Educational Opportunity Foundation Main Fund: UK Projects 2027

Educational Opportunity Foundation Main Fund: UK Projects 2027

The Educational Opportunity Foundation’s UK Main Fund offers project grants for work that improves education, training or employability outcomes for care-experienced young people. The 2027 round is for UK projects designed specifically for people under 26 who live in the UK, including unaccompanied young refugees. Stage 1 opens on 30 November 2026, and applications are due by 6 January 2027. The programme awards between £30,000 and £105,000 per project, for one to three years, subject to a maximum of £35,000 per year on multi-year awards. Foundation: UK projects · Application and round dates

At a glance

The award and eligibility details are published on the UK Main Fund page; the dates and application sequence are on the UK application page.

What the grant can support

The Main Fund supports projects with education, training or employability outcomes for care-experienced young people. Work should improve school or further-education attendance, engagement or attainment; help young people access and complete higher education; or improve employability through training outside formal education. Link the proposal to at least one area; no particular activity is guaranteed funding. UK Main Fund

Awards range from £30,000 to £105,000 per project. A project can run for one, two or three years, but a multi-year award is capped at £35,000 per year. These limits matter when building a budget: a total request within the overall range can still exceed the annual cap if spread across multiple years. The Foundation may contribute 25% to 100% of total project costs. It says it prefers proposals with some matched funding, but the brief does not say that a match is mandatory or specify an expected percentage. Overhead contributions may be up to 20% of the total grant. UK Main Fund

Practical fit: link the activities, eligible participants, outcomes and requested costs. Full-cost support is within the published range; matched funding is preferred, not stated as mandatory. Keep overhead within the 20% limit and follow the budget template.

Who can apply and who must benefit

The applicant must be a charity registered in the UK. Its income in its most recently completed financial year must be between £100,000 and £2.5 million. It must also have at least three years of continuous accounts submitted to the relevant UK Charity Commission and have sound finances. These are applicant-level conditions; a project’s strong fit does not replace them. The brief does not explain how the Foundation assesses “sound finances,” so an organisation that is unsure whether it meets this condition should seek clarification from the Foundation before applying. UK Main Fund eligibility

The project must be designed specifically for care-experienced young people under 26 who live in the UK. Unaccompanied young refugees are included in the stated eligible group. The project’s intended participants and design therefore need to align with both the age and location requirements, not just serve young people generally. If an organisation works with a wider population, its application should make clear which part of the proposed work is specifically designed for eligible participants. This is preparation advice based on the published eligibility description, not an additional Foundation rule. UK Main Fund eligibility

The Foundation lists activities and costs it excludes. It does not fund fundraising organisations, long-term projects, services available through state education, summer camps, bursaries, school fees, scholarships, expeditions, volunteering trips, conferences, international travel, or projects mainly covering uniforms, transport or running costs. An applicant should compare both its project activities and its main budget items with this list. The brief does not define “long-term” or quantify when a project is “mainly” covering a listed cost, so ask the Foundation to clarify a borderline proposal rather than infer a threshold. UK Main Fund exclusions

How to Apply

Stage 1: submit the Foundation’s online application form and its completed budget template. The online form allows applicants to save their progress and return within 30 days. The application page also provides a Word planning version and a sample budget. These are useful for drafting and checking the submission, but the published Stage 1 route is the online form with the completed Foundation budget template. Follow the current form’s instructions when the round opens. Application page

Stage 2: shortlisted applicants are invited to continue. They submit a Stage 2 form, a logframe and a budget. The Foundation may also invite applicants to an online discussion before its Grants Committee makes final decisions. The brief does not say how many applicants will be shortlisted, what the discussion involves, or that every Stage 2 applicant will have a discussion. Treat Stage 2 materials as a later step unless the Foundation invites the organisation to proceed. Application page

As preparation, confirm eligibility, map the project to a stated outcome, and draft a budget within the award limits. Use the Word planning version and sample budget if useful. When Stage 1 opens, complete the online form and Foundation budget template, checking that they describe the same project and request. Only those two items are identified as Stage 1 submission materials.

Timeline and deadlines

The UK round opens on 30 November 2026. The Stage 1 application deadline is 6 January 2027. The Grants Committee is scheduled to meet on 14 April 2027. The meeting date is a confirmed point in the published timeline, but it is not stated as the date when applicants will receive decisions. Application page

The application page does not state when post-committee notifications will be sent or when approved grants would be paid. Applicants should not assume that the meeting date is also a decision or payment date. To plan project start-up and cash flow, check the Foundation’s current application page and ask it directly about notification and payment timing. Confirm any response against the current round guidance before committing to a start date or spending plan.

The form can be saved and resumed within 30 days, but this does not extend the 6 January deadline. The brief gives no closing time or time zone, so check the live form. Application page

Preparing a clear, eligible proposal

Preparation advice, not an extra requirement: explain how the work is designed for care-experienced people under 26 living in the UK and how it serves them. If it also serves others, make the eligible participants’ part clear. The brief does not prescribe a delivery model or evidence format.

Build the budget from the project plan. The overall award is £30,000–£105,000; for multi-year work, the cap is £35,000 per year. The Foundation may cover 25%–100% of project costs and prefers some matched funding, which the brief does not make compulsory. Describe any match accurately and keep overhead within 20% of the grant. UK Main Fund

State which published outcome the activities address: school or further-education attendance, engagement or attainment; higher-education access or completion; or employability through training outside formal education. A logframe is listed for Stage 2, not Stage 1. UK Main Fund · Application page

Common avoidable problems: exceeding the multi-year annual cap, obscuring whether participants meet the age and residence rules, centring an excluded activity or cost, or submitting the sample budget instead of the completed template. These are practical checks, not published scoring criteria. Ask the Foundation about borderline exclusions or form questions.

Frequently asked questions

Can the Foundation cover the full project cost?

It may fund 25% to 100% of total project costs, so full-cost support is within the published range. The Foundation prefers proposals with some matched funding, but the brief does not state that matching is compulsory. UK Main Fund

Can an award last longer than one year?

Yes. Funding is available for one to three years. Multi-year awards are capped at £35,000 per year, while the overall project award range is £30,000 to £105,000. UK Main Fund

Are individual young people eligible to apply?

The stated applicant requirement is a UK-registered charity that meets the income, accounts and sound-finances conditions. The fund supports projects designed for eligible young people; the brief does not describe an individual application route. UK Main Fund

What must be submitted at Stage 1?

The Stage 1 route uses the online form and the Foundation’s completed budget template. The page also offers a Word planning version and sample budget. A Stage 2 form, logframe and budget are listed for shortlisted applicants invited to the next stage. Application page

When will applicants hear the outcome, and when would funding be paid?

Those dates are not stated in the supplied application information. Check the live Foundation page or contact the Foundation directly for the current notification and payment timetable; do not treat the 14 April 2027 Committee meeting as a confirmed notification date.

Official sources

• Educational Opportunity Foundation: Main Fund — UK Projects — award size, duration, cost contribution, eligible applicants and participants, outcomes and exclusions.
• Educational Opportunity Foundation: Apply here — UK Projects — Stage 1 and Stage 2 process, forms and budget materials, opening date, deadline and scheduled Grants Committee meeting.