objectives – to work with groups supporting the vulnerable to:

advance education;

prevent or relieve poverty;
improve mental health; and
improve physical health.

The Foundation has a particular focus on helping disadvantaged young people and the homeless.

The DWF Foundation

The DWF Foundation supports communities in achieving their full potential. They aim to help local communities work together to implement change, focusing on the four key areas of

Homelessness;
Health & Wellbeing;
Employability, and
Education

The DWF Foundation only accept applications from Registered charities. The Foundation has no minimum grant size and tends to offer grants under £5,000 and will not offer multi-year grants.

Garfield Weston Foundation

Education is one of nine themes for this Foundation, which offers grants of up to £100,000 to registered charities, schools, universities, faith-based organisations, housing associations, museums and galleries. The Foundation recommends that applicants have around half of their funding identified before applying. Capital, project and core costs are eligible, but the Foundation tends not to support more than 10% of the total costs and expects half the funding to be secured before applying.

Foyle Foundation – Main Grants Scheme

Grants over £10,000 are available for organisations focused on either Learning or Arts. Recently awarded grants for Learning show a focus on museums and libraries, with a wide range of project types including project costs, salaries and capital projects. The Foundation also welcomes applications that focus on special educational needs, that encourage sustainability (both financial and environmental) and that increase access and widen the diversity of attendees/visitors. The maximum grant has been reduced during the COVID-19 crisis – check with the Foundation on their current policy before applying for grants over £50,000.

Paul Hamlyn Foundation – Arts-based Learning Fund

Grants of up to £400,000 for charities, community organisations, social enterprises and not-for-profit companies active in the arts. One of its three themes is Education & learning through the arts. Applicants must be working in partnership with schools or other formal education settings. Explore and Test grants of up to £60,000 for up to two years are designed to help explore and test new approaches. More and Better grants of up to £400,000 for up to four years are intended to help organisations deliver more effective arts-based learning. Pre-application access support and a bursary of up to £500 are available to help groups apply.

The Steel Charitable Trust

Grants of £10,00 to £25,000 for registered charities and exempt organisations (such as schools) for projects in a range of categories including education. Capital, project and core costs are all considered. Applicants must have published accounts with an annual turnover over £50,000.

Trusthouse Charitable Foundation

This trust is dedicated to addressing rural and urban deprivation with Small Grants (£2,000 to £10,000 for one year) and Major Grants (£10,000 to £100,000 over up to three years). Urban locations (populations of 10,000 or more) must be ranked within the most deprived 15% of the Index of Multiple Deprivation, while rural locations must be within the most deprived 50%. Check for your location here.

Education crops up frequently in its funding criteria; Small grants for activities such as support schemes for young people struggling in mainstream education, homework clubs and supplementary education classes for vulnerable individuals. Major grants for engaging parents in their child’s early education, and supporting prisoners and their families with parenting education.

BlueSpark Foundation

BlueSpark Foundation supports the education and development of children and young people (aged 5-22) by providing grants for educational, cultural, sporting and other projects. It values academic, vocational, artistic and sporting endeavours in equal measure and is particularly keen to support projects which will help enhance the self-confidence, teamwork skills and future employability of children and young people. There is no upper limit but most grants are between £2,000 and £5,000. Eligible costs include equipment, tuition, training, competitions, seed funding for enterprise projects and drama production costs.

British & Foreign School Society

Grants of £30,000 to £100,000 are available to registered charities, schools and universities, for educational projects that improve the educational outcomes and life chances of Young Carers and Looked After Children. Match funding is welcomed, and schools and universities must be able to demonstrate a network effect beyond one individual school. Deadlines are twice a year in July and January.

YAPP Charitable Trust

Education is one of five themes for this trust, which offers grants of up to £3,000 per year for three years to registered charities with a total annual expenditure of less than £40,000. The Trust has a particular interest in educationally disadvantaged people, whether adults or children. It will only fund core running costs and prefers to fund existing projects when other funding is coming to an end.

Hodge Foundation

Education is one of four themes for the Hodge Foundation, which will fund registered charities, schools and universities. There is no upper limit but most grants are under £10,000. It will fund education within formal school settings and also practical approaches to learning which support young people to fulfil their potential and thrive, including those with special needs. The Foundation supports arts projects for education that encourage and inspire audiences across the UK and bring a range of benefits to people of all ages and backgrounds.

Ironmongers’ Company

Grants of up to £10,000 are available to registered charities for UK projects that provide opportunities for disadvantaged children and young people under 25 to fulfil their potential. The project must consist of educational activities that develop learning, motivation and skills. Deadlines are 31 July and 15 December.

Peter Cruddas Foundation

Grants are available to registered charities for projects that benefit disadvantaged and disengaged young people aged 16 to 30 years. Priority is given to work experience projects and pathways for young people into education, training or employment. Deadlines are 1 September and 1 March.

Lawrence Atwell’s Charity – Individuals Programme

Grants of up to £1,500 are available for people aged 16 to 26 from low-income backgrounds, to help them gain vocational, accredited qualifications (up to level 3) that will help them move into employment. Funding can be given for course fees, equipment/materials, travel costs, childcare and living costs. Applicants are encouraged to obtain funds from other sources and to apply to as many charities as possible.

Buttle UK – Chances for Children

Grants of up to £2,000 for vulnerable young people (aged 16-20) so that they can further their education or employment. Applicants must fit various criteria, including experiencing financial hardship and having recently experienced a crisis that has had a significant and enduring impact on their social well-being, their emotional well-being and their educational engagement.