National Grid's Small Business Impact Initiative

National Grid's Community Grant Programme is offered by National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) to support community organisations and charities in areas affected by NGET construction or operational activity in England and Wales.

Communities impacted by maintenance of existing infrastructure such as overhead line refurbishment may apply for grants up to £10,000, while communities affected by major new construction projects such as new substations or underground tunnels may apply for up to £20,000. Eligible applicants are local community groups and charities in areas where NGET work causes direct impact.

Applications related to unrelated National Grid divisions or general cost-of-living issues are not eligible.

Community Grant Programme | National Grid Community Grant Programme Is your community currently being affected by National Grid Electricity Transmission construction or operational activity? The Community Grant Programme is run by the National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) business. We own and maintain the high-voltage electricity transmission network in England and Wales.

The programme is aimed at community organisations and charities in areas where our work is impacting local people through our operations and construction activities. Gallwch weld y dudalen hon yn Gymraeg. Communities impacted by the maintenance of existing infrastructure (e.g. refurbishment of overhead lines or substations resulting in road closures and other impacts) can apply for grants of up to £10,000.

Communities impacted by construction work for new infrastructure projects (e.g. the building of new underground tunnels or a new substation resulting in a significant increase in heavy goods traffic, noise and other impacts) can apply for grants of up to £20,000.

Please note that this programme does not accept applications related to: Communities where NGET has offices or fixed sites such as existing substations, unless there are construction or maintenance activities taking place that impact the local community Works being undertaken by different parts of National Grid, including National Grid Ventures and National Grid Power Distribution (Western Power Distribution).

You can find out about NGED’s Community Matters Fund here . Increased energy costs related to the cost of living crisis in areas not impacted by National Grid Electricity Transmission work. Work being carried out by distribution network operators.

The full eligibility criteria is detailed below. Please read it through carefully and ensure your project is eligible to be considered for grant support before you submit your application. We have some FAQs that will help you answer any other questions you may have.

To apply for a community grant your project must be in an area affected by our operations or activities – but your organisation may be based elsewhere. We welcome applications from registered charities, social enterprises and non-profit organisations.

In addition, all organisations must have: a bank account in the name of the organisation with at least two signatures who are unrelated a constitution (if not a registered charity) a management committee with a minimum of three people who are unrelated accounts for the most recent financial year or a financial projection if it’s a new organisation (we will only fund organisations that are financially solvent).

Organisations can only submit one application at an application deadline and can only apply once each fiscal year (running April-March). This is regardless of the outcome of a previous application. Organisations can receive a maximum of one grant each financial year.

We will consider a further award in subsequent years if: we have received an end of grant monitoring form for the previous grant and the applicant is applying for funding for a ‘new’ project and the organisation still meets the criteria, including the requirement that the community is being affected by our operations. We will not provide on-going support to a project that has previously received funding or fund core running costs.

Successful groups must first fully complete their project before applying again, even if the application is for a different project. For clarity, a project is only considered completed when all funds have been spent and all required project reporting has been completed. Please contact [email protected] if you have not yet received this project reporting form.

We have now launched our Local Community Funds for Yorkshire GREEN, Eastern Green Link 1 (EGL1) and Eastern Green Link 2 (EGL2).

If your organisation or the community you serve is impacted by one of these projects please apply to the most relevant local community fund by visiting our dedicated webpage below: Yorkshire GREEN Local Community Fund Eastern Green Link 1 England Local Community Fund Eastern Green Link 2 Yorkshire Local Community Fund If your organisation or the community you serve is impacted by another National Grid project currently in construction you may be eligible to apply for a grant from our NGET Community Grant Programme, please apply using the application form below.

We support projects in the following areas: Initiatives that support hard-to-reach members of the community improving diversity and inclusion. Initiatives that support community safety – from electricity safety to protecting at-risk members of society including the elderly and those with special needs. Initiatives which achieve improved educational attainment through building confidence and self-esteem of children and young people.

Education projects especially those that upskill young people with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) skills. Activities that promote or support health and wellbeing in the local community, for example addressing energy efficiency. Initiatives that support employment either through a work placement or retraining schemes which increase the employability of people from lower income communities back into the workplace.

Initiatives that support capacity building for community, charity or voluntary groups to help them improve their services, whether it be reaching more users or extending the hours that the service is available. Initiatives such as conservation projects that have a direct and positive environmental impact or awareness raising projects that improve environmental behaviour or understanding from recycling to water resource management.

