Funding community projects

The programme has two focus areas. You must choose at least one.

• Prehabilitation – projects that provide ongoing physical and mental health support for residents who are waiting to access healthcare services
• Peer support and community groups – projects that bring people together with shared healthcare and community experience to provide support and advice to others.

Types of projects we are looking to support, include:

• projects that help north west London residents improve their understanding of health and the health care system, and how to navigate it
• projects that promote healthy lifestyles, such as physical and mental health activities, and healthy diets.

We are aware that some people would benefit from receiving one-to-one sessions, such as counselling (whether one session or more). Our funding is to benefit as many people as possible. So, while we would not discount any project that offers one-to-one activities, we would need to assess their quality and value for money.

Types of projects we cannot support include:

• tackling or reducing poverty (e.g. food banks)
• single or multiple social trips within or outside London
• religious and political activities
• how to access benefits
• the purchase of office or medical equipment/devices, or vehicles
• the refurbishment of your office space or capital works.

Project service user groups

We are aware that there are groups of people who face significant barriers to access healthcare than others. While we aim to be inclusive, our funding will prioritise the following groups:

• Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities including Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities.
• Children below 15 years old
• Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer/questioning, asexual+
• Low-income families
• Older people above 65 years old
• People with disabilities including those with a learning disability and autistic people
• People with multiple long-term health conditions
• People experiencing homelessness, drug and alcohol dependence, vulnerable migrants, sex workers, people in contact with the justice system, victims of modern slavery and other socially excluded groups.

Your project service users do not have to be patients at any of the ICHT hospitals, but they must reside in north west London.​​​​​

Take the Eligibility Quiz to see if you are eligible to apply . You can also find out more in the Guidance Notes that you can download.

What support do I need?

Your Chief Executive, Finance Director or Chair of Trustees must have read your full application and sign the Signatures of Approval Form that must be uploaded to your online application. You can download the Signatures of Approval Form here.

• Your funding request must be a minimum of £5,000 and maximum of £50,000.
• Your project duration must be a minimum of 12 months and up to 24 months, to include set-up and evaluation periods.
• Your project must directly support and impact north west London residents across any of our 8 boroughs.
• Your project can be new or expand on a current provision (it cannot be just to fund current provision)
• You can apply as a single applicant or be part of a consortium with 1 lead applicant. If you are part of a consortium, you cannot apply as a single applicant, i.e., apply/benefit twice.

There is only one call in 2024/25. The application window will open on Tuesday 4 June 2024. The application deadline is 12pm on Thursday 29 August 2024.

Remember to upload your completed Signatures of Approval Form with your application on Flexigrant, You can download the form here. You must also upload any other governance and financial information we request with your application. We cannot accept any of these documents separately.

You’ll need to apply online via our grants platform, Flexigrant. You must open a Flexigrant account. Use the Sample Application Form that you can download to work up your application before you use the online form. ​​​

The Guidance notes and sample application form provide detailed information on eligibility criteria and how to apply for a grant (for eligible organisations). If, having read and reviewed these materials, you still require support, please email Philip Howard at grants@imperialcharity.org.uk.

When emailing please write Compassionate Communities 2024/25 in the subject line, and tell us what additional clarification or information you require.  Please be clear and concise (ideally outlining each issue or question in bullet points).

You can also download these documents.

• Guidance Notes
• Sample Application Form
• Sample Progress Report
• Sample End of Grant Report

You must attend a welcome event on Monday 2 December 2024 where you will meet other grantees and charity staff.

At the event, we will explain how to manage your grant, request payment and our grant terms and conditions (Ts&Cs) as set out in your grant award letter. Please note: our Ts&Cs are not negotiable.

Make sure you accept our grant offer on Flexigrant within 10 working days after the event. When you accept our offer, Flexigrant will ask for your project start and end dates. Once you’ve done this, you can start to spend your grant.

See the Guidance Notes for details on Reporting requirements and grant payments.