Winter Wishes Fund

To apply, organisations must work within clearly defined SNG communities where we have homes, ensuring your activity directly benefits our customers. You should show how you will actively engage local SNG customers and create positive impact at a neighbourhood/local level. 

All groups will be checked against the eligibility criteria below. 

1. Eligible groups include: 

• Not-for-profit organisations 
• Registered charities 
• Charitable incorporated organisations (CIOs) 
• Community interest companies (CICs) limited by guarantee 
• Community and voluntary groups 
• Community benefit societies 
• Social enterprises (not-for-profit) 

1. Groups must have a written constitution or governing document that includes the group’s aims/purpose, objectives, and a dissolution clause or asset lock (setting out what would happen to any remaining funds if the group closes). 
2. Groups must be governed by a voluntary trustee or management committee with a minimum of three members, at least two of whom are unrelated. 
3. Groups must have a bank account in the organisation’s name with at least two unrelated signatories. 

Grants between £300 and £1,000 are available. 

To be eligible, your project must take place in a community where we have homes and whose work will directly benefit SNG customers and you must be able to demonstrate how you will engage with and benefit SNG customers. 

Click here to open an interactive map which can help you demonstrate how you fit these criteria in your application i.e. what areas your participants come from and how these fall with SNG Communities. The search function on the right-hand side can be used to enter the postcode of your project. 

We will undertake core due diligence checks. 

We will ask you to provide: 

Your governing document (one of the following): 

• A constitution (for unincorporated associations or charities) 
• Articles of association (for CICs or companies limited by guarantee) 
• A trust deed (for charitable trusts) 

Your most recent accounts 

For more information about our due diligence process, see What we will ask for & Why. 

To apply, you will need to set up an account and create a project page via our partners at ActionFunder. 

Click here to visit our Winter Wishes Fund page on Action Funder where you can apply for this fund.  

Once your project is set up, you will be matched to funds that are available to you. You can also search for SNG open funds. 

There is helpful guidance in the ActionFunder Help Centre. 

The following articles will help guide you through the process: 

1. Creating a project 
2. Working Offline on Your Project Application 

An offline version of the application form can be obtained by emailing: grants@sng.org.uk 

We encourage Winter Wishes Fund applications for projects that help our communities and SNG customers during the festive season. Our themes are: Magic moments for children, Food insecurity and food poverty, Mental health, Loneliness and isolation, Community-led action. See detail above.

 Grants of up to £1,000 are available. 

Please note: 

• We will fund equipment, and other costs needed to directly deliver the Winter Wishes activities. Staff costs may be included where they are directly attributable to the delivery of the activity. Refreshments can be included. 
• Core costs (for example, rent and utilities) – up to 10% of the total amount applied for 

Please include as much detail as possible in your budget. 

Good practice: 
2 × 3hr Winter Wellbeing Drop-In sessions for 30 older people - staff costs @ £250 per session   = £500 
2 x cost of food/refreshments for 30 people @£2.00 per head = £120 
Here we can see how many sessions are being offered, the length of the sessions, what the costs is for. We can see that this is not a one-off activity but offers multiple sessions.  
Poor practice: 
Winter Wellbeing drop in: £620 
Here we have no detail on the number of sessions, length of sessions, number of SNG Customers who might be supported or what the funding is for.  
 
Good practice: 
 3 hour Community Festive lunch for 25 older people – 25 lunches @ £20 ph = £500 
2 hour Community New Years Tea and Community Conversations for 25 older people – 25 teas @ £2.20 ph = £55 
Here we can see the number of people supported, the target age group of those supported, the length of the activity and cost per head. We can see there are multiple sessions.  
Poor practice: 
Lunch: £500 
Here we have no detail on the number of people supported, the target age range, the length of the activity and cost per head.

This is an open application programme.

The fund closes at 11:59pm on 19 October 2026 

We will aim to share funding decisions by 10 November 2026. 

If you are offered funding, it takes an average of two weeks to complete due diligence and transfer funds. Please monitor your emails (including your junk folder) for updates from ActionFunder. The sooner you accept the offer and provide the requested information; the sooner funding can be released. 

If your application is successful and you receive funding, you will be required to meet our reporting requirements. You will be asked to complete a light-touch end-of-project report. 

You will be notified of reporting requirements through the ActionFunder platform when funding is awarded. 

We would also welcome updates throughout the project via ActionFunder, including what has gone well and any challenges. You will be able to post comments, videos and photos to keep us updated.