or call 020 7404 3400
or call 020 7404 3400
School funding schemes can help you transform your buildings, support learning and improve wellbeing.
We’ve created this A-Z guide to make it easy for you to search and explore funding options that are currently available to schools across the UK.
Please note, we are not affiliated with any of the organisations or funding schemes below. We have compiled this list from various online sources and have collated these into an A-Z guide for easy reference. All options were correct at the time of publishing this guide. But Promote Your School accepts no liability for the accuracy or eligibility of anything included in the list.
National Lottery Project Grants is Arts Council’s open access programme for arts, libraries and museums projects. The fund supports thousands of individual practitioners, community and cultural organisations.
They are currently prioritising Supporting Grassroots Music, Museum Unlocking Collections and Universal Library Offers projects.
Applications are currently open and you can find out more and apply here.
Austin and Hope Pilkington offer funding projects relating to children, youth, the elderly and medical grants. Grants are for one year and tend to vary between £1,000 and £10,000. The majority of grants are under £5,000.
They focus on specific priorities every year. In 2025, they’ll focus on improving access to performing arts projects. For example; stage one funding will focus on theatre, dance or music that improves audience access or participation.
Austin and Hope Pilkington award grants four times per year; in February, April, July and September. You can see eligibility criteria and apply here.
The Aviva Community Fund helps local causes build stronger communities across the UK. They believe that by caring about communities today, they can help create a better future tomorrow.
The fund also gives causes access to volunteers, and tools and resources to help build their capabilities to achieve longterm sustainable success.
Successful applicants will focus on Financial Wellbeing or Climate Action. The fund is only open to organisations in the UK. You can see eligibility criteria and apply here.
BBC Children in Need awards grants for projects that work with disadvantaged children and young people, aged 18 and under. The small grants are less than £10,000 for one to three years. Although they also offer grants worth over £10,000 for one to three years.
The people and organisations BBC Children in Need funds work in the heart of their communities and put children and young people at the centre of everything they do, from design to delivery. They aim to address the challenges that children and young people face, build their skills and resilience, empower them and extend their choices in life.
BBC Children in Need are currently transitioning to a new grantmaking system. They are not able to accept new expressions of interest applications after 15th April 2025. But they will resume their grantmaking process once the new system is live in September 2025. Find out more here.
Watse Management Company, Biffa, awards grants to projects near sites that provide or improve community spaces, cultural facilities and places for outdoor recreation.
Biffa Award gives grants to community projects near landfill sites to build communities and transform lives.
Grants are typically categorised into; rebuilding biodiversity, community buildings, recreation and cultural facilities. You can find out more about these categories and how to apply here.
Eligible academies, sixth-form colleges and voluntary-aided schools can apply for capital funding from the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) in an annual bidding round.
The priority for the Department of Education is to address significant condition needs that keep education providers’ buildings safe and in good working order. This includes funding projects that address health and safety issues, building compliance and buildings in poor condition.
The fund also supports a small number of expansion projects. These are for academies, sixth-form colleges and voluntary-aided schools that can demonstrate a need to expand. The application round for 2025/26 is now closed but schools will be able to apply for the new timeframe after the current funding outcome has been announced in May 2025. Find out more here.
The Co-Op Group encourages you to apply for funding online via the Local Community Fund. Or you can enquire at your local Co-Op food store. Each store has a budget of £250 to donate to a local group.
Schools can apply and follow in the footsteps of Hamilton Lodge School and College for Deaf Children in Brighton. They received £3,608 towards a sensory room for pupils who are deaf and have other disabilities like visual impairments and cerebral palsy.
Digital Xtra is a registered charity whose goal is for every young person in Scotland to have access to innovative, meaningful and creative extracurricular computing activities. This is regardless of their gender, background or where they live.
Applications are now open for initiatives that will be delivered during the 2025/26 academic year. Schools and community organisations can apply for a grant that helps them start up or scale extracurricular tech activities for young people. Supported activities must teach children and young people skills such as coding, robotics, games design, data science and cyber.
Early Years providers can submit an application to their Local Authority to fund any capital project that they feel could support them in offering more funded early education and childcare places. Or, funding can help them adapt existing places to support a wider range of needs.
The grant funding is subject to certain conditions, as set out in the published Grant Determination document. It is for the Local Authorities to determine how best to use the funding to meet local priorities.
You can find out more about Early Years Capital Funding here.
Sign up to Easyfundraising and see your favourite brands donate to the cause you care about whenever you shop with them.
Register your cause for free, it takes a few minutes. Visit Easyfundraising and choose a retailer. Then, when you checkout, they will donate to your cause.
You can register your cause here.
The Football Foundation is the biggest sport charity in England. They help to transform communities where the need is greatest, as a unique partnership between key football partners. Their goal is to ensure every community has a great place to play.
Football Foundation has a Facilities Grant Scheme for projects that improve facilities for football and other sport in local communities.
Their website lists all the specific equipment they fund, and resources to help you with your application. You can find out more here.
Ford Britain Trust have small grants of up to £250 for work supporting activities with clear benefit to the community. They also support those who work with young people, schools, special educational needs and those with disabilities.
