Comic Relief grants
Comic Relief is a national and overseas fundraising grant-maker giving around £28.8m to organisations in its latest year, with a typical grant of £250,000.
Guidance last checked 16 July 2026· from the funder’s own website
Overview
Comic Relief (charity number 326568) is a national and overseas fundraising grant-maker, funding general charitable purposes with a focus on the prevention or relief of poverty and overseas aid and famine relief. In its latest recorded year it gave around £28.8m across 750 recorded grants, with a typical award of £250,000 and the middle half ranging from about £104,000 to £498,000. Its funding themes include tackling the injustices that keep people in poverty, Sport for Change, equity, diversity and inclusion, and support for communities most affected by climate change.
What they fund
It funds general charitable purposes with a focus on the prevention or relief of poverty and overseas aid and famine relief, including through themes such as Sport for Change and support for communities most affected by climate change.
Who and where
It supports other charities and voluntary bodies and other defined groups, working at a national and overseas scale.
Who they help
What Comic Relief says in its own guidance
Quoted directly from the funder’s own website, with a link to the page each quote came from. Always the most current word is theirs — check the source before you apply.
What they say they're looking for
“Sport for Change can achieve much more than just the physical benefits of participation in sporting activity. Sport brings people together across culture, language, gender and social class, making it a powerful alternative for engagement to clinical or traditional services.”
Source: comicrelief.com — Grants | Comic Relief →
“Tackling the injustices that keep people in poverty. We support organisations and movements that strive for fairness and equity.”
Source: comicrelief.com — Grants | Comic Relief →
“Standing with those in poverty who are most harmed by climate change. We work in places and with people who are already vulnerable and now dealing with the effects of climate change.”
Source: comicrelief.com — Grants | Comic Relief →
How they say to apply
“Participation and lived experience We listen to, work with and support people with direct experience of the issues we fund to ensure our own work best meets their needs.”
Source: comicrelief.com — Grants | Comic Relief →
“Equity, diversity and inclusion We invest in organisations led by and for communities experiencing inequity, exclusion and discrimination and use learning and storytelling to help drive justice.”
Source: comicrelief.com — Grants | Comic Relief →
“Being learning-led We continually engage and reflect with our funded partners in order to drive continuous improvement and deeper understanding of the impact our funding has on social change.”
Source: comicrelief.com — Grants | Comic Relief →
“Centring trust in relationships We understand the power imbalance traditionally held by funders and continually engage our funded partners in open and transparent dialogue in order to better understand their needs and reduce barriers to engagement, participation and support.”
Source: comicrelief.com — Grants | Comic Relief →
What a typical grant looks like
| Typical (median) grant | £250,000 |
|---|---|
| Middle half of grants | £104,089 – £498,396 |
| Grants published openly | 750 |
| Most recent published grant | 2026 |
Recent grants
- Instituto Cultura, Comunicação e IncidênciaICCI proposes to convene and support a Coalition of Festivals for Climate Justice. ICCI would map the national festival ecosystem, identify key cultural leaders and organisers, and fund organisations to play dedicated organising and coordinating roles within this sector.£300,000March 2026
- GreenFaith Global (fiscal sponsor for Greenfaith Africa)The proposal is titled as 260216-Climate Justice - Application form -Greenfaith. Established as part of the global GreenFaith climate justice movement, GreenFaith Africa emerged in response to the escalating impacts of climate change on the African continent, including droughts, floods, food insecurity, climate?induced displacement and their impact on poverty.£300,000March 2026
- AIDAThe Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA) is a regional, non?profit organisation that uses the power of law and science to protect the environment and uphold the human right to a healthy environment across Latin America. For more than 25 years, AIDA has supported communities facing environmental harm, advancing legal and policy reforms that promote climate justice, protect ecosystems, and generate lasting systemic change.£200,000March 2026
- TrussellTrussell is requesting £500,000 in flexible core funding over two years to strengthen food bank resilience and improve access to sustainable, holistic advice across their network of 422 food banks and 1,400 locations UK wide. Funding will support food banks to meet rising levels of need, manage falling donations and increasing operating pressures, and ensure they can provide a dignified welcome, emergency food and a clear pathway to advice for people facing hunger and hardship.£500,000February 2026
- Community ShopThe core funding over 3 years would establish a new Community Shop site in Halifax, an area of high deprivation, covering the full fit out, refurbishment, and build of the Community Store, Hub, and Kitchen. Investment in these three spaces is central to Community Shop’s impact model.£250,000February 2026
- His ChurchHis Church is a specialist logistics organisation with a strong track record of collecting, storing and redistributing surplus food at scale from major retailers and manufacturers. Their model enables them to provide nutritionally balanced pallets of ambient, fresh, chilled and frozen food to a network of around 3,000 charities, ensuring support reaches individuals and families experiencing food insecurity—from children and older people to those facing homelessness or unexpected financial hardship.£250,000February 2026
From grants Comic Relief publishes openly via 360Giving (the UK open grants-data standard), used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence.
Their charitable objects
As registered with the Charity Commission (their formal purposes):
A) the relief of poverty; b) the advancement of education by means of the encouragement of the arts for the public benefit; c) the provision of facilities for recreation or other leisure time occupations in the interests of social welfare provided that such facilities are for the public benefit; and d) the promotion…
How to approach them
Start with the official sources — they’re always more current than any directory, including this one.
Common questions
How much does Comic Relief typically give?
The median grant is around £250,000, with the middle half of its 750 recorded grants (latest recorded year: 2026) ranging from about £104,000 to £498,000.
What does Comic Relief fund?
It funds general charitable purposes, with a focus on the prevention or relief of poverty and overseas aid and famine relief. Its themes include tackling the injustices that keep people in poverty, Sport for Change - using sport to bring people together across culture, language, gender and social class, equity, diversity and inclusion - investing in organisations led by and for communities experiencing inequity, exclusion and discrimination, and standing with those in poverty who are most harmed by climate change.
Who does Comic Relief support?
It funds other charities and voluntary bodies and other defined groups. It describes an approach of listening to, working with and supporting people with direct experience of the issues it funds, to ensure its work meets their needs.
How do I apply to Comic Relief?
Full guidance on its current grant programmes is on Comic Relief's own website (comicrelief.com) and its Charity Commission entry (charity number 326568); as with any funder, current priorities and any deadlines should be confirmed directly with the source.
Is your charity a fit for Comic Relief?
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Contains public sector information from the Charity Commission for England and Wales licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0, and grants data from 360Giving used under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. Figures are derived (filtered and summarised by TrusteeMeetings), not republished unchanged. About the data · Terms of use. This page is a starting point for your own research, not a promise of funding, and is not endorsed by or affiliated with Comic Relief.