Who can apply

We welcome applications from freelance individuals, organisations, charities, and corporate bodies.

What we don’t fund

We are unable to fund:

• Projects or individuals based outside the United Kingdom
• Building costs or ongoing running costs
• Deficit reduction (covering costs already incurred)
• Teaching equipment, day‑to‑day consumables, or resources such as textbooks
• Chaplaincy or collective worship
• Projects that promote religious formation or instruction, including religious or non-religious  proselytising
• External religious or community groups visiting schools to deliver single one‑off lessons or events

Additional guidance

Please also review our funded projects to understand the types of initiatives we support.

Stage 1: Expression of interest

Submit an Expression of Interest form before the closing date.  You will also be invited to complete a short, separate DEI monitoring form to help us understand who is applying for our grants. This will not be used to make a decision on your application.

Stage 2: Full application

If shortlisted, you will be invited to complete a full application. You will typically have 2-3 weeks to complete Stage 2.

Final decisions are made by our grants committee or full board, usually within 2 weeks from the stage 2 closing date.

If you are seeking more than £30,000, please contact us to discuss your proposal and consider match‑funding options. You may also wish to explore Other Sources of Funding.

All applicants are asked to demonstrate how their project aligns with and contributes to the vision and strategic objectives of Culham St Gabriel’s.

Our vision is for broad‑based, critical and reflective religion and worldviews education contributing to a well‑informed, respectful and open society.

We work towards this vision through our five strategic objectives:

1. Driving recognition and understanding of the central and transformative role of religion and worldviews education in shaping a well-informed, respectful and resilient plural society
2. Shaping government policy across all four nations to ensure strong, coherent and sustained support for high‑quality religion and worldviews education in schools and across society for the common good.
3. Equipping and elevating the voices of both current and emerging religion and worldviews education teachers and leaders, particularly those from under‑represented or under‑served groups, to strengthen high-quality practice and diversify leadership influence across the sector.
4. Convening and facilitating collaborative partnerships across the religion and worldviews community and the wider sector to amplify collective influence and extend our reach.

Strengthening our grant‑making so that resources connect with and meaningfully enable communities, projects and innovations with the greatest need and potential to transform religion and worldviews education.

Assessment criteria

Trustees evaluate applications using the following criteria:

• Relevance – Practical or policy application to rigorous, innovative teaching, curriculum enrichment or leadership in UK schools
• Capacity – Applicant expertise, commitment, judgement; supported by two referees
• Collaboration – Plans for active collaboration and strategic partnerships
• Impact – Clear, well‑prepared plans for positive impact on learning, teaching or policy
• Dissemination – Strong commitment to sharing and embedding good practice
• Value for money – Clear budget breakdown; justification relative to reach and beneficiaries
• Sustainability – Clear plan for the project beyond the period of the grant
• Safeguarding – Stage 2 applicants must have a recently reviewed safeguarding policy

Culham St Gabriel’s Trust uses the Plinth platform to support the administration and review of grant and scholarship applications. AI tools within Plinth help by summarising applications, highlighting key information, and assisting with due diligence checks, enabling our team and trustees to review applications more efficiently.

However, AI does not make funding decisions. Every application is carefully reviewed by human assessors, staff, and/or decision‑making panels, and all final decisions are made by people. We use AI as a support tool to enhance efficiency, consistency, and transparency, while ensuring that human judgement remains at the heart of our processes.

If your grant application is successful, the following conditions will apply:

Open access – All published outputs and research resulting from Culham St Gabriel’s funding must be made openly accessible. Please refer to our Open Access Policy.

Reporting requirements – You will be asked to provide a verbal progress update and submit a written annual report each year during the funding period.

Additional funding – If additional funding is secured from other sources, you must notify us as soon as possible, as this may require a review and potential adjustment of the grant award.

Acknowledgement – All resources, publications, and reports produced as part of the project must acknowledge the support of Culham St Gabriel’s.

Project completion – If the proposed project is not completed, any unspent portion of the grant must be returned.

Project non‑delivery – If the project is not undertaken at all, the full grant award must be returned.

Examples of additional conditions – Depending on your project, additional conditions may include:

• Match funding requirements
• External evaluation
• Advisory involvement from a trustee or staff member
• Attendance at grantee events