NHS Staff Area Your NHS charity Apply for a grant This page is for BFT NHS staff only. On this page: The hospitals we support What we fund Grant eligibility Grant rounds Approvals Apply for a grant What happens next Guidelines, FAQs and terms TOGETHER, WE DO GREAT THINGS Bristol & Weston Hospitals Charity is proud to be the NHS charity partner to Bristol NHS Foundation Trust (BFT), one of the largest acute Trusts in the country. Together, we support 1.75 million patients and 28,000 dedicated NHS staff in 13 hospitals across the region, from Southmead Hospital to Bristol Royal Infirmary and Weston General Hospital. One NHS Trust, one NHS charity and one full-hearted community, together we do great things for the people of Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. Find out more about what we do. The 13 hospitals we support across the region: What we fund Together, we see where the need is greatest and we respond, supporting older patients, enabling healthcare for all, creating healing environments and innovating for change. Our funding focuses on four priority areas where we can make the greatest difference, bringing moments of joy, comfort, and hope to those who need it most. Eligibility To apply for a grant, you must be a member of staff at Bristol NHS Foundation Trust (formerly University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust) and meet the below criteria: For more information, please read our grant policy and funding terms. If you would like to informally discuss an application, please get in touch with the grants team. Grant rounds When the grant round is open, all applications for both over £250 and under £250 will be assessed. Please complete the relevant application form for your request below. When the grant round is closed, only small grant applications under £250 will continue to be assessed. Grant round open Grant round closed 17th November 2025 28th January 2026 29th April 2026 29th July 2026 29th October 2026 27th January 2027 19th December 2025 31st March 2026 30th June 2026 30th September 2026 19th December 2026 31st March 2027 APPROVALS Approval meetings for applications up to £15K occur on a weekly or fortnightly basis. This may be delayed depending on whether further information is required. Approval for applications over £15,000 require sign-off from the Finance & Grants Committee and over £50,000 require sign-off from the Trustee board. For your application to be reviewed, it will need to be received in time before the next meeting date. Any applications received after these cut off dates, will be included in the following committee meeting. You can expect to hear an outcome 1-2 weeks after the below dates. Date application needs to be received by Finance & Grant Committee Meetings (for grants over 15k) Trustee Meetings (for grants over 50k) 19th December 2025 31st March 2026 30th June 2026 30th September 2026 28th January 2026 29th April 2026 29th July 2026 29th October 2026 12th February 2026 13th May 2026 10th September 2026 12th November 2026 AppLY FOR A GRANT Southmead Hospital Charity has come together with Bristol & Weston Hospitals Charity, to form one NHS charity supporting the 13 hospitals within Bristol NHS Foundation Trust. Our grant process remains unchanged for now. However, applications are currently split across two areas, so please make sure you select the correct option below. GRANTS FOR meetings, conferences, training, courses Bristol & Weston Hospitals Charity is working in collaboration with the Study Leave Team at BFT (formerly UHBW). You will need to apply via their website and the team will then direct your application to the most suitable funding route. Applications must adhere to the BFT Study Leave policy and the guidelines that can be found here. Please note, you cannot apply for more than one person at a time. If there are two attendees for a meeting, you will need to each apply separately. For questions about this application form, please contact the BFT (formerly UHBW) Study Leave team on [email protected]. START APPLICATION Research grants Research funds are administered via the UHBW Research Capability Funding Committee. To apply for research grants, applications are made via the NHS Trust website. BFT (formerly UHBW) are in the process of moving content to their new website. To apply for a research grant, visit the previous UHBW website. what happens next You will receive an email to acknowledge that we have received your application. Depending on the amount requested, it may take longer to process due to levels of approval needed. If you have applied within our grant round we will be in touch to move the application forward. If approved, you will receive a Grant Approval (GA) number and next steps on how to proceed with expenditure. If outside of our grant round we will be in touch once the round opens again. guidelines, FAQS and FUNDING terms HAVE A QUESTION? WE'RE HERE TO HELP! If you have any questions about applying for a grant, eligibility, or an existing application, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our team. > Email us at [email protected] > Call us on 0117 927 7120 and press option 4 Manage Cookie Preferences