Project Costs

• The Project Costs stream has no application deadline – you can apply at any time
• We will not fund any work that has already taken place, or any costs incurred, before the date we give you a decision
• The first step in applying is to speak with your local team
• Use the EOI form to tell us a bit more about your organisation, and the work you want us to fund
• You’ll be able to access the EOI form in your online account when the funding stream is open
• If we would like to support the work outlined in your EOI form, we’ll send you a full application form to complete
• Find out what we fund to help you understand what we fund in your nation or region

Currently, we are only able to fund 1 in 6 of the applications we receive.

We encourage you to contact us with any feedback about our grant-making. We want to be as accessible and supportive as possible for your organisation. This could mean translating our application into another language. We will also speak to you to help clarify any questions.  If you need help to apply, please phone us on 0345 609 0015, or email [email protected]

Project Costs support the aims and delivery of a specific piece of work. This work will usually be time-limited, and based on a defined set of activities.

Our Project Costs Funding Stream is for charities and not-for-profit organisations. Applicants to this programme can apply for grants for up to three years. We aim to give quicker decisions for grants of £15,000 or less per year.

The information below will help you decide whether to apply for Project Costs. If you want to apply for Core Costs instead, please visit our Core Costs Funding Stream page.

Please also ensure you have read our A-Z of eligibility policies and guidance and our FAQs.  

• Not-for-profit organisations working with children and young people aged 18 or under
• Organisations that are based in the UK, the Isle of Man, or the Channel Islands
• Organisations that work with children and young people who live in the UK, the Isle of Man, or the Channel Islands 
• We will only consider applications for over £15,000 per year from organisations who have registered with the appropriate regulatory body
• You can only apply for and hold one grant at any time
• If you have a current BBC Children in Need Small or Main grant that is due to end within 12 months, please see ‘We already have a grant from BBC Children in Need. When can we apply for another?‘ in our FAQ to confirm if you are eligible to apply
• If we do not fund your application we will advise you when you are next able to apply to us
• You won’t be eligible for our Project Costs stream if you have a current grant with more than 12 months left to deliver
• We seek to prioritise smaller, local organisations. For Project Grants, we understand that in certain circumstances, larger organisations can be best placed to deliver work to the communities that need it most. If your organisation has a turnover of over £2m in the most recent, complete financial year you may only apply for a Project Grant if you are:  
  • • • A Hospice  
      • A Refuge 

• If your organisation is delivering in more than one nation in the UK, you are able to apply to and hold a project grant in more than one nation (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales) at any one time
• If you apply to us for UK-wide delivery, a centrally based decision panel will consider your application. Please see our A- Z Eligibility Guidance for more information on UK Wide Delivery

The people and organisations that BBC Children in Need fund will be:

• Working with children and young people aged 18 years and under
• Working in the heart of their communities
• Putting children and young people at the centre of everything they do, from design to delivery
• Addressing challenges faced by children and young people, building their skills and resilience
• Empowering children and young people, and extending their choices in life
• Keen to keep learning about and developing their work with children and young people
• Committed to making a difference in children and young people’s lives

BBC Children in Need doesn’t fund:

• Work that statutory bodies (such as schools or local authorities) have a duty to fund
• Educational institutions, including schools, universities, and pupil referral units. Special schools are the only exception; please see our A–Z Eligibility Guidance for more detail
• Local authorities, NHS bodies, hospitals or prisons
• Capital or building projects
• Projects that promote religion
• Trips abroad, or other activity taking place outside the UK
• Medical treatment or research
• Pregnancy testing or advice, information, or counselling on pregnancy choices
• Awareness-raising work, except where targeted at children or young people most at risk
• Bursaries, sponsored places, fees, or similar costs
• Holidays where there is little or no project involvement
• Political activity, including party political organisations or direct lobbying
• Individuals
• Costs passed on to other organisations. We expect all organisations applying for funding to take full responsibility for finance, governance and safeguarding during delivery of the work
• General appeals or endowment funds
• Help with budget shortfalls or debt repayments
• Work that has already taken place – or any costs incurred – before the date we give you a decision (retrospective funding)
• Projects unable to start within 12 months of the grant award date
• Unspecified expenditure
• Full cost recovery models
• Any activity that is already being funded through another grant. We cannot fund the same activity twice. All applications should clearly demonstrate that they are either for different work, or for work with a different cohort of children and young people

How much should you apply for?

• Please note, before you submit an Expression of Interest, you must speak with your local grants team.  It is very important that you refer to our Apply for Funding, A-Z eligibility guidance and Minimum Standards pages before applying.
• You can access a template of the Expression of Interest form here
• Applications for grants of £15,000 or less per year will receive a quicker decision from us, and so will be able to start sooner if successful
• Our Project Grants stream supports projects for up to three years
• We will only consider applications for over £15,000 per year from organisations who have registered with the appropriate regulatory body. Please see more information in our A-Z Eligibility Guidance on Applications for over £15,000 per year and Unregistered Organisations
• We do not make grants of over £120,000 (or £40,000 per year), and most grants we make are for much less than this. Each year we receive a far higher number of funding requests than we are able to support. Applications for larger amounts are always more difficult for us to fund
• If your project directly supports certain groups of especially vulnerable children and young people, you’ll be unable to apply for less than £15,001 per year. In particular, this means work with children affected by child sexual exploitation, child criminal exploitation or serious youth violence. Our approach to funding work in these areas involves making larger grants, and building deeper relationships with delivery organisations

The Project Costs stream has no application deadlines, and you can apply at any time. We do not fund retrospectively and will not fund any work taken place before you receive a decision. If your request is successful, you must start spending your grant within 12 months

Plan your application date so that you will receive a decision in plenty of time before the work will begin. We receive a very high number of applications between October and January. If you submit a form during these months, it may take longer to get a decision.

After you submit your EOI form, we’ll send you an email to confirm that we have it. This email will give you more information about what happens next.

• If your EOI is not progressed to the next stage, we’ll email you to explain our decision. Due to the high volume of organisations registering through this process, we cannot give you any further feedback at this stage
• If we do decide to progress your EOI, we’ll send you a link to a full online Application Form
• Once we’ve sent you this link, you’ll be able to access the full application form in your online account
• You’ll have 30 days to submit your full application, from the day we send you the link

After you submit the full application form, we’ll send you an email to confirm we’ve received it. This email will also give you more information about what happens next.

1. First, we will check that the Project Costs you applied for are eligible for our funding
2. We will then use a standardised process to help us decide which applications to take further. Among other things, this process will consider:

• • • The current volume of applications
    • The current budget available

3. We may ask you to book a time slot with us for a brief phone call about your safeguarding procedures
4. We may also ask for more information about your application or your work
5. Applications are sent to a decision-making meeting in your region or nation, where a funding recommendation is made
6. Recommendations are passed to our trustees, and a final decision made about whether to offer you a grant

Once a decision is made, we’ll email you to confirm the outcome.

What happens when you get a decision?

If your application is successful, we’ll send you an email to confirm this. The email will explain more about what happens next. You can also find more information in the ‘I have a grant’ section.

• There may be some further conditions on your grant. These are changes you’ll need to make, or things you’ll need to tell us, before we can award you the agreed funding
• You must start spending the grant within 12 months of the date that we email you our decision

If your application is unsuccessful, we’ll send you an email to confirm this. The email will give you a brief reason for our decision, and include details about when you can apply again.

If you wish to request further feedback, details on how to do this will be contained in your decision letter.

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