Closing date: 15 Jan 2025

Funded by Armed Forces Covenant Fund

Supporting Serving Families Overseas Programme

Overseas programme to offer support to serving families stationed overseas. To identify and address challenges impacting the wellbeing of partners, children and young people during overseas deployments.

Apply by 12 noon GMT 15 January 2025

Grants between £3K and £20K

Open to overseas Armed Forces unit, base or defence location and registered charities

This programme offers grants of between £3,000 and £20,000 to support serving families stationed overseas. It aims to help overseas bases, or UK-based charities working with them, identify and address challenges impacting the wellbeing of partners, children and young people during overseas deployments.

Eligibility

We welcome applications from:

  • An overseas Armed Forces unit, base or defence location 
  • Registered charities working in partnership with an Armed Forces overseas unit, base or defence location.

There is more detailed information about eligibility in the programme guidance available below. It is important that you read the programme guidance carefully before you apply.

What’s available

You can apply for grant of between £3,000 and £20,000 towards a project being delivered over a period of up to 12 months.

Themes and priorities

We are looking to support projects which offer new forms of targeted support for families of serving personnel posted and living overseas to help them thrive in their new communities and build networks of support to improve wellbeing.

Your project will need to meet one or more of the following outcomes:

  • Provide new forms of personalised and targeted support in location for partners, young people, and children and their wellbeing whilst posted overseas. 
  • Increase serving families’ knowledge of existing services and recreational provision.
  • Reduce isolation and the impact of loneliness in country for partners, young people and children.

Deadlines and dates to note

If you apply by 12 noon GMT 15 January 2025, you will receive a decision before end of March 2025.

Guidance and resources

Before making your application to this programme, we strongly recommend you use the helpful resources below to ensure you make the best application you can.

We encourage you to take a look at the application questions before beginning your online application to the Supporting Serving Families Overseas programme.

You can also view the terms and conditions to receiving a grant.

Application questions in word

Please note, this is for reference only and applications can only be made via our online application portal.

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Frequently asked questions

Please note, we will add to this list if and when we receive queries from applicants.

Yes, if your charity is registered in the UK; constituted to deliver services overseas and works in partnership with an Armed Forces overseas unit, base or defence location. There is more information about partnerships and eligibility in our programme guidance.

No. Your project only needs to address one of the outcomes. However, you can address more than one outcome, if it is appropriate to your project and it meets the needs of your intended beneficiaries.

Yes. You can apply for funding to continue an existing project, if you can evidence a clear benefit and show that overseas Service families have helped to inform your project, and that the project meets at least one of the programme outcomes.

If you are applying on behalf of an armed forces unit or base and your application is successful, we will request a supporting statement from the CO/OC or equivalent to ensure that all projects are compliant with the host country.

If you are applying as a charity and working in partnership with an armed forces unit or base, and your application is successful, we will still expect a supporting statement from the CO/OC or equivalent with a delivery partnership agreement.

Whilst we do not need this at application stage, you might want to bear this in mind as part of your planning.

If your application is successful, we will ask you to provide a statement of support from the CO/OC or equivalent. This is a formal letter of support endorsing your project and confirming compliance with the host country. It should be completed on headed paper and include their full name, rank, address, telephone number and email address.

Yes, we advise all our applicants to carefully consider and include exchange rate costs when planning their budgets. This ensures that financial planning is robust and can accommodate fluctuations in currency values, which could impact the overall budget.

We will make the awards in GBP, so your application should be budgeted in GBP even if expenditure will be in local currency. All reporting back to us on spend, if your application is successful, should also be in GBP.

No, the total amount of the grant as per your offer letter will not be increased whether or not your project costs go up. If there are significant changes to your project budget these should be discussed with the Trust.

We will pay the grant in the currency of your named and authorised bank account.

If you have a UK bank account, we strongly prefer that you use it for all transactions with us. This simplifies the process for both parties and may offer additional benefits, such as avoiding international transfer fees and facilitating quicker payments.

If you do not have a UK bank account, if your application is successful you will need to provide us with the following information to process transactions:

Your bank’s international routing code (e.g., SWIFT/BIC).

Your account number and the name on the account. (We will discuss the specific evidence we require if you are awarded a grant)

Any additional information required by your bank for international transfers, such as the bank’s full address and your sort code.

Supporting letter authorising use of the account from the account holder.

 

Please note that we will not ask for this information unless your application is successful, but you may want to include finding out about bank account arrangements as part of your project planning.

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