If you prefer to draft your application offline, you can download and complete the Word version of the application form attached below. Please note that all applications must be formally submitted through the online application form, as Word documents will not be accepted as a final submission. Within the online form, you will also find a dedicated section to upload Annex 1. Annex 1 Tab A must be used to complete your project budget, and Annex 1 Tab B must be used to outline your project events or activities, including dates and expected levels of engagement. Both tabs are mandatory and must be completed using the Annex 1 template provided.

Download word application form

Download Annex 1 file

Windrush Day Grant Scheme 2026 Application Form

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Page 1

Essential Criteria

Your organisation must be a registered charity or community interest company, or it must be able to answer ‘yes’ to the following questions:

Was your organisation established for charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purposes?
Does your organisation have a governing body with at least three members?
Does your organisation have a governing document? (Please include a copy of this with your application)
Can you provide accounts for the organisation both of the last two financial years? (Please include a copy of this with your application)

Or a local authority applying as part of a consortium bid (Where proposals are led by local authorities, applicants must provide clear evidence that the proposal has been developed in partnership with the Windrush Generation, their descendants, and relevant local community organisations.)

In order to be eligible, neither your organisation nor any organisation within your consortium may have received Windrush Day Grant funding more than twice across the years 2021–2025.

Your project bid must:

Include a lead event or activity on National Windrush Day, 22nd June 2026. Funded events and activities must take place between 8th June 2026 and 31 July 2026. (Any activities scheduled beyond this date will not be eligible for funding.)
Seek no less than £5,000 and no more than £25,000. Projects must provide details of other funding secured or expected.
Be based in England.
Meet all relevant criteria as set out in the Guidance for Applicants.
Not make a profit from activities. Organisations should be mindful of the staffing costs associated with their project and make efforts to limit how much of their allocated grant funding is used for this purpose.
Not utilise funding for the purposes of undertaking political activity nor supporting ideological or extremist causes.

'Extremism' is defined as the promotion or advancement of an ideology based on violence, hatred or intolerance that aims to:
1. negate or destroy the fundamental rights and freedoms of others; or
2. undermine, overturn or replace the UK’s system of liberal parliamentary democracy and democratic rights; or
3. intentionally create a permissive environment for others to achieve the results in 1 or 2

Desirable Criteria

We encourage applications from outside Greater London and the Southeast, so that National Windrush Day builds a good profile throughout all regions in England.

Page 2

Eligibility

To be eligible for funding you must be able to answer yes to either question 1.b or all questions from 2.b to 2.e.

Applications without these documents from non-registered charities will not be considered

1a. What is the name of your organisation?

1b. Is your organisation a registered charity or community interest company?

Yes, the organisation is a Registered Charity

Yes, the organisation is a Community Interest CompanyNo, the organisation is neither a registered charity nor a Community Interest CompanySelecting “Yes” will hide page 2, as those questions are not required for your type of organisation.

1c. What is your Charity Commission number or registered company number?

Page 3

2a. Is your organisation (or the lead organisation in your consortium) one of the following?

Exempt charitySocial enterpriseCommunity benefit societyLocal authorityNone of the above

Warning

Based on the information provided in your response, you do not meet the eligibility criteria for this grant.

2b. Was your organisation established for charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purposes?

YesNo

Warning

Based on the information provided in your response, you do not meet the eligibility criteria for this grant.

2c. Does your organisation have a governing body with at least three members?

YesNo

Warning

Based on the information provided in your response, you do not meet the eligibility criteria for this grant.

2d. Does your organisation have a governing document?

YesNo

Upload your governing document

2e. Can you provide accounts for the organisation for both of the last two financial years?

YesNo

Upload your first accounts file

Upload your second accounts file

Page 4

3a. Which postcode is your project predominantly based in?

3b. In which region(s) will your project take place?

East of EnglandEast MidlandsLondonNorth WestNorth EastSouth EastSouth WestWest MidlandsYorkshire and The Humber

3c. In which local authority will your project primarily take place?

Page 5

About your Organisation /Consortium

4a. Contact First Name

Contact Last Name

4b. Role within the organisation

4c. Where is your project based?

Please enter your UK address including postcode

Address Line 1

Address Line 2

City

Post Code

4d. Contact telephone number

Contact email address

4e. Organisation’s website

Provide up to two additional weblinks related to your organisation or project.

These could be to your organisation’s social‑media pages, partner websites, or other relevant resources.

4f. Additional weblink 1

Additional weblink 2

4g. Please provide any other names your organisation goes by.

4h. If part of a larger organisation, please provide its name and registration number.

4i. When was your organisation established?

4j. How many people does your organisation employ?

Full time:

Part time:

Volunteers:

4k. Is this a consortium bid?

YesNo

4l. Please give the names of the other organisations in the bid:

1st Organisation

2nd Organisation

3rd Organisation

4th Organisation

5th Organisation

Please note by submitting a consortium application, you agree to establish a formal agreement, such as a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the partner organisations should you be successful.

Page 6

About Your Project

5a. What is the name of your project?

Please try to give your project a unique name (this is for administrative purposes only).

5b. Please tell us your main project aim:

Raise Awareness:
To raise awareness of the historical facts and experiences of the Windrush story. This includes the pioneers who arrived on the MV Empire Windrush in 1948, and those who came on vessels and aircraft in the decades after WW2.

Foster Pride:
To foster a greater sense of national pride and recognition of the historic and ongoing contributions made by the Windrush generation and their descendants to UK society. To proactively support and encourage people from different backgrounds to embrace, celebrate and commemorate this aspect of our shared history.

