2026 Round 1 Overview
Round 1 of our 2026 funding programme opened on the 25th March at 9am and remained open for eight days until it closed on 1st April at 12 noon. This overview aims to provide insight into our assessment process and success rates in the hope that it can inform your decision making around future grant applications.
In this round there were 35 successful applications, totaling £1,476,175 awarded funds. All awards were for unrestricted, three year funding, with the grant being split over the funding period.
Each application goes through a multi-stage assessment process, utilising an internal screening and scoring process that considers elements such as the strength of the answers provided, as well as the supporting documentation. We will also consider our funding priorities when rounds are oversubscribed, and this may influence whether an application is taken to the latter stages of our assessment process.
In total, 571 applications were received by the Trust. Of these, 35 were successful, 462 were unsuccessful, 74 were considered as not meeting our eligibility criteria, and 0 were withdrawn ahead of the assessment process commencing.
Therefore, in 2026 Round 1 the success rate for Postcode Neighbourhood Trust was 6%.
Funding Priorities
Our funding priorities are different to our funding themes. More information on this can be found in our funding guide.
For reference, our funding priorities are:
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Have an income of £250,000 or below
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Work in communities located in the top 15% of the Index of Multiple Deprivation
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Organisations whose main activities are focused on supporting marginalised groups. This could include, but is not limited to, disabled people, communities experiencing racial inequity, and LGBT+ people.
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Are in areas that have not recently received funding. For this, we will primarily be looking at postcode areas (eg. CFX XXX) that have not received funding in the last 12 months.
Of the groups funded in 2026 Round 1, 14% met two priorities and 86% met three priorities. 100% of supported organisations in Round 1 had an income of less than £250,000.
Tips
Here are a few tips that may help a future application:
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Focus on answering the question as it is written, ensuring all parts of the question have been answered.
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As our funding is unrestricted, the questions are focused around your organisation as a whole. It is best not to focus on future activities or specific projects, but answer the questions about your organisation as a whole.
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Ensure that your organisation has a strong link to your chosen theme. If the link is not very strong there may be a partnership programme that is more suitable for your organisation.
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Ensure that all attached documents are correct. If your organisation does not attach the correct document the application may be made ineligible.
Common Eligibility Fails
Out of the 74 applications that were deemed ineligible in Round 1, common eligibility issues included:
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The organisation did not have a strong link to the chosen funding theme.
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The submitted Safeguarding Policy did not meet our requirements of having been reviewed in the last year, or having a named contact for safeguarding issues.
Applying in the Future
We will next be open for applications on 24th June 2026. Information about our 2026 funding rounds is available on the Apply for a Grant page.
Please note, future funding rounds may not mirror this success rate and shortlisting profile.