Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust Launches Removing Barriers to Family Life Programme

Armed Forces charities, Community Interest Companies (CIC) and Armed Forces units can apply for £7.5 million of funding for projects supporting Armed Forces families in the UK who are facing challenges.

The UK Armed Forces Families Strategy states that some families will experience challenges associated with relocation and separation, while those who are most unfortunate may experience injury, illness or bereavement. The Removing Barriers to Family Life programme aims to address these issues by offering support for projects that will be of practical benefit to, and address specific needs of, three key groups of people:

• Young people from Armed Forces families
• Families and carers of veterans
• Serving families

Two levels of funding are available towards projects’ revenue costs:

• Medium grants of £30,000-£100,000 to support existing or new projects that meet a clear need for Armed Forces families.
• Large grants of £100,001- £300,000 (up to £500,000 for exceptional projects) to support projects that address substantial challenges and will have a transformative and sustainable effect.

Lead applicants must be Armed Forces charities, Armed Forces CICs or Armed Forces units with a UIN (Unit Identification Number) but partnership working is encouraged, both informally or with official Delivery Partners who will help develop and deliver the overall project.

Projects should last between one and three years, be based within the UK, or a region of the UK, and should focus on supporting the family rather than serving personnel or veterans. The Trust is particularly interested in ideas and activities that reduce isolation and loneliness for the key groups.

There are two different deadlines:

• 18 July 2019 – Expressions of Interest for large grants.
• 12 September 2019 – Applications for medium grants.

Full details…