Community grants FAQ
View this page in British Sign Language (BSL).
Below are answers to common questions about the National Deaf Children’s Society community grants programme. If you can’t find what you need, please contact community[email protected].
Funding priorities and eligibility
What are you looking for in an application?
We’re excited to review your proposals to develop language and communication for deaf children and young people. Language and communication can be spoken language, signed language, reading or writing.
We’ve chosen six funding priorities that we hope, together with your ideas, will help to transform how deaf children and young people develop language and communication.
We’ll support projects that aim to do at least one of the following.
- Increase the overall number of deaf children and families accessing opportunities to develop language and communication in their community setting.
- Reach new people, communities and groups previously excluded from opportunities to develop language and communication.
- Encourage innovative, high quality approaches to developing the language and communication skills of deaf children and their families.
- Encourage partnerships within communities so different groups and sectors work together to provide opportunities to develop language and communication.
- Encourage sustainable models that will continue beyond the period of funding.
- Projects that lead to positive outcomes for deaf children. This could be directly, or through their families. Examples of positive impact could be improvements in language and communication for deaf children, or increased knowledge or confidence in families supporting this for their child.
We’ll prioritise projects that contribute to more than one of our priority aims.
How much can I apply for?
We typically award grants ranging from £1,000 to £10,000 but will consider larger amounts. If you’re seeking funding over £10,000, please get in touch.
What if my proposal fits more than one of the six funding priorities?
That’s great; we welcome applications that fit more than one priority. Please tell us all the funding priorities that fit your funding proposal.
Grant application details
Can I apply for funding to cover the running costs of a project?
We’ll support essential costs to run your language and communication project such as venue hire, transport or promotional costs.
Can I apply for costs such as sessional worker costs?
Yes, we’ll fund sessional worker costs that support the development of language and communication for deaf children and young people.
Do you fund work with parents?
Yes, as long as it will directly benefit deaf children and young people’s language and communication development. Please give evidence of these outcomes.
Do you fund equipment?
We’ll consider funding equipment essential to the running of the project, such as play or tech items, but we cannot fund fixed equipment costs such as lighting.
If my application is declined, can I reapply in the next grant round?
Yes, but if an application has been rejected recently, a reapplication may also be unsuccessful unless you make changes to your proposal.
Can I apply for more than one grant?
No, we would prefer that you focus on one application with us at any time in a 12-month period.
What don’t you fund?
We don’t fund any work that has already taken place, for-profit projects, salaries, alcohol, VAT that can be reclaimed. Your organisation must be based within the UK, our Community Grant does not fund work outside of the UK.
We do not fund Statutory work. Services that are considered standard provision by government-funded education or health services. This includes:
- Teacher of the Deaf visits
- teaching, learning, and assessment under the national curriculum
- provision of hearing technology or audiological assessments
- assessments of language and literacy skills (see details here)
- meeting requirements outlined in statutory plans
- speech and language therapy.
This list is not exhaustive. Please contact us if you have any questions about our funding exclusions.
Application process and next steps
When should I apply?
You can apply between Thursday 10 April 2025 and Thursday 8 May 2025. We cannot fund work that has already taken place or any costs incurred before we provide a funding decision. Please plan your project start date to ensure you receive a decision in time.
We aim to communicate funding decisions by Friday 27 June 2025. If your application is successful, you must spend your grant within 12 months.
If I miss the deadline, will I be able to apply in another round?
Yes, we hope to open a new round of community grants in autumn 2025. We’ll announce new rounds on our website and social media.
How do you decide if an application is successful or not?
A staff panel reviews each application based on these factors:
- eligibility of the application
- strength of the proposal, including how well it meets needs and the impact it will make
- strength of the organisation applying, including governance and valid bank account.
Can I get feedback if my application is turned down?
Yes. If your project does not meet the eligibility criteria, we’ll send you an email outlining why. If your project does reach the assessment stage but is turned down, we’ll send you an email with feedback on your application.
How do I find out more information?
Please read our application guidance. If you have any further questions, contact us at [email protected].
How do I leave feedback about the Community Grants programme?
To share your feedback, good or bad, please contact us at [email protected]
Essential documents for your application
Can I email you my bank statement and budget?
We prefer you to submit your organisation’s bank statement and project budget via the online application form to help the Community Grants team efficiently process applications. If you’re having trouble filling out the online form, please contact us at [email protected].
How do I add my budget and bank statement to the application form?
- Name and save an electronic version of your documents on your computer in an easy-to-find location.
- When asked to upload your documents, click ‘Browse’. Find and select your file, then click ‘OK’.
- The file path (the name of the document and its location) will appear in the box below. Click ‘Upload’ to attach the document.
- Once uploaded, your document name will show in the box, and you can click the ‘Continue’ button.
- Repeat these steps for all documents you need to upload.
Help! I’m having trouble completing my online application
Can I email you my application?
We prefer you to complete our online application form to help the community grants team efficiently process applications. If you’re having trouble filling out the online form, please contact us at [email protected].
Can you help me with my application?
If you have any questions about your application, please contact [email protected]. We’ll do our best to answer your questions, but we cannot help you write your application.