Small Grants Programme
About the project
Challenge
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.
Approach
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.
A shared vision
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
Making a big difference
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.
Some of our recent grantees
Girls Out Loud
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.
Sibling Support
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
Chance UK
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.
Ashanti Development
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.
The Butterfly Tree
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.
Action for Education
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.
Misty Meadows School
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.
Youth and Women for Opportunities Uganda
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.
Applications for the Small Grants Programme are now closed
Thank you for your interest in partnering with Theirworld. Applications for the Small Grants Programme are now closed.
To be the first to hear when the next application round opens, please:
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We’ll share all future grant announcements and opportunities there.