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Community and Shared Transport: Small Grants  

This funding round aims to make an immediate impact by awarding funding to develop, expand and improve community transport options for disabled people. 

Focussing on small community transport operators to support the delivery of community transport. Requests can include the costs for staff, vehicles, associated running costs, MiDAS training etc. 

NOTE: Applications for this funding round will open on 4 September 2025. 

Value: £50,000 to £150,000

Duration: 1 to 3 years

Deadline: 23 December 2025

How much funding is available?  

We’re awarding grants through this funding round from £50,000 to £150,000 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.   

If your organisation currently receives a community transport grant from the Motability Foundation, please speak with your Grant Manager before applying.

What we fund 

We are awarding funding that improves access to community transport services for disabled people. This includes:   

  • Dial-a-Ride services.   
  • Volunteer car schemes.    
  • Non-emergency patient transport.  
  • If you're a school considering an application, please contact us directly before submitting.

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. 
  • Funding to increase the number of vehicles available to help organisations support disabled people access the wider community. 
  • Full cost recovery grants which include indirect costs. 

Your grant cannot be used for:

  • Shuttle services – refer to the use of a vehicle exclusively for transporting members of the applicant organisation solely between two designated venues for example, from the organisation’s primary facility to a specific event location. These services are limited to internal use and do not extend to providing transportation within the broader community.
  • 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 or service can support

Grant funding must be used to support disabled people living in the UK.

Projects or services can provide support on a national scale or focus on specific regions, addressing local needs and challenges.

We're particularly interested in applications from DDPOs (Deaf and Disabled People’s Organisations), and funding projects or services that deliver meaningful impact in deprived areas, or to underrepresented groups.

Who can apply

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 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