Grants of up to £50,000 are available to a wide range of organisations in England, including registered charities, Community Interest Companies and local authorities, for projects and activities that commemorate, celebrate and educate their local area about the contribution of the Windrush generation and their descendants across the United Kingdom. Applications are encouraged from outside Greater London and the South East, so that Windrush Day builds a good profile throughout all regions in England.
National Windrush Day is 22 June annually. Projects must include a lead event or activity on this date. This will ensure that the projects funded by the 2025 Windrush Day Grant Scheme celebrate the anniversary of the arrival of the MV Empire Windrush on National Windrush Day. All further events and activities must take place before 30 September 2025.
The Ministry is looking to fund projects that focus primarily on at least one of the overarching aims of the Windrush Day Grant Scheme, as follows:
- To educate people about the Windrush story. Projects will build awareness of historical facts and deepen understanding about the Windrush generation and their descendants. This includes the pioneers who arrived on the MV Empire Windrush in 1948, and those who came on vessels and planes in the decades after World War 2.
- To foster a greater sense of national pride and recognition of the historic and ongoing contributions made by the Windrush generation and their descendants to UK society. The Windrush generation and their descendants have contributed a great deal to society over more than seven decades. The scheme invites proposals for projects that proactively support and enable people from different backgrounds to embrace this aspect of our shared history.
- To develop the skills and entrepreneurial ambitions of young people. To inspire the next generation of young leaders to learn new skills to encourage them to pursue their aspirations and contribute to the social capital of society in the UK, and/or
- To celebrate and commemorate the continued contributions of the Windrush generation to the UK. The Ministry wants projects to commemorate and recognise how much the Windrush generation and their descendants have brought to and done for the UK.
In addition, all proposals should have the following aim:
- To be community-led and have a positive social impact. The Ministry wants projects to be developed by, or with, the Windrush generation and their descendants, and for organisations to carefully consider how the project will create a positive social impact in their local area, helping to galvanise communities to work together to embrace positive aspects of their shared identity.
For the 2025 Windrush Day Grant Scheme, MHCLG is providing a total of £500,000 to fund activities across England. The minimum amount available for each project is £5,000 and the maximum is £50,000. There are 2 tiers of funding for 2025:
- Tier 1: smaller projects, of a value between £5,000 and £24,999.
- Tier 2: larger projects, of a value between £25,000 and £50,000. Please note that there is a limited amount of funding available for Tier 2 projects.
A number of workshops have been scheduled in October for organisations interested in applying to the programme. Find out more.
Further information, guidance and details about how to apply is available on the MHCLG website and the Near Neighbours website (the programme is being managed by Near Neighbours on behalf of MHCLG).
Near Neighbours in a London-based charity with a focus on bringing people together in communities that are religiously and ethnically diverse, so that they can get to know each other better, build relationships of trust, and collaborate together on initiatives that improve the local community they live in.