By Stewart Macgregor, Head of Grants
As the Veterans’ Foundation enters its second decade, we are focused on one central question: How do we maximise impact for our beneficiaries over the next ten years?
For almost a decade, we have funded frontline, grassroots organisations to tackle disadvantage. Our funded partners continue to deliver vital support across housing, health, employment and community. This work remains essential.
But the challenges facing serving personnel, veterans and their families are often complex and interconnected. We recongnise they do not sit neatly within one service or one organisation.
We know that innovation rarely occurs in isolation. If we want to strengthen outcomes over the long term, we must invest not only in delivery, but in collaboration, innovation and learning across the sector.
That is the purpose of our new Major Grants Programme.
A different kind of investment
Through this programme, we are investing £200,000 to £500,000 in partnership-led projects that are designed to test new approaches, generate insight and improve how support is delivered.
This is not simply about funding larger projects. It is about encouraging purposeful collaboration around clearly defined challenges, and about supporting work that can influence practice beyond a single organisation.
We want to fund projects that ask such questions as:
- How could we address this challenge more effectively?
- What could we learn that would benefit others?
- How can we improve outcomes sustainably?
Collaboration that adds value
Strong proposals will demonstrate why the organisations involved need to work together, what each partner brings to the table and how shared accountability will operate in practice. Each collaboration should be necessary and intentional.
Many of the long-term challenges facing our wider sector require joined-up thinking. This programme is designed to enable our funded partners to do just that.
Innovation with intent
Innovation does not mean novelty for its own sake. It means improving how support is coordinated, refining delivery models, exploring new ways of reaching those most in need and strengthening the evidence base that underpins our sector.
A core element of this programme is structured learning. Successful partnerships will work with an independent learning partner to evaluate progress and publish findings.
We want the insight generated through this funding to benefit the wider Armed Forces community – including serving armed forces personnel, veterans, operationally qualified seafarers and their immediate families .
Clarity about impact
A strong Expression of Interest will be clear about what difference this funding will make.
We need to understand what you seek to change– whether that is enabling new activity, strengthening outcomes, improving coordination or generating knowledge that would not otherwise exist.
Being explicit about that difference will strengthen your application.
Looking ahead
Over the past ten years, it has been the dedication of frontline organisations we fund – our funded partners - and the generosity of our supporters that has delivered real change for the Armed Forces community.
We see our role as being to enable that work. To back strong organisations. To fund practical solutions. To invest in approaches that can deliver measurable, lasting impact.
Our ambition is to be recognised as a truly effective and trusted funding partner in the veterans’ sector. That means acting with long-term intent, investing in sustainable outcomes and supporting collaboration that strengthens the sector as a whole.
The Major Grants Programme reflects that commitment. It is a deliberate step toward backing partnerships that can generate deeper learning, stronger coordination and real change over the next decade.
Our Major Grants Programme opened on the 2nd March 2026 and the deadline for Expressions of Interest close on the 20th April 2026.
Full guidance, the webinar recording and the Q&A from during or after the webinar are available here.
Stewart Macgregor
Head of Grants
Veterans’ Foundation
