Ending the global education crisis means helping children all over the world get better access to learning and support services. Theirworld helps to fund initiatives that share our vision of improving access to education and development for every young person.
Theirworld’s Small Grants Programme gives grants of up to £10,000 to registered charities and non-profits helping disadvantaged and overlooked young people in the UK and around the world.
Local community and voluntary organisations are crucial to broadening access to education and improving health outcomes for young people. They tend to come into being because of a passion for helping advance opportunities for children. However, they can often lack the resources or profile to secure the funding they need to deliver on their vision.
Theirworld’s Small Grants Programme was set up in 2004 with the purpose of helping organisations all over the world carry out their work to support and empower youth. The programme focuses on issuing grants to groups that aim to improve community health and education, particularly in relation to children and caregivers.
Small grants typically range from £1,000 to £10,000, and usually take less time to both apply for and be awarded than more substantial grants. They can be a way for community organisations to pilot new work or get a project off the ground.
Theirworld is proud to have been able to provide funding for dozens of programmes, projects and initiatives in the UK and around the world that share our vision of a world where every child has the best start in life, a safe place to learn and skills for the future.
We couldn’t do our work without the help of Theirworld. With their funding we’ve created and distributed booklets across the UK - from hospices to schools - to help young people with their grief.Sibling Support, an organisation that helps young people cope with the loss of a brother or sister
From mentoring programmes to sports provision, children’s cancer care to school-based projects, our small grants can make a little go a long way for children in vulnerable circumstances.
In the UK, Theirworld’s small grants have helped literacy programmes in areas where English is often not young people’s first language, and healthy breakfast initiatives for homeless children.
Our commitment to improving opportunities for girls is reflected in grants to organisations delivering inclusive education in countries including Greece, Zambia and Uganda. Children living on the street in Pakistan and unaccompanied minors in Greece have benefited, as have under-resourced schools and early years programmes in South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Kenya.
We’ve also delivered grants to numerous programmes whose aim is to help young people with emotional difficulties, including children who have lost siblings and young women who lack positive role models.
Theirworld’s Small Grants Programme means we can help local organisations making a big difference to the lives of young people. The breadth of the programme’s reach reflects our goal to end the global learning crisis and help provide the quality education every child deserves.
Girls Out Loud’s Big Sister programme matches female role models with Year 8 girls from an inner-city Manchester school. The girls might be struggling with identity issues, low self-esteem, poor body confidence, low aspirations or, often, parents who are unable to look after them because of their own problems.
This UK charity helps children who have lost a sibling by producing booklets, memory boxes and animated films. Its videos cover relevant topics such as funerals, exam help for grieving siblings and returning to school after a death
RISE – which stands for Rebuild, Ignite, Succeed, Empower – is Chance UK’s programme for girls aged eight to 12. It supports girls who are experiencing emotional difficulties, and its mentors help girls build better mental health.
Our grant helped charity Ashanti Development build a house in the Asase Bunso farming community in Ghana to act as accommodation for school teachers. Previously the local primary school struggled to retain teachers for its 200 students because of a lack of local housing.
Five young women from poor rural Zambian communities were funded by a Theirworld grant to go to college. The high school graduates will be able to study, live near campus and take up three-month work placements.
On the Greek island of Chios, home to many refugees, a grant from Theirworld allowed Action for Education to welcome two groups of young women to take part in workshops and activities to develop skills, promote learning, provide opportunities and foster self-confidence.
The multicultural Misty Meadows School in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, struggled to cater to children for whom English wasn’t their first language. A Theirworld grant meant the school was able to appoint a qualified teacher who is responsible for literacy and numeracy lessons, as well as social and emotional development, for the first and second grades.
68 children were able to go to school or vocational institutions as a result of Theirworld’s grant to Youth and Women for Opportunities Uganda. The project in question was devised to improve access to quality education and work skills for orphans, vulnerable children and children with disabilities and their families.
All applicants must complete an application form, which should be submitted by 5pm (BST) on 28th February. All applications will be acknowledged. Applications are reviewed annually by Theirworld Trustees and all successful applicants will be notified by email or in writing. Where appropriate, grants for periods of longer than one year will be considered. If awarded a grant, mid-term and final reports are required; report templates will be provided with confirmation of grants awarded. Charities who have received a grant, or have been unsuccessful in their previous application, may not re-apply within 12 months.
To comply with the Data Protection Act 1998, applicants are required to consent to the use of personal data supplied by them in the processing and review of their application. This includes transfer to and use by such individuals and organisations as the Charity deems appropriate. The Charity requires the assurance of the applicant that personal data about any other individual is supplied to the Charity with his/her consent.
The Charity does NOT fund:
Theirworld only funds registered charities, or not-for-profit organisations. In selecting Small Grant recipients, we are looking for projects where a small amount of funding can help make a big impact at a local level to drive progress in one of our three thematic areas: the best start in life, a safe place to learn, or skills for the future.
Projects will be prioritised to support local organisations to scale up efforts, test a new idea, or provide funding to deliver important services to marginalised children and youth. Priority will be given to projects focused on one of our five cross-cutting strategic issues linked to education: climate action, gender equality, inclusion, peace and security, and health and nutrition.
To apply for a grant please download and fill out the full application form below, and email to [email protected] along with your most up-to-date safeguarding policy and most recent annual accounts.
