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Who can apply

You must apply as part of a partnership. We’ll give funding to the lead organisation, and they can then pay the other partners for the work they do.

Lead organisation requirements

Your organisation must be one of these:

  • constituted voluntary or community organisation
  • constituted group or club
  • registered charity
  • charitable incorporated organisation (CIO)
  • not-for-profit company
  • community interest company (CIC)
  • community benefit society

As the lead organisation, you must also:

Partnership requirements

Your partnership must have experience of working:

  • with children under 5 years old and their caregivers
  • in the natural environment

We want organisations to bring together knowledge from across different sectors. For example:

  • early years
  • nature and the environment
  • health and wellbeing

Partnerships can also include:

  • schools, as long as your project benefits and involves the communities around the school
  • statutory bodies, such as local authorities, town, parish or community councils
  • private sector organisations

These organisations can be part of a partnership, but they cannot be the lead organisation applying for funding.

Board or committee member requirements

To apply, your organisation must have at least 3 board or committee members who are not related. If you're a company, you must have at least 3 directors who are not related.

We consider people to be related if they:

  • are married or in a civil partnership
  • are in a long-term relationship or live together
  • are related by blood or through a partner
  • live at the same address