Apply for Funding

Applications for The Vision Fund are currently closed. Follow us on social media to be the first to hear about funding opportunities!

Purpose of The Vision Fund

Our social impact funding supports projects that are designed to improve the experience of being blind or partially sighted, or at risk of sight loss, in the UK. We are an evidence-led funder and base our programmes on where we feel our money can have the greatest impact.

We recognise applying for funding can be challenging, time consuming and stressful. Please get in touch with our team by emailing grants@visionfoundation.org.uk if you have ideas but are not sure if they fit our criteria, or if you would like any help with our application process.

Our grantmaking principles

• Reflect our vision, values and strategy
• Be intelligent and evidence-based
• Be courageous and impact driven
• Encourage collaboration and be empowering
• Be meaningful and effective
• Offer stability but encourage sustainability.

Our latest funding round has 2 elements:

1. A National Resilience Fund open to organisations across the UK, who can apply for up to £10,000 of unrestricted funding.
2. A London-specific programme dedicated to reducing the levels of loneliness and/or isolation experienced by blind and partially sighted people living, working or visiting London. This programme has been made possible through our partnership with the City Bridge Foundation.

Across both funding streams, we’re particularly keen to support organisations who demonstrate a strong commitment to involving experts by experience, i.e. blind and partially sighted people or people at particular risk of sight loss, in their work.

Please note: Applications for this round have now closed.

 

National Resilience Fund

Organisations across the country have risen valiantly to meet the challenges of an uncertain post-pandemic climate. But the current cost of living crisis poses a threat to the sustainability of many organisations providing support to blind and partially sighted people: a group who have been disproportionately affected by the ways that Covid19 changed how we live and work.

We also know that blind and partially sighted people in parts of the UK lack access to basic support services and that organisations operating in these areas struggle to remain sustainable and resilient. Our funding is therefore intended to support improved resilience and responsiveness of the sector as a whole.

The funding might be used to manage increases in core costs: the funding can be used for up to 12 months, covering any core (running) costs including contributions to rent, salaries, or strengthening operational systems and processes. Alternatively, the funding might be used to fund work to combine/merge organisations.

We’re particularly keen to hear from grassroots organisations and organisations in parts of the country where there are significant gaps in support for blind and partially sighted people.

Please note: Applications for this round have now closed.

 

How to apply

Applications for this round have now closed. Follow us on social media to be the first to hear about funding opportunities!

 

Tackling Loneliness and Isolation in London

This strand of funding has been made possible through our partnership with the City Bridge Foundation. We believe that being blind or partially sighted should not mean you are left out, isolated, or lonely. Our 2019 survey found that loss of sight combined with wider societal issues, such as barriers to accessing transport, employment and technology, led to 80% of blind and partially sighted people reporting that they were sometimes, often or always lonely.

We’re inviting projects that aim to reduce the levels of loneliness and isolation experienced by blind and partially sighted people in London and are particularly keen to support projects designed and delivered in partnership with experts by experience. Some ideas of the kinds of project we might support are below, although this list is indicative only:

• Projects that demonstrate the impact of a particular intervention, e.g. access to fitness, social or other leisure activities, in terms of people’s experience of loneliness or isolation
• Projects that develop a new or innovative approach to reducing feelings of loneliness or isolation for blind and partially sighted people living, working or visiting London
• Projects that scale up a previous project that demonstrably reduced levels of loneliness and isolation for blind and partially sighted people
• Partnership projects, led by an organisation of/for blind and partially sighted people that use the expertise of another organisation to target support to a particular demographic, e.g. older Londoners, who are blind or partially sighted
• Projects that deepen our understanding of the experiences of an underserved group of blind or partially sighted people, e.g. people from a particular background, with an additional disability or survivors of domestic violence or abuse
• Projects that are designed to result in policy or system change at a local level that will positively impact the experience of being blind or partially sighted in London and, in this way, are likely to reduce the chance of people feeling lonely or isolated.

 

Please note: Applications for this round have now closed.

 

How to apply

Applications for this round have now closed. Follow us on social media to be the first to hear about funding opportunities!

 

Who can apply for our funding?

The Vision Fund supports organisations whose proposed activities will offer services to blind and partially sighted people directly. The following types of organisation are eligible:

• UK Registered Charities
• Registered Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIO)
• Charitable companies, limited by guarantee
• Community Interest Companies (CIC), limited by guarantee
• Exempt charities (e.g. educational establishments)

We can only fund registered organisations as above and are unable to support individuals.  Kindly note that only charities whose primary purpose is in support of those living with or at risk of sight loss can apply for the National Resilience Fund.

Please visit 360Giving GrantNav for more information on the types of projects we have previously funded.

Further reading

On 22 June 2022, our grants and impact team held an Applicant Insights session, where guidance about our grant-making processes and priorities was shared. We also discussed the priorities for our current funding round, as well as offering more general advice about what we look for in a funding application. This presentation can be read in addition to the Apply For Funding section on our website, and will allow you to take a deeper dive into our application processes. As well as learning more about who we are, what we do, and why we do it, you will gain some valuable insights into our current funding round, and will find out more about how you can apply, and what you can apply for. If you have any further questions about the contents of this presentation, or would like to discuss an application with us, then do not hesitate to contact us at grants@visionfoundation.org.uk

What will happen after a grant is awarded?

Successful applicants will be notified by the end of mid-December 2023. If you have not heard from us by then, please contact grants@visionfoundation.org.uk.

Successful applicants will be asked to agree to our Grant Terms and Conditions. These include regular reporting about the progress of your project, the reach of your work and the impact you are making. We hope that you will work with us to share news of your work and success stories.

Contact us

If you have questions about applying to The Vision Fund, please email grants@visionfoundation.org.uk and include the words “Vision Fund” in your subject line.