Children in Need - Core Costs

Up to £120k available for Core Costs to support essential organisational and administrative spending. These are the key expenses required to keep your organisation running.

Who can apply

• Not-for-profit organisations working with children and young people aged 18 or under

• 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

• These include the Charity Commission for England and Wales, Charity Commission for Northern Ireland and the Scottish Charity Register

• If you are a Company limited by Guarantee, you must have registered with Companies House

• You can only apply for and hold one grant at any time.

• If you have a current BBC Children in Need grant that is due to end within 12 months, you can re-apply. If successful with your new application, funds will not be released until your current grant has ended.

• 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 Core Costs stream if you have a current grant with more than 12 months left to deliver

• We seek to prioritise smaller, local organisations

• As a result, we will rarely fund Core Costs for organisations with an annual turnover of more than £1 million in the most recent, complete financial year

• We understand that some organisations with higher income deliver vital work for children and young people. We will accept applications from the following organisations regardless of turnover:

  • Hospices (including children’s hospices)

  • Housing Associations

  • Applications delivering work nationwide (across a whole nation) or UK-wide (across multiple nations within the UK)

• We understand that, in some circumstances, larger and/or national organisations may be best-placed to deliver work to communities who need it most

• Organisations may only hold one Core Costs grant at any time, regardless of where in the UK they deliver work

Restrictions

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 Guidance for more detail

• Local government, prisons, or NHS bodies

• Capital or building projects

• Work that promotes 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

• 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)

• Expenditure unable to start within 12 months of the grant award date

• Unspecified expenditure

Eligible expenditure

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, particularly in times of crisis

• 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

How to apply

Plan your application in detail. Poor planning is a common cause of unsuccessful applications.

Read our A-Z Guidance to help ensure you’re only applying for things that we can fund.

Read our Minimum Standards for Grantmaking to check that your organisation is eligible. If these standards are not met, we will be unable to support your work.

Submit your EOI form for us to consider against our national and regional priorities. We aim to give you a decision regarding your Expression of Interest Form within six weeks of receiving it.

If we decide to progress your EOI to the next stage, we will send you a link to a full application form. You will then gain access this form through your online account.

For more information, and to apply, visit: https://www.bbcchildreninneed.co.uk/grants/apply/core-costs/