A new funding strategy has been announced by the Steel Charitable Trust which is expected to be effective for the next five years.
It will support charities working with or on behalf of children and young people under 26, with an emphasis on creating educational and/or access opportunities for those in circumstances, groups, or locations that face economic challenges, social marginalisation or poor outcomes in later life.
The fund offers restricted grants of a minimum of £10,000 to not-for-profit organisations with an annual income of at least £50,000 in the previous financial year.
This does not preclude specifically stated running or capital costs, such as contributions to a salary for a stated role, detailed IT upgrades or a building renovation. New project costs or contributions towards on-going projects or programmes are also permitted.
Grants awarded could be one-off or multi-year. Most one-off grants fall in the range £10,000-£25,000.
Applications are accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis. The table below shows the planned timescale:
| Applications received between | Reviewed at meeting in | Outcome by |
| 18 Nov 2024 and 10 Jan 2025 | mid March | end March |
| 10 Mar and 15 Apr 2025 | mid June | end June |
| 16 Apr and 15 Jul 2025 | mid September | end September |
| 16 Jul and 15 Oct 2025 | mid December | end December |
Early application within each period is encouraged to allow more time for review.
For full details, visit the Steel Charitable Trust Under 26 Fund webpages.
