APART, NOT ALONE: SUPPORT FOR SERVING FAMILIES FACING SERVICE-RELATED SEPARATION PROGRAMME 2025-26
Grants of up to £25,000 over 12- months or up to £50,000 over 24-months are available for projects in the UK that are focused on supporting serving families, including reservists, impacted by service-related separation, for example deployment, weekending, or military exercises.
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o Application deadline: WEDNESDAY 21st JANUARY 2026 at midday (12 noon).
o Funder: Armed Forces Covenant Fund (founded 2018. Charity number 1177627. Total charitable expenditure during the year ended 31 March 2025: £30,029,388 (2024: £34,460,000)).
o Who can apply: UK registered charities and Community Interest Companies (CICs) with significant and demonstrable recent experience of supporting Armed Forces communities. Armed Forces Bases and/or Armed Forces Units may also apply.
o Key words: Armed Forces Families, Loneliness, Isolation, Improved Mental Health and Wellbeing, United Kingdom.
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The Apart, not Alone: Support for serving families facing service-related separation programme 2025-26 will award grants of between £5,000 and £50,000 for projects that will help to mitigate the impact of service-related separation for families of serving personnel and reservists.
Eligible organisations (see ‘Who can apply’ above) can apply for a grant of up to £25,000 towards a project being delivered over a period of up to 12 months.
Charities and Community Interest Companies registered in the UK for a least 3 years can apply for grant for up to £50,000 for a project lasting up to 2 years.
Projects, which must be focused on supporting serving families (including reservists) impacted by service-related separation, for example deployment, weekending, or military exercises, should address one or more of the following outcomes:
1. Families feel more able to manage the impact of loneliness or isolation during
periods of separation.
2. Families experience fewer challenges during reintegration after deployment or
extended separation.
3. Improved mental health and wellbeing for serving families, and/or
4. Improved understanding of effective models of support for serving families.
The programme welcomes continuation or extensions of existing work where this provides a clear benefit and can also include funding for pilot projects or new ways of offering support. Projects should be looking to address the current and immediate need(s) of beneficiaries. The Trust can only fund projects that are in addition to existing statutory provision.
Activities might include the following (please note that this is not an exclusive list):
o Support groups that provide a safe space for military families to share experiences, offer mutual support and access resources tailored to their needs.
o Community integration events that encourage military families to engage with their local community, foster friendships and support networks. Applicants may wish to consider the differing needs of cohorts such as those in employment who can’t attend during traditional working hours.
o An online resource hub or platform that offers access to support services, educational material, forums for families to connect, relationship advice, deployment cycle and emotions.
o Peer-to-peer support activities/networks, both in person and online.
o Wellness workshops focused on mental health, resilience and coping strategies for families dealing with the stress of deployment and reintegration of families post separation, and/or
o Engagement of children and young people; for example, a gaming club or paid youth/support worker to encourage them to share their experiences in a safe space.
Funding is not available for:
o Childcare providers (including early years).
o Commercial organisations that would seek for their solution to be provided to a school for profit. For example, an organisation could not be awarded a grant to develop a training course which it then charges schools to attend.
o Independent (fee-paying) schools including boarding schools, regardless of their charitable status.
o Individuals.
o An Academy Trust – you cannot apply for an overarching project across your academy chain, though individual schools can apply.
o Universities and other further or higher education institutions.
o A charity or CIC which doesn’t have substantial recent experience of supporting Armed Forces communities or is newly registered.
o Other public sector organisations – but you could work with one of the types of organisations listed in ‘Who can apply’ above, as a delivery partner.
o A charity or CIC that is based overseas.
o Community organisations that do not fit any of the eligibility criteria, such as a sports organisation which is not a charity or CIC.
o Exempt charities, which are not otherwise constituted as one of the eligible organisations listed above.
o Not-for-profit organisations that are not registered as either a charity or CIC, or
o Private or for-profit companies.
Further information, guidance, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and the online application portal is available on the Armed Forces Covenant Fund website.
The deadline for applications is midday (12 noon) on Wednesday 21st January 2026.
Contact details for the Fund are:
Apart, not Alone: Support for serving families facing service-related separation programme 2025-26
Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust
3rd Floor, 3 Wellington Place
Leeds
LS1 4AP
Email: info@covenantfund.org.