Alec Dickson Trust Grants

The Alec Dickson Trust supports young people who want to use volunteering or community service to do brilliant things in their communities.

They think that young people are amazing and that they have the potential to make the world a better place through volunteering. So, they provide grants of up to £500 to groups of young people aged 30 or under, to help them put their ideas into action and run projects that benefit the lives of others – particularly the most marginalised and disadvantaged.

They look for:

Volunteering

The Alec Dickson Trust support projects that support and encourage youth volunteering. They particularly like to fund projects that involve lots of volunteers, and/or encourage these young people to stay engaged as volunteers in the long term.

Need

The Alec Dickson Trust supports young people who run projects that have a positive impact on disadvantaged communities and individuals. They're looking for projects that identify a specific need, and propose to carry out activities that will clearly help to address this need.

Innovation

Ultimately they're looking for youth volunteering projects that help to improve communities, but if the project is new and exciting then even better! The Alec Dickson Trust particularly like to fund volunteer initiatives that are innovative and try to do things a bit differently, such as using social media creatively or using existing resources in new ways.

The application window is now open – until 5pm Wednesday 1 April 2026.