Welcome to The Royal British Legion's External Grants Portal
The Royal British Legion's External Grants programme accepts applications from not-for-profit organisations running, or planning, charitable activities in support of the Armed Forces Community. Details of any open rounds of funding can be found below.
Community Grants Programme
About the programme
The Community Grants Programme is a new organisational funding programme we are delivering under our Connect, strategic pillar.
This pillar recognises that much of our work already revolves around the connections made across our communities and wider society. We want to better harness the power of those connections to support our communities in the most effective way possible and promote our important role in bringing people together.
We are seeking to fund projects that give members of the Armed Forces community more and better opportunities to connect and come together in their local areas. Examples of the types of projects we may support include:
- Projects that bring members of the Armed Forces Community together to share skills, experience and support.
- Community improvement projects that benefit the Armed Forces Community.
- Community arts and creative projects involving members of the Armed Forces Community.
- Community events that celebrate and showcase the contribution of the Armed Forces community to society.
- Youth groups and activities that help children from Armed Forces families meet others with similar backgrounds.
- Projects that reduce loneliness through regular social events, sport or shared activities, or that help members of the Armed Forces community connect with local welfare and wellbeing support.
Our members and local branches play an important role in helping us build strong communities. Local branches will also contribute to the assessment of applications and to part-fund some awards.
Eligibility criteria
- Applicants must be not-for-profit and hold a formal constitution.
- Applicants must be able to demonstrate that their project supports members of the British Armed Forces Community who meet RBL’s eligibility criteria.
- Grants of up to £25,000 per year are available for a maximum of two years (up to £50,000 in total).
- Applications close at 23:59 on Sunday 2 August. We may close applications earlier if we receive a high volume of submissions.
- We aim to communicate decisions to applicant organisations by the end of October.
To apply to the programme, please click on the relevant link below based on the total cost you are applying for.
If the total cost of the grant you are applying for is £25,000 or lower, apply here.
If the total cost of the grant you are applying for is between £25,000 and £50,000, apply here.
Although this programme is limited to constituted groups, we may be able to offer small grants of up to £500 for one-off community needs, such as specific events. Please email externalgrants@britishlegion.org.uk to discuss whether this may be appropriate.
Useful Documents
A guide to how to complete our Outcomes Framework can be found below:
Outcomes_Framework_Guidance_May_2026.pdf
An FAQ for our Community Grants Programme can be found below:
Community_Grants_Programme_FAQ_May_2026.pdf
Find out more about:
Our 10 Year Strategy
People eligible for our support
Our Membership
You may also wish to explore whether you are able to apply support from the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust.
Alternatively you can search for grant funding at Funding Finder - Get Grants or Directory of Social Change.
Please email any enquiries to externalgrants@britishlegion.org.uk