Encourage and Inspire:
To encourage and inspire the descendants of Windrush Generation to become young leaders, pursue their aspirations and contribute to the shared values of UK society.

For the purposes of the application we ask that you focus on a single core aim. Any additional incidental aims will neither be viewed more nor less favourably by the panel.

5c. Please provide a brief summary of your project noting any key outputs and core metrics:

5d. Tell us about the planned activities, describing your project plan, outputs and outcomes:

Projects that are unique, bold, creative, community-led, and culturally resonant will score higher in assessment.

5e. Please outline how your project will meet the main aim you selected above and the outcomes of the scheme:

5f. What are your proposed project start and end dates?

Proposed start date:

Proposed end date:

Project events and activities must take place between 8th June and 31st July, however preparations (such as making bookings, paying deposits, advertising for staff, etc) may begin as soon as projects are notified of being successful.

5g. Please provide a timeline of key milestones for your project

The timeline should be in chronological order, you do not need to include detailed descriptions: please include the main steps and activities and when they will take place. For consortium bids, proposals should clearly list each partner's role in delivering the projects. We encourage projects to remain focused and avoid taking on too many activities, as this can reduce deliverability and impact.

Page 7

Organisation Suitability Skills & Experience

6a. What is your organisation's main purpose?

This can be taken from your organisations purpose, goals and mission statement if you have one.

6b. How will the skills and experience of the organisation lead to the success of the project?

Please include details of any similar projects your organisation has delivered.

6c. What relevant skills and experience does your project lead and team have to enable them to deliver the project?

6d. What experience does your organisation have working with the Windrush Community?

Let us know your experience of working with Windrush Communities, if your organisation has no experience let us know how you plan to engage and work with Windrush Communities.

6e. If you are adding value-in kind through volunteers, how will they be sourced and what training will they be provided with?

If you are not planning to use volunteers, please type “N/A” in the text box above.

Page 8

Community Led & Longevity

7a. How will your project be designed with or by the Windrush community and work with and engage with local community partners?

How will your project meet the following expectations:

7b. Develop greater community cohesion. ((How will you promote your project to reach a wide audience, including non-Windrush communities?).

7c. Have a lasting impact beyond the funding period

7d. Have a positive social impact

Page 9

Evaluating & Measuring Impact

Please tell us how your project would:
· Increase knowledge of Windrush history and experiences among the general public.
· Provide greater recognition of the challenges and achievements of the Windrush generation.

Please tell us how your project would:
· Create a stronger sense of pride among Windrush descendants and broader communities.
· Create positive shifts in public perception of the contribution of the Windrush generation to UK society.

Please tell us how your project would:
· Increase ambition and engagement of young Windrush descendants in leadership or community roles.
And/or
· Create more active involvement in volunteering, and creative or cultural initiatives by young Windrush descendants.

8a. How will your project result in the impacts outlined above?

8b.How do you propose you might measure these changes?

8c. Please provide project specific metrics for measuring these changes:

Page 10

Value for Money

9a. How much money are you bidding for as part of this application?

Please state the total amount of funding you are requesting from the Windrush Day Grant Scheme? Please include 100% of any non- recoverable VAT within your total project cost. The Department reserves the right to award projects partial funding, i.e. an amount that is less than the amount requested. Grant funds may only be spent from the point at which your grant has been officially awarded.

9b. What is the total cost of your project?

9c. How will you achieve value for money in your project?

9d. Please detail any match funding you have secured or are yet to secure.

While we encourage you to be ambitious on sourcing match funding contributions for your project, match funding is not needed in order to be eligible for the scheme. Match funding can include in-kind support.

Page 11

Annex 1

Annex 1 Tab A - Please enter your budget using the template provided.

Applications will score higher if costs are shown to be reasonable and proportionate and demonstrate value for money

Annex 1 Tab B - Please enter your project events/activities, dates and expected levels of engagement.

Please download, fill out and then upload this Annex 1 spreadsheet

Please note:

The application period closes at 23:59 on 10th February 2026. We will inform applicants of the outcome of their bids in May 2026.

Page 12

Declaration

Please review and confirm:

This application, including any sections drafted with AI assistance, has been reviewed and is a true reflection of your group’s intentions, resources, and capabilities at the date of submission.
Should your application be successful, no profit will be made by your organisation from these activities.
If successful, funding will not be utilised for the purposes of undertaking political activity nor supporting ideological or extremist causes.

Extremism is defined as the promotion or advancement of an ideology [based on violence, hatred or intolerance] that aims to:
1. negate or destroy the fundamental rights and freedoms of others; or
2. undermine, overturn or replace the UK’s system of liberal parliamentary democracy [and democratic rights; or
3. intentionally create a permissive environment for others to achieve the results in 1 or 2.

Neither your organisation nor any organisation within your consortium may have received Windrush Day Grant scheme funding twice or more across the years 2021–2025

Please review and confirm that you:

Give your permission for MHCLG to share your data with a third-party administrator, who will assist in delivering the scheme.
Give your permission for MHCLG and a third-party administrator contacting you to discuss your application further.

And that you understand that, if successful, you will need to follow the conditions of the grant agreement, notably to:

Cooperate with reasonable requests for publicity (including social media promotion).
Run events and activities that are inclusive and encourage engagement and participation from people from a variety of different backgrounds.
Complete the project within the agreed timeframe.
Any material changes to the budget and/or to the group(s) outlined in your application will be submitted, in writing, to Near Neighbours for approval.
Evaluate and monitor activities specified within your bid as agreed with MHCLG or a third-party administrator, including keeping a detailed record of costs and receipts allocated to the grant and submit an impact report (template provided) at the end of the project.