Holiday Grants for Children
Grants of between £500 and £3,000 are available for UK youth clubs, charities, not-for-profit groups and schools to provide recreational trips or holidays for children aged 13 years and younger who live in an area of high deprivation and are experiencing disability or disadvantage.
The Henry Smith Foundation is one of the oldest leading independent grant-makers in the UK, having been founded in 1628. It's Holiday Grants for Children Grant Programme is designed to provide children aged 13 years or younger who are disadvantaged, disabled or from areas of high deprivation, with a recreational holiday or outing they would not otherwise have the opportunity to experience. This could be, for example, a day trip or a longer residential of up to 7 days in a countryside or city location, as long as it is outside of the children's immediate locality and experience. The programme regularly funds trips to the seaside, camping expeditions or visits to adventure activity centres. Trips should focus on enabling children to have fun rather than be for educational purposes. The Foundation is particularly interested in contributing to trips that would not take place without its funding.
The Henry Smith Foundation has a specific interest in supporting applications benefiting children living in the 20% most deprived areas of the country according to the National Indices of Deprivation.
Registered charities, youth groups, not-for-profit organisations and schools across the UK may apply for a one-off grant of between £500 and £3,000. Grant awards are normally limited to a maximum of 66% of the project cost up to the maximum grant figure of £3,000, so there is a 33% match funding requirement for this grant scheme.
The next deadline for applications is on Wednesday 19 August 2026 for trips taking place between Friday 1st May and Wednesday 30 September 2026.
A further application window is scheduled to open on Thursday 20 August 2026 with a deadline of Thursday 19 November 2026. This is for trips taking place between Thursday 1st October and Thursday 31st December 2026.
Please note that grants tend to be awarded on a "first come" basis until the available budget in each round has been fully allocated. Early application is therefore advised.
Further information, guidance, an Eligibility Checklist and an online application form is available on the Foundation's website.