Applications to BBC Children in Need to pause in move to new grantmaking system
Howard Lake | 6 March 2025 | News
Applications for grants from BBC Children in Need will pause temporarily from 16 April to mid-September 2025 as the grantmaker switches to a new grantmaking sysetm.
The new system is part of the charity’s efforts to improve its systems and processes. The transition takes place “throughout 2025” and is scheduled to be launched by the end of September.
Grant recipients and prospective recipients have been told that “during this period there will be some disruption to our grant programmes”.
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Specifically submissions of an Expression of Interest (about applying for funding) to BBC Children in Need will not be considered after 15th April for about 22 weeks.
Submissions made on or before 15th April will be considered and processed as usual. If your charity is invited to complete a full application form as a result, “you will be able to submit this to be considered within the usual timeframe”.
Grantmaking is not stopping
BBC Children in Need “will continue to make grants throughout the year”. Existing recipients of funding will continue to receive their payment(s), including if payment is due between July and September 2025.
Charities that have recently received an award letter are advised to return their form to the charity promptly, leaving “plenty of time to make any corrections or amendments if needed”.
BBC Children in Need has published a FAQ on the transition to the new grantmaking system for charities that are or might be affected by this temporary pause.
A BBC Children in Need spokesperson said:
“We are committed to being there for children and young people across the UK who are facing challenging and difficult circumstances, to make sure they receive crucial support when they need it most. BBC Children in Need is moving to a new grantmaking system that will allow us to improve applicant and grantee experience, process future expressions of interest more efficiently and will improve the turnaround time for responses to applicants.
“Our grant budget for this year will remain unchanged. We will still be awarding grants all the way through this period and throughout the rest of the year, ensuring we continue to support the children and young people that need it most.
“However, as a result of moving to a new grantmaking system we will be unable to accept new Expressions of Interest applications between 15th April 2025 and the end of September 2025 when we will launch the new system. We are working with our applicants and grantees to minimise this disruption.”
The spokesperson did not explain why the move to a new grantmaking decision could not be achieved without less disruption.
The pause in accepting application enquiries occurs against a backdrop of many funders pausing funding decisions or even closing down completely, for a variety of reasons including narrowing their grantmaking focus. These have been reported and shared by the freelance trust and foundations fundraising adviser Joanna Jeffery in her frequently updated ‘The List‘, a crowdsourced list of trusts that have paused, closed or reduced their giving. The free publication is currently on hold for personal reasons.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.