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UK Financial Literacy Foundation Grants Programme 2026-2027
The Foundation’s Aim
The UK Financial Literacy Foundation (formerly Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment Future Foundation) is a grant-giving charity committed to advancing knowledge and improving skills in financial capacities and capabilities, working particularly with young people and others from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Focus this year
For this year’s grants programme we will continue to focus on support for projects that are working to improve financial literacy but will target our grant making in particular geographic areas* which have higher indicators of deprivation and disadvantage. We also intend to target the support at specific beneficiary groups.
Who can apply?
Applicant groups must be formally constituted and operate for public benefit, for example: Registered charities, community groups, Charitable Incorporated Organisations, Community Interest Companies (limited by guarantee), Community Benefit Societies or other not for profit organisations which are based in the United Kingdom.
Groups who have received a grant from us before are welcome to apply again, provided that the total amount you will have received from us (including the amount being requested in this round) is no greater than £250k.
Grants available: Single year grants from £20,000 to £50,000.
Eligibility Criteria
You must:
be able to evidence two years of audited or independently examined accounts
hold reserves of less than £5m.
demonstrate expertise and experience in improving financial literacy.
operate a defined and robust Safeguarding Policy.
Applications are invited from projects working with the groups listed below to:
build knowledge and understanding around financial literacy.
promote the ability of beneficiaries to manage their personal finances confidently and effectively.
Guidance Note: Improving financial literacy must be an intentional outcome of the project, rather than a positive side-effect of another activity, and projects should be designed to engage participants on a longer-term basis, rather than a one-off event.
Location
We are seeking to support projects delivered services in the following areas:
Yorkshire and the Humber, specifically the following Local Authority Areas:
Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council
Bradford Council (City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council)
Calderdale Council
City of Doncaster Council
City of York Council
East Riding of Yorkshire Council
Hull City Council
Kirklees Council
Leeds City Council
North East Lincolnshire Council
North Lincolnshire Council
North Yorkshire Council
Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council
Sheffield City Council
Wakefield Council
Beneficiaries:
For this round we are looking for projects working with the following groups:
Primary aged children (5-11)
Offenders and Ex-Offenders (any age) - work that aims to reduce reoffending
Looked After Children or those At Risk of Care – up to age 17
Care Leavers - aged 18-24
Priority will be given to projects which:
provide opportunities for capacity building (for example, by training teachers to deliver financial literacy training)
can demonstrate a scalable model and proven track record.
Application Process
1. Self Assessment Checklist
We will initially ask you to complete a self-assessment checklist to make sure that you are likely to be eligible to apply for funding from us.
Guidance Note: passing this stage does not guarantee funding and we will ask more due diligence questions later in the process.
2. Expression of Interest
You will then complete an Expression of Interest where we will capture basic details of your organisation and ask you for an outline of your intended project including the expected number of beneficiaries, and a bit about your experience of delivering these kinds of programmes.
3. Full Application
We will shortlist the Expressions of Interest and if your project is something we may be interested in funding, we will send you an invitation to submit a full application form. The full application will include our full Due Diligence checks and an opportunity to provide a detailed and fully costed proposal for your project.
We need to know
what specific activities you will undertake, where and who with.
what the current need is for your target audience.
how you will identify and engage potential beneficiaries.
how the outcomes of your project will be monitored and evaluated.
what the project budget is, by spend category.
What can we fund?
Project costs.
Core costs - where these are required to enable the delivery of the project.
Capital expenditure – where this is required to enable the delivery of the project. We would not expect capital costs to exceed 25% of the overall project cost. Please contact us to discuss further if you think you may need to exceed this.
What won’t we fund?
Projects that are not focussed on improving financial literacy as their primary purpose – for example, in this round we will not expect to fund debt agencies or debt support.
Single events.
Activities that include the promotion of a particular religious or political belief.
Projects which have already started or are already completed.
Individuals.
Statutory bodies – including schools, prisons, town and parish councils.
Profit-making organisations.
Activity which is a statutory responsibility of a public body.
(list not exclusive)
Schedule / Timeframe
The deadline for Expressions of Interest is 2 August 2026
If shortlisted, your full application will need to be submitted by 27 September 2026 and you must have availability for interview at a mutually agreed time before 17 November 2026
Funding decisions will be notified in December 2026, so the project/ funding start date you select must be no earlier than January 2027.
We expect grants to be spent within 13 months of award and reports on progress will be required at 6 months and at the end of the grant period.
To start your application click the button below. You will be able to save your progress and return to your application later if needed.
Fair Processing notice: Your data will be processed by the UK Financial Literacy Foundation (charity no. 1201304) and our grant administration partners Capstone Circle (company no. 16521563) for the purpose of administering this grants programme. For more information, please see our privacy notices here: UKFLF link and Capstone Circle link.