Grants of up to £200,000 over 3 years are available to UK organisations that are providing comprehensive 'Welcome' support to refugees, migrants and asylum seekers to start rebuilding their lives, feel at home and become active members of their local communities.
‘Welcome’ is the process of support and inclusion that helps newcomers to the UK – by whom they mean refugees, people seeking asylum and other migrants – to settle, navigate and participate in community life. Effective Welcome combines practical and specialist assistance – eg with immigration, housing, welfare, mental health – with social and community activities that build trust, connection and a sense of belonging. Activities like cooking and language classes, sports and volunteering also provide trusted entry points for people to access specialist support.
The aim of the fund is to help strengthen organisations and partnerships that provide this help while also working to influence local conditions for Welcome. This will enable people to get support and help local communities strengthen cultures of Welcome.
Those applying should have ongoing, long-term access to safe physical spaces and have a proven track record of providing comprehensive help through three core elements of ‘Welcome’ work:
- Specialist support: for example, IAA-regulated immigration advice, help with rights and entitlements, destitution and housing matters, healthcare and therapeutic trauma support, English language education and employment. They anticipate that grant holders will deliver much of this work, but aren’t prescriptive. They understand that enabling high-quality support might mean referring people to specialist providers.
- Enabling belonging: through regular social contact and relationship building within newcomer communities and between newcomers and other residents, for example through activities involving food, sport or the arts, volunteering or community sponsorship.
- Influencing work: to help improve local conditions for Welcome. For example, strengthening links with local employers and educators or influencing local authority policies and practices that impact newcomers’ rights and ability to connect with and participate in the community
They recognise that organisations may have formed partnerships to deliver the different elements of Welcome work, building on the strengths of different organisations. They are open to funding formal partnerships with the charitable purpose of supporting newcomers to the UK if they have a track record, robust governance and a single lead grant holder who meets their eligibility criteria.
To be eligible, you must be a charitable organisation registered in and working in the UK and have:
- at least one year worth of accounts that have been audited or independently examined
- up-to-date Safeguarding policy and practices
- a record of at least 18 months providing the three core elements of Welcome work
- support for newcomers as your charitable purpose, mission or objects
- ongoing, long-term access to safe, accessible physical space or spaces where the work is delivered. You should own, rent or have written permission to use the space.
For partnerships, this needs to:
- Have been established with the charitable purpose to support newcomers to the UK
- Have a record of at least 18 months providing the three core elements of Welcome work
- Have a lead partner in place to manage the grant that meets their charitable eligibility criteria for organisations
- Have a formal partnership agreement in place between all partners setting out clear roles and responsibilities, with a suitable governance framework
There is a webinar about the fund on their website.
The deadline to submit an Expression of Interest is Wednesday 26 August 2026, 5pm.