They invite applications from registered charities, schools, PTAs and not for profit organisations.
You can download an information brochure or apply for a grant here.
Fund Ed can help you generate additional income streams, create an effective fundraising strategy and deliver successful campaigns. They are the go-to experts in school fundraising.
You can search their website for Grants across a range of subjects and interests at regional and national level. Take a look here.
Garfield Weston Foundation is a family founded grant-maker that gives money to support a wide range of charities across the UK.
They support charities that make a positive difference including welfare, youth, community, environment, education, health, arts, heritage and faith.
Click here to find out what to include in your application and how to submit it.
GoFundMe is the leading crowdfunding platform. Whether you’re a seasoned fundraiser, or you’re just starting out, you can explore their top fundraising tips to make your fundraiser a success.
It’s free of charge to start your fundraiser on GoFundMe. Find out more and get some useful tips on how to get started here.
Groundwork supports local communities and businesses to build capacity and resilience as they work towards a net-zero future.
Their Community Spaces programme helps groups in England to create or improve green and open spaces. In turn, this will improve the quality of life in their neighbourhood. Grants are available between £10,000 and £50,000.
Get advice and apply for a Grant here.
JustGiving is a global online social platform for giving.
You can raise funds through a specific events or set up a general fundraising page to support your school improvement goals. It’s free of charge to set up a JustGiving page and you can share your event on social media to widen your reach.
Start your fundraising journey here.
National Lottery Awards for All England offers funding from £300 to £20,000. They can support your project for up to two years.
You can apply for funding to set up a new project or support an existing activity. Or funding can help your organisation adapt to new and future challenges. Typically, their funding helps bring people together to build strong relationships across communities. It can also improve community spaces and help people reach their potential, especially those who are impacted by the cost of living crisis.
You can apply at least 16 weeks before you wish your project or activity to begin. Find out more and apply here.
Primary Schools can apply for funds and grants to over 9000 different fund organisations. Funding Grants will help you source the best places to apply.
Funders vary in the amount of money available. Some have grant limits whilst others can help with the full cost of your project, depending on the criteria and application.
Find out more here.
PTA+ offers lots of information and support to help you source local grants for your next project. You’ll get better cut-through on your application if you can demonstrate that your project benefits the wider community.
If your school’s PTA is a registered charity, you may be able to access funding pots that your school can’t get. Find out more here.
The Savoy Educational Trust is an independent grant giving charitable trust. They aim to advance and develop education, training and qualifications for the benefit of the UK hospitality industry.
The trust are keen to foster growth and excellence of individuals working in (or aspiring to work in) hospitality. Through funding, they’ll equip them with the knowledge and skills they need to thrive in this sector. Their funding deadlines are in April, July and October.
Find out how to apply here.
The Department for Education allocates funding each year to help maintain and improve the condition of school buildings and grounds.
Schools can access funding through the School Conditions Allocations (SCA) with funds paid to eligible bodies responsible for maintaining school buildings. Or, the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) a bidding round with funds paid directly to single academy trusts, small multi-academy trusts, small voluntary-aided schools and sixth-form colleges.
The Devolved Formula Capital (DFC) is allocated to individual schools and other eligible institutions to spend on capital projects. Find out more here.
School Funding Service matches your projects to the right grants. They write outstanding bids to get you the funding you need. And they deliver practical bid writing workshops to build fundraising capacity within your school.
School Funding Service works with School Business Managers, Head Teachers and support staff to show you how to win funding. Get started here.
The Government sets out the support available and how to apply in their School Improvement Offer.
You can get support if your school has an overall effectiveness grade below ‘good’ with a subsequent ‘requires improvement’ sub-judgement in leadership and management or quality of education areas. Or if your school is judged to be ‘causing concern’.
Find full details here.
Sport England Movement Hub showcases the best tools and resources to help unite people in sport and physical activity. Their Movement Fund offers between £300 and £15,000 for physical activity prijects in the community. They focus on people who face barriers to activity and projects designed to help these people join in.
There’s no deadline for applications and you’ll usually get a decision within six weeks. Apply here.
The Tudor Trust is an independent grant-making trust which supports voluntary and community groups working in the UK.
They want to help smaller, community-led organisations who work with people at the margins of society. For example; organisations who support positive change in people’s lives and their community. They are currently transforming their grant-making process so are not accepting any new grant requests at present.
But you can keep an eye on their progress here.
Wolfson Foundation awards grants to support and promote excellence in education, science, medicine, heritage, humanities and the arts, health and disability.
Their programmes are grouped into funding for places (capital funding) and funding for people.
Take the eligibility quiz to see if they can support your project.
Promote Your School is an education design agency. We design bespoke Wall Art for schools around the world to support learning and wellbeing in all aspects of the curriculum. We understand the unique challenges that teachers and leaders face. So we’re well placed to advise and guide you through the process of using Wall Art to achieve your goals.
We design, print and install Wall Art on almost any surface, including walls, doors, floors, windows, ceilings and outdoor buildings.
Get in touch to find out more about us and book a free consultation at your school.
We’ll visit your school to understand your goals, explain our process and provide you with a no-obligation quote.
