Welsh Government - Democratic Engagement Grant
From 2025-26 to 2027-28, the Welsh Government has made £400,000 available, per year, to improve democratic engagement in Wales. We want to support local authorities, third sector, and not-for-profit organisations working in Wales to pursue an innovative approach to engaging those typically under-represented in our democracy.
Our Programme for government includes a commitment to reduce the democratic deficit.
This grant supports our aim to ensure every citizen can engage with democracy.
This includes but is not limited to:
Young people,
Disabled people,
People from lower socio-economic backgrounds or those who are long-term unemployed,
Non-UK nationals,
People from minority-ethnic groups.
We aim to fund a range of organisations to ensure all groups can be reached. We will also be looking to ensure a geographic spread. The grant panel will consider value for money in their decision making.
Who can apply
Who can apply for the grant?
Welsh based organisations that are registered with The Charity Commission.
'Not-for-profit' organisations.
Local authorities in Wales .
We welcome applications that propose partnership and collaborative working. There should be one lead applicant who will act as the grant holder and data controller.
We will not accept applications from any organisation with a party-political affiliation.
Restrictions
Whilst there are no restrictions on who can apply, we ask for you to consider value for money in your bid. This is a key theme for our Grant Panel and those applications which cannot demonstrate value for money will not be funded.
We intend to fund multiple organisations with this fund, so we ensure that value for money is a key consideration when allocating funding to maximise it's reach and impact.
Eligible Expenditure
We will not accept applications focused on communication campaigns. Whilst communications can be an element of your proposed project, it cannot be the main focal point.
We won’t fund applications looking for funding to purchase technology to support the delivery of hybrid council meetings.
Applications proposing to create bespoke resources (both physical and digital) will be expected to evidence they are not duplicating material that exists elsewhere.
How to apply
There are two application forms which can be submitted for consideration, with differing values and assessment processes. All applications will receive a confirmation of receipt.
Applications of £1000 or less:
Bids for funding of £1000 or less can be submitted at any time and are not restricted to application windows.
Applications will be assessed by the Democratic Engagement Grant Manager and two colleagues from within the Elections Division.
We aim to inform applicants of the outcome of their application within 7 working days of submission.
Applications above £1000:
Applications for funding above £1000 must be submitted within the agreed application window periods, which will be noted on our website (here).
Applications will go through an initial sifting process to ensure the application meets the criteria.
If your application does not pass the initial sift, you will be notified of the decision with feedback to clarify the decision. It is important to note that an unsuccessful application does not prevent you from applying again and the grant manager will be available to meet with you to discuss the feedback.
Applications that pass the sift will be considered by a grant panel. The panel is made up of colleagues from across the Welsh Government, who sit outside of the Elections Division. The grant panel will consider value for money in their decision making and due diligence will be undertaken on all organisations applying for funding prior to a grant award letter being issued.
Applicants will be informed of the outcome within 7 working days of the panel’s decision.
Previous Success
Democratic Engagement Grant in 2024/25
In 2024/25 we funded a total of 13 projects, delivered by 11 organisations, via the Democratic Engagement Grant. The organisations were:
Aberystwyth Students Union - 2 projects
British Deaf Association
Boys & Girls Club Wales - 2 projects
City of Cardiff Council
Eco Hub Aber
ElectHER
Scouts Cymru
Shout Out UK
Swansea MAD
Tenby Town Council
The Politics Project
The budget for the DEG in 2024/25 was £300,000, of which £274,927.04 was committed to those 13 projects.
Since the launch of the DEG in February 2022 and up to 31 March 2025, we have released £544,960.67 of Welsh Government funding to support democratic engagement activity in Wales.
For more information, and to apply, visit: https://www.gov.wales/democratic-engagement-grant-application-forms