Improvement of the energy efficiency of community facilities. Initiatives which help people to manage their energy usage and access affordable tariffs.

Grants will not be available for: Land and building purchase Costs associated with planning permission, construction or development rights and decisions Costs associated with legal representation or the costs of making or maintaining a legal case Commercial or for-profit organisations, including Private Limited Companies and Companies Limited by Shares Projects with a total cost in excess of £40,000 - this grant fund aims to support organisations applying for small to medium size projects, ready to start within one month of receiving funding and to finish within 12 months of the project award date Standalone feasibility and project development costs including planning costs Projects involving the onward transfer of grant funds as awards to individuals or other organisations (re-granting) The advancement of religion – we will fund faith-based organisations to undertake secular activities Political parties or causes Medical research, medical equipment or medical treatment Projects that only benefit individuals People taking part in day trips and residential trips (including treks or expeditions) Statutory organisations such as local government, schools, the NHS or local councils, including parish councils irrespective of whether they have charitable status – we can consider applications from PTA/Friends of type organisations, but projects must be for the benefit of the wider community as well as the school population Retrospective funding, i.e. funding can only be requested for works that will begin / expenditure that will be incurred after our funding decision has been made and a formal grant contract issued Improvements to land or building over which the applicant does not have tenure Works that would be considered a statutory responsibility, such as scheduled transport services, works to public highways and public car parks Applications from organisations outside England and Wales One-off community events such as summer fetes and fairs, or seasonal projects such as Christmas lighting or community bonfires Most recent grants awarded Tadcaster Harriers £10,788.

00 CPD Bethel £18,324. 00 The Laurie Brewis Trust £12,460. 00 Parent Teacher and Friends of Blackford C of E Primary School Association £19,906.

00 South Western Ambulance Charity £15,066. 00 The Mind Tree Café cic £19,886. 00 Avon Wildlife Trust £16,000.

00 Moseley Railway Trust £4,800. 00 Bright Futures NE £9,998. 00 South Snowdonia Search and Rescue Team £16,287.

00 Warwickshire Wildlife Trust £8,749. 70 SBA Worldwide CIC £20,000. 00 Canal & River Trust £20,000.

00 View our awards archive National Grid’s Community Grant Programme funds projects in communities affected by our operations. Before you can submit a full application to the Community Grant Programme, you must first submit an expression of interest. This is a short form that enables us to assess whether your project may be suitable for the fund.

Once you have completed your expression of interest via the above link, our partner Localgiving will be in touch to provide you with further information. We accept applications on a quarterly basis (see timeline below). These are then checked against minimum requirements and passed on to be reviewed by a National Grid funding panel, where all applications received will be assessed and scored against evaluation criteria.

The highest scoring applications will be awarded funding. You will be notified of the outcome once a decision has been made. If you are successful, we will give you further information and ask you to provide your bank details.

Grants are normally paid directly into your organisation’s bank account. If you are unsuccessful we will let you know. After 12 months, or once your project is complete, we will ask you to report back on progress, confirming how the grant has been used and the impact that has been achieved.

We accept applications on a quarterly basis. See timeline below. Our application window for the March panel has now closed.

You can still submit an application via the button below, but please note that you will not receive a final decision until the June 2026 panel. Before you can submit a full application to the Community Grant Programme, you must first submit an expression of interest. This is a short form that enables us to assess whether your project may be suitable for the fund.

Is your project in an area affected by our operations or activities? Are you a registered charity / recognised community organisation or social enterprise? Have you checked that your organisation and your project are not excluded from applying?

Please read who can apply for more information. Are you applying for a specific project and not core running costs? If you have previously received a grant from us, was this more than 12 months ago and have you provided a final monitoring form?

We have now launched our Local Community Funds for Yorkshire GREEN, Eastern Green Link 1 (EGL1) and Eastern Green Link 2 (EGL2).

If your organisation or the community you serve is impacted by one of these projects please apply to the most relevant local community fund by visiting our dedicated webpage below: Yorkshire GREEN Local Community Fund Eastern Green Link 1 England Local Community Fund Eastern Green Link 2 Yorkshire Local Community Fund If your organisation or the community you serve is impacted by another National Grid project currently in construction you may be eligible to apply for a grant from our NGET Community Grant Programme, please apply using the application form below.

NGET expression of interest here Frequently asked questions Below you'll find answers to the questions we get asked the most about applying for our grant programme. If you need help or would like to discuss your application, please get in touch.