We are delighted to announce a new collaborative fund offering a limited number of unrestricted grants to charities, CICs, or NHS-led services (via linked NHS charities) tackling urgent challenges in perinatal mental health care in innovative ways.
In the first year of this fund, we will be offering four grantees £15,000 each. The funds have been given to MMHA for the specific purpose of onward granting by a family trust.
We are specifically looking for applications from organisations that can demonstrate lived experience leadership and aim to make perinatal mental health care both more equitable and better integrated across local and national systems.
Examples could be, but are not limited to:
Grant applications will not make it to shortlisting unless they meet these essential criteria:
1. A proven track record of improving perinatal mental health in your organisation or service
2. The project/service/organisation must meet one or more of the following:
a) race, faith and culture
b) under-25s
c) complex social, emotional and financial circumstances (including poverty, addiction, and domestic abuse)
d) rural deprivation
For NHS charities linked to an NHS Trust there are additional requirements:
An NHS Charity can apply for a grant which will be processed as a Perinatal Mental Health Services Enhancement Programme (a single restricted programme) but due to statutory obligations the project aim must be to enhance and extend perinatal mental health services beyond statutory provision, including additional therapeutic capacity and patient support.
Examples:
Funds cannot:
NB. Charitable funds are meant to add value, not plug routine funding gaps.
This means you will need to confirm and briefly describe your safeguarding policies and processes, including how these are reviewed, how you manage your finances and how you are governed as an organisation.
To apply for this grant, the first step is to complete this Expression of Interest form.
If you meet the relevant criteria, you will be invited to fill in the application form. In this instance, please either complete the online application form or submit an audio application answering the questions.
If you meet the relevant criteria we will invite you to fill in the application form (or to submit an audio entry). We will share this with you via email, please note that this is not a form where you can save your progress and return to it. We strongly suggest you prepare your answers to the questions in advance and then copy them into the form.
Here is a downloadable PDF featuring the application questions so that you can prepare your answers before filling in the form.
This can be recorded on any voice memos app, or as a voicenote, downloaded then sent to us for free via WeTransfer and answers (within the word limit) to the questions in this PDF will need to be included:
Note: we want to understand what you are hoping to deliver with the funding and how it best matches the criteria. Please ensure you listen back to your audio clip before sending as we need to be able to clearly hear you or your interpreter.
We will also accept a handwritten form. Please scan and send to grant@maternalmentalhealthalliance.org or post to MMHA, International House, 12 Constance Street, London E16 2DQ
We will let all applicants know the outcome of their application.
Yes. We believe offering unrestricted funding can enable meaningful impact for frontline services.
No, this is a one application per organisation process.
Yes, as long as the contribution to the project matches the criteria and it is clear what the contribution adds to the project.
Yes, a partnership approach for one £15k grant is acceptable.
No, turnover does not impact eligibility.
Four grants for £15,000 each
The application will be assessed on how well the application matches all the criteria. The assessment panel will include MMHA staff, an MMHA lived experience champion and representatives from the family trust who have gifted the MMHA this funding to distribute. They will make the final decision.
We apply weighting to the assessment to ensure we prioritise projects that most closely align with the aims of this fund, particularly lived experience leadership, equity, and system integration.
Unfortunately not for this round of funding.
Grant duration/expected delivery: October 2026 – March 2028
There will be an evaluation form to complete at the end of the grant duration to capture what has been delivered, the impact and any learnings. The form will be shared with the grantees at the start. The light touch monitoring will be decided with the grantee based on the application.
Attending 4 online group meetings (90mins) with the other grantees, sharing insights, learnings and being a supportive and critical friend for each other. The group will decide how best to communicate e.g. emails, WhatsApp, SLACK etc
Yes, you will be offered meetings with the Director of Engagement every other month as well as the offer of general support/sounding board etc.
If you have any questions, please email grant@maternalmentalhealthalliance.org
