Grants for Mental Health and Wellbeing Projects in the UK
Funding for UK charities, CICs and community groups running mental health and wellbeing work: who funds it, who qualifies, and how to apply.
If your organisation runs mental health or wellbeing work, from peer support groups to counselling, community activities, or workshops, there are funders who want to back it. This guide is for the organisations delivering that support: charities, community interest companies, and community groups. It is not about personal financial help for an individual. It is about funding the projects that help people.
Health and social work is one of the busiest sectors for UK grant funding. Source: GrantMatch, updated daily.
What kind of work gets funded?
Mental health and wellbeing funding covers a broad range of activity. Funders back projects such as:
- Peer support and community groups for people living with anxiety, depression, or other conditions
- Counselling and talking therapies delivered by community organisations
- Preventative and wellbeing work, from social prescribing to green spaces and physical activity
- Support for specific groups, such as men's mental health, young people, new parents, or carers
- Crisis and recovery support run alongside statutory services
If your work helps people feel better, cope, or connect, it is likely to fit somewhere.
Who funds mental health and wellbeing projects?
The National Lottery Community Fund backs a large amount of community mental health work across the UK, from small grassroots grants to multi-year programmes.
Health-focused charitable trusts fund this area specifically. Some concentrate on particular conditions, others on prevention, early help, or a named group of people. Matching your project to the right trust is what makes the difference.
Community foundations run local wellbeing and mental health pots, often in partnership with health bodies. These are place-based and usually quicker to apply for.
Local authority and integrated care funds sometimes commission or grant-fund community mental health support to sit alongside NHS services. Your local voluntary sector infrastructure body will know what is open in your area.
To see what is live now, start with health and social grants and filter by your organisation type.
Who is eligible?
Most mental health funders will expect you to show:
- A clear organisational purpose linked to mental health or wellbeing
- A recognised legal form, or a plan to work through a sponsor if you are a new group
- An understanding of safeguarding and safe delivery, since this is sensitive work
- Evidence that people need what you offer, and that you are the right group to deliver it
Small and new organisations are welcome at many funders. What matters is that you can describe the people you help and the difference you make.
How to make your application stronger
Mental health funders read a lot of heartfelt applications. The ones that win tend to do three things well.
They show need with evidence, not sentiment alone. A local statistic, a waiting-list figure, or a short account from someone you have helped carries more weight than a general statement.
They are clear about safe delivery. Say who runs the work, what training they have, and how you keep people safe. Funders worry about this, so answer it before they ask.
They describe a realistic outcome. Avoid promising to fix everything. A clear, modest change for a defined group of people is more convincing than a sweeping claim.
Your next step
Write down, in two sentences, who your project helps and what changes for them. That is the heart of every application you will make. Then find one fund that matches your organisation and your area, and check the eligibility criteria against it.
A free GrantMatch account will show you grants matched to your organisation, so you can spend your time on the ones that fit. For the wider picture, read our guide to grants for charities and community organisations, or browse health and social grants to see what is open today.