In 2011, the nation made a Covenant promise ensuring that those who serve or who have served in the armed forces, and their families, are treated fairly.
On the back of this commitment, 2015 saw the launch of the Armed Forces Covenant Fund; £10 million each year focusing on:
In 2025, we’ve celebrated 10 years of the Covenant Fund – its £90 million+ contribution to more than 1,900 projects across the UK and overseas, all supporting our armed forces communities.
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Bravehound Connections is designed to provide intensive, tailored support for veterans and their families who are experiencing isolation, relationship breakdown and financial hardship. The programme addresses these challenges through a combination of emotional support, mediation and practical guidance such as debt advice, helping individuals regain stability and confidence. In addition to these core services, Bravehound leverages its wider network of assistance dogs and community engagement activities to foster connection and resilience. By combining therapeutic and practical interventions, Bravehound Connections plays a vital role in improving wellbeing and strengthening family relationships within the armed forces community.
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VC Gallery’s NAAFI Break project provides a welcoming space for veterans to connect, share experiences, and combat isolation through informal social gatherings. Held both in-person at the gallery and online via weekly Zoom sessions, the initiative encourages conversation over a “virtual brew” and offers creative activities that promote wellbeing and community engagement. By combining peer support with art-based participation, NAAFI Break helps veterans build friendships, strengthen resilience, and maintain a sense of belonging within the armed forces community.
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Make Some Noise’s UpBeat project, delivers music and movement sessions for children aged 0–5 and their families within armed forces communities. The programme uses playful, interactive activities to strengthen early language, social, and physical development while reducing isolation and improving family wellbeing. Through weekly sessions and family activity days, UpBeat creates opportunities for parents and children to bond, build confidence, and connect with others. The project has reached around 200 families, with feedback highlighting improved resilience, stronger peer networks, and a sense of belonging- demonstrating its impact in line with the Covenant Fund’s commitment to supporting armed forces families.
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WRACA’s Female Veterans Transformation Programme a UK-wide initiative designed to reshape the support landscape for women who have served. It begins with a deep evidence review- analysing over 60 research studies- to clearly define the unique barriers female veterans face in areas like health, finance, employment, housing, transition, historic trauma, and loneliness. The programme then develops and launches a comprehensive toolkit-featuring digital resources, awareness materials, and an interactive component- to equip service providers across the statutory, charitable, and commercial sectors. By harnessing strategic collaborations-across government departments, veteran support organisations, and healthcare services-the programme tackles systemic challenges, raises awareness, and ensures female veterans receive tailored, accessible care. Its mission is to empower women to confidently access the right support at the right time, while leaving a legacy of enhanced visibility and inclusion within veterans’ services.
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Beacon Counselling Trust’s “Battling the Odds” programme tackles gambling-related harms within the armed forces community through a combination of prevention, training, and direct support. The initiative provides free, accredited training for professionals working with serving personnel, veterans, and their families, equipping them to identify and respond to gambling issues. It also offers confidential, specialist counselling for those affected, including family members impacted by someone else’s gambling. In partnership with the Armed Forces Gambling Support Network, the programme raises awareness through campaigns such as The Unseen Enemy film, highlighting the unique risks faced by military communities. By blending education, treatment, and advocacy, Battling the Odds strengthens resilience and promotes wellbeing across the armed forces community.
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Project Interface is a community-focused initiative aimed at improving mental health and wellbeing for veterans and their families in the East of England. The programme creates safe, welcoming spaces through drop-in hubs and outreach activities, offering practical assistance and emotional support to reduce isolation and encourage help-seeking behaviours. By integrating peer-led engagement with collaborative partnerships across charities, health services, and local authorities, Project Interface strengthens pathways to care and builds resilience within the armed forces community, ensuring veterans and their families can access tailored support when they need it most.
Watch nowThis initiative aims to improve support for veterans with neurodivergent conditions such as ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia, and Dyspraxia. The programme focuses on identifying barriers to mental health care and employment, developing tailored psychotherapeutic pathways, and creating practical recommendations for service providers. The project seeks to build inclusive, evidence-based frameworks to better meet the needs of the armed forces community.
Scotty’s Little Soldiers has delivered several impactful initiatives funded under the Armed Forces Covenant Fund. These include the Strides Project, which combats loneliness among bereaved military children and young adults through virtual resources and outdoor activities; the Standby Project, which equips schools with tools and training to support bereaved service children sensitively; and a pioneering Pre-Bereavement Support Programme, providing early intervention and wraparound care for families facing a parent’s terminal diagnosis.
Help for Heroes has benefited from several Armed Forces Covenant Fund grants aimed at strengthening support for the military community. Through the Family Focus programme, the charity expanded its helpline and introduced a dedicated advisor for family members, ensuring tailored guidance and resilience-building. The Tackling Loneliness programme funded a Buddy Scheme in Wales, which successfully reduced isolation among veterans and is now being scaled nationally. These grants reflect a commitment to addressing emotional wellbeing, promoting connection, and empowering families and veterans across the UK.
Mesothelioma UK – Supporting Our Armed Forces Programme Mesothelioma UK delivered a specialist UK-wide service for serving personnel, veterans, and their families affected by asbestos-related cancer, funded by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund. The project provided a Clinical Nurse Specialist based in Portsmouth/Southampton and a dedicated benefits advisor to assist with compensation and welfare claims. It raised awareness of mesothelioma within the military community, offered tailored information resources, and supported a peer support Facebook group. The programme also partnered with the University of Sheffield to research disease prevalence and the psychological impact on veterans and carers, addressing health, legal, emotional, and social needs specific to the armed forces community.
Through therapeutic mountaineering and climbing, Climb 2 Recovery creates powerful experiences and a community that reignites hope, rebuilds trust, and fosters long-term transformation.
Read MoreSuffolk Family Carers received a grant of £89,668 in 2023 under the Reaching and Supporting Armed Forces Communities programme.
Reaching and Supporting Armed Forces Carers was a two-year project designed to identify members of the Suffolk armed forces community who are family carers.
The project aimed to provide information, guidance, and emotional support to enable meaningful and lasting change. It also highlighted the often-unseen caring roles within the armed forces community and the impact these responsibilities can have on well-being, employment, and family life.
The project includes a summary of key learning and insights, shared in the hope that others will find them valuable.
Read the outcomes report, which highlights practical guidance for supporting family carers in the armed forces community, here:
Highlights from Amanda’s interview with Anna Wright, our CEO, reflecting on the Covenant Fund’s first decade of work.
As the Covenant Fund enters its second decade, our advice would be to lean into its
unique position as a trusted bridge between the Armed Forces community, the NHS,
and the third sector.
Our Chair Hans Pung and CEO, Anna Wright put their brains together to ask: How should the Covenant Fund navigate its teenage years?
FiMT’s mission is to enable ex-Service personnel and their families to make a successful and sustainable transition to civilian life.
Professor Alan Finnegan was appointed as the Principal Investigator to evaluate the £4M invested by the AFCFT’s Tackling Serious Stress project.
Growing up as a service child in the UK to me meant living a life shaped by separation, but also meant resilience and quiet strength.
As someone who has spent years researching military-connected children and young people, and working alongside Covenant Fund-backed programmes, I’ve developed both ground-level intimacy and strategic distance with this work.
In ten short years, the Armed Forces Covenant Fund has distributed over £100 million through 4,000 grants, reaching every nation and region of the UK.