How much funding is available?
We’re awarding grants through this funding round from £50,000 to £249,999 over a period of up to three years.
Your application can be for one, two or three years’ funding. For example, you could apply for £150,000 in total over three years, which would be £50,000 per year.
What we fund
We are awarding funding that improves access to good quality, affordable wheelchairs and mobility equipment for disabled people. This includes:
- Grant programmes for wheelchairs and mobility equipment.
- Loan schemes for wheelchairs and mobility equipment.
- Assessments.
- Maintenance.
What we do not fund
- Wheelchairs and associated equipment for competitive or social sport.
- Ramps/construction for wheelchair access.
What your grant can be used for
Your grant can be used for:
- Funding for schemes, programmes and initiatives that already exist, and provide best practice solutions, but need support to remain operational or scale up the service they provide to help more disabled people.
- Staff and volunteer training or costs.
- Full cost recovery grants which include indirect costs.
- Local or regional initiatives to increase awareness of wheelchair service provision.
Your grant cannot be used for:
- Funding for services and activities that have already been provided.
- Overseas travel.
- Construction projects and/or building works.
- Activities or services unrelated to transport for disabled people.
- Social investment or venture philanthropy.
- Sponsorship for any individual, group or company.
- Medical care or medical research.
Who your project can support
Grant funding must be used to support disabled people living in the UK.
Projects can provide support on a national scale or focus on specific regions, addressing local needs and challenges.
We're particularly interested in funding projects that deliver meaningful impact in deprived areas, or to underrepresented groups.
Who can apply
We're particularly interested in applications from DDPOs (Deaf and Disabled People’s Organisations).
We can accept applications for funding if your organisation has been active for at least three years and is one of the following:
- Incorporated Charity
- Company Limited by Guarantee
- Community Interest Company (CIC)
- Community Benefit Society
We cannot accept applications from:
- Unincorporated Associations
- Statutory Bodies, Hospitals or Health Authorities
- Companies Limited by Shares
- Organisations from outside the UK
- Individuals
- Sole Traders
- Political pressure groups, or organisations primarily engaged in political activity
- Projects or services that proselytise a specific ethical or religious belief, and/or exclude individuals that do not hold a specific belief
If you are unable to complete an expression of interest and / or application form online, you can share your accessible communication requirements with us. We’re always happy to talk about other ways for you to tell us about your idea.
Governance and finances
To be considered for funding your organisation’s Board must:
- be made up of at least three members, and
- the majority of Board members must be unrelated to each other
Applicant organisations should have:
- an annual income of at least £50,000 for each of the last three financial years. This is assessed against accounts filed with the relevant regulator. We cannot accept management accounts as evidence of this.
- free reserves equivalent to at least three months’ worth of unrestricted expenditure at the point of application.
We will review the latest set of accounts filed to determine the level of free reserves you hold as part of our financial due diligence.
The widely recognised definition of free reserves is:
(total unrestricted funds – unrestricted fixed assets) / total unrestricted expenditure
If your organisation’s turnover and reserves meet these requirements at the point of application, but falls below them while waiting for your grant to be assessed, we will still consider your application provided the difference between your new position and the requirement is not material (10%+).
We also ask that your organisation holds the following policies and keeps them regularly updated. Copies of these will need to be submitted as part of the application process:
- Safeguarding policy
- Whistleblowing policy
- Equal Opportunities policy
If you’ve already received a grant from us
Please speak to your Grant Manager in the first instance before considering an application.
We're generally unable to consider applications for continuation funding if you have more than six months left on your award.
If you’ve previously applied and been unsuccessful
We aim to provide all organisations with meaningful feedback if their application is unsuccessful.
We ask that unsuccessful applicants do not reapply to the same funding round for at least three months following a decision.
If you were previously unsuccessful and would like to reapply with a similar project, please contact us. We may be able to provide feedback to inform your application.
Organisations we’ve funded
Grants we’ve awarded that are similar to this funding round include:
REMAP – Grant award of £230,124. To support the ongoing provision of an accessible, effective service to disabled people throughout the UK, who require modifications and adaptions to their wheelchairs.
Aspire - To reinstate a grant programme, offering financial assistance to people with spinal cord injuries in the UK, towards purchasing and maintaining suitable wheelchairs and related mobility equipment.