ACEs Main Grants Programme
ACEs Main Grants Programme
Submit by: 5pm on Thursday 30 April 2026
Notification: 10am on Thursday 18th June 2026
£20,000-£25,000 per annum
Key details
Eligibility criteria
This ACE Funding Round aims to support UK registered charities or charitable incorporated organisations (CIOs) but not Community Interest Companies (CIC) that:
- are operating in the UK in an area of deprivation
- have an organisational annual income over £200,000 and under £2,000,000 (for the coming or current year)
- have as their core focus, the goal to prevent the occurrence of and/or support recovery from ACEs by providing services to children and young people and/or adult survivors in recovery
- use a trauma-informed approach and evidence-based interventions
- can demonstrate the effectiveness of their approach through evaluation or external research
- are either lived-experience led or can show significant input from those with lived experience
We recognise that some communities suffer from a greater likelihood of ACEs due to systemic barriers. We welcome applications from charities who support under-represented groups.
Please note:
- If your application to the Main Grants Programme in 2023 was declined, you are welcome to submit an expression of interest to this round if you meet the given criteria.
- If you have been awarded a grant previously, you will not be eligible to apply for the same period of time as that of your grant. For example: if you received a one-year grant you cannot reapply for one year after the date of your final grant payment. If you received multi-year funding for four years you will not be eligible to apply for further funding for four years from the date of your final grant payment.
If you are unsure as to your particular circumstance / when you last applied or received funding from us, please contact us.
What we fund
If your charity meets the eligibility criteria you can apply for:
- An unrestricted grant (core costs) of between £20,000 – £25,000 per year for a period of up to four years.
Guidance on terms we use
In our criteria and on our form we have used a number of terms that it may be useful to explain further:
Adverse Childhood Experiences
We are use this term to recognise traumatic events that occur during childhood that can have a significant impact on a person’s physical, emotional and mental health throughout their life. Examples include:
- abuse – physical, sexual or psychological/emotional
- neglect – physical or psychological/emotional
- domestic abuse
- substance misuse by a close family member
- mental illness of a close family member
- having a close family member serve time in prison
- parental or caregiver separation or divorce on account of relationship breakdown
We recognise that charities working to prevent the occurrence of and/or support recovery from ACE’s cover a broad range of activities including working with victims of child sexual exploitation, county lines, gangs, those cared for by the local authority, homelessness, human trafficking, asylum seekers and refugees.
Area of Deprivation
We recognise all relative measures of deprivation as tracked by the Indices of Deprivation or similar tools. We find the map tool provided by the CDRC very helpful. We ask you who your work helps and why this is needed for that group or in that area so you can explain the need that exists there.
Trauma Informed Approach
A trauma-informed approach aims to provide an environment where a person who has experienced trauma feels safe and can develop trust. This means people at every level of an organisation (including volunteers) develop an understanding of trauma, its symptoms and its impact, which then influences their work. This reduces the risk of excluding people who have experienced trauma. Many organisations describe it as a cultural shift rather than simply a behavioural one as the approach is integrated into policy, procedures, practice and environment.
Evidence Based
When wishing to support evidence-based work, we are looking for charities that use the following to inform and improve their service at all stages, from design, to delivery, to evaluation:
- use the most current and robust research evidence available
- draw from the expertise of their staff and volunteers, and
- listen and learn from the voices and actions of the adults, children and young people that have benefitted from the service and/ or are experts by experience.
Process
The application process includes an initial expression of interest form, invited applications and a visit by members of the Leathersellers’ Foundation Charity Committee. Visits will be conducted in October-November 2024 (Group 1) and January-February 2025 (Group 2).
Open for expressions of interest: 10am Monday 15 April 2024
Deadline to submit expressions of interest: 11:59pm Friday 24 May 2024
Selected charities invited to apply: 5pm Friday 21 June 2024
Deadline to submit applications for shortlisting: 11:59pm Friday 19 July 2024
Applicants informed of shortlisting decision: 5pm Friday 27 September 2024
Group 1 visits: October-November 2024
Group 1 decisions: December 2024
Group 2 visits: January-February 2025
Group 2 decisions: March 2025
All expressions of interest and invited applications will be made via an online form. A downloadable version of the expression of interest form is available for drafting purposes here.
FAQs
If you were previously successful in obtaining a charity main grant, then you need to wait for a period equal to the length of that grant before reapplying. For example: if you received a one-year grant you cannot reapply for one year after the date of your final grant payment. If you received multi-year funding for four years you will not be eligible to apply for further funding for four years from the date of your final grant payment.
If you are unsure whether you are eligible to apply, please contact us.
No, we support registered charities working within and for the benefit of communities across the UK.
We regularly find that some applicants do not have ACEs as their core focus. Another reason applications do not progress are insufficient safeguarding policies (unsigned, not dated, do not include relevant legislation/ key contacts, or are actually a statement rather than a policy) – further guidance is available at NSPCC’s guidance on writing safeguarding policies and practices.
Unfortunately, as we only have a small Grants team at the Leathersellers’ it is not possible for us to provide feedback to all applicants. We will provide feedback to any applicants that are invited to make a full application.
No, the Leathersellers’ Foundation does not require a charity to have a particular connection to the Livery or to have previously been funded by us. If you do have a connection, there will be an opportunity to identify that in the application form.
No, if your requested sum is larger than the Committee consider appropriate, they may grant a smaller amount. Your funding request is not an all or nothing consideration and we encourage applicants to ask for what they need. A smaller request does not increase chances of success
No, the income limit applies to the organisation as a whole, not to the particular area of work you are looking to fund.
