Application FAQs

Eligibility to apply is set out in our eligibility criteria page. 

The Childhood Trust offers funding to charities whose work meets the needs of children and young people in London experiencing poverty. Our focus is to fund projects that can demonstrate alleviation of the impacts of poverty, across any of our four key impact areas:  

• Children are Healthy: Projects which focus on improving the physical health of children, addressing food insecurity or enabling physical activity programmes. 

• Children are Resilient: Projects that promote, restore, and protect children’s mental health and emotional wellbeing.  

• Children are Safe: Projects that improve children’s quality of life and sense of belonging by investing in programmes that promote community cohesion and improving relationships.

• Children are Confident: Projects involving employment, training, and education-based services; services that enhance life and work-readiness by raising confidence and a passion for learning.  

That is up to your charity to decide, we cannot offer advice on what you should apply for. You must ensure your project meets the eligibility criteria, and that your project is clearly focussed on alleviating the impacts of poverty for children and young people living in London. 

For the pledge model, we will match-fund up to 25% of your campaign total, up to a maximum of £50,000 (campaign total £200,000). This is subject to raising at least 75% through your pledge and public donations during the campaign. We will not match fund more than 10% of your charity’s total annual income (as recorded in your most recent filed accounts). 

For the 1:1 model, we will match-fund up to 50% of your campaign total, up to a maximum of £5,000 (campaign total £10,000). We will not match fund more than 10% of your charity’s total annual income (as recorded in your most recent filed accounts). 

For the pledge model, The Childhood Trust considers applications for a minimum total campaign target of £8000, and up to a maximum total campaign target of £200,000. For the pilot 1:1 model, we will consider applications for a minimum total campaign target of £4000, and up to a maximum total campaign target of £10,000. It is your decision to set a target, but your match-funding offer cannot be more than 10% of your charity’s total annual income. Therefore, you cannot set a total campaign target that is more than 40% of your annual income (as recorded in your most recent filed accounts). 

The Childhood Trust will review applications to check against eligibility criteria. If your organisation meets all the criteria, you will be invited to complete the next stage of the process, which is a due diligence form. You should hear within two weeks of the application deadline if you are being invited to the due diligence stage, or if your application is unsuccessful at this point. 

We do not accept late applications.