Local Initiative Funding from The Drinkaware Trust

The Trust has a dedicated fund, supported by the Big Lottery Fund, to provide support for local initiatives. In particular we welcome applications that aim to further the strategic objectives of the Trust, which are to:

• Reduce alcohol misuse amongst under-18s.
• Raise awareness about long term health harms caused by hazardous or harmful levels of drinking.

Eligibility Criteria

The projects that we currently help fund fall into five general areas:

• Theatre in Education projects
• Educational workshops and training including peer-led education
• Public education campaigns
• Production or purchase of educational resources
• Conferences

The Trust accepts applications from:

• Registered charities
• Other voluntary organisations
• Statutory organisations and partnerships but only where our support is in addition to available statutory funds, not replacing statutory funds.

We do not accept applications from profit-making organisations or from individuals.

Grants are available for any part of the United Kingdom and for any age or population group.

The Trust is unlikely to support:

• Campaigns that do not have impact evaluation built in from the planning stage and which cannot demonstrate how they will make a difference.
• Anti drink drive campaigns.

The Trust will currently not support the following types of activities:

• Individual research projects or studentships, scholarships;
• An organisation’s core running costs (e.g. wages, rent, etc);
• Most capital costs (e.g. purchase of computers, sound and other equipment, vehicles etc);
• Leaflets that simply advertise services that an organisation provides;
• Treatment or counselling of people who are alcohol dependent or who have alcohol related diseases;
• Initiatives that are primarily concerned with drink spiking (i.e. with illegal drugs);
• Projects that do not conform to Department of Health guidelines about responsible drinking;
• Sponsorships, self-publishing and advertising;
• Training of staff in licensed premises.

The minimum grant that we award is £250 and the normal maximum is £2500. We will not normally consider grants for above this amount. We always look for evidence that you have sought other avenues of funding if this is required to make up a shortfall.

We will normally only fund a single organisation once in any calendar year.

How to Apply

This is a rolling programme with no application deadlines. However you should apply at least two months before your project is due to start.

All applications for funding should be made using our Application Form which is available to download from our website or by emailing This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it .

Where you are planning a public education campaign or design of a resource, we normally ask that you send us draft artwork or at least the kind of message that you want to promote, with your application.

We prefer to receive applications as email attachments to the Grants Officer at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it . If this is not possible please send printed applications in the post to:

Andy Law
Grants Officer
The Drinkaware Trust
7-10 Chandos St
London
W1G 9DQ

What happens next?

When we receive your application we will acknowledge receipt of it by email, as soon as possible. Applications then receive an initial evaluation to determine whether they are eligible for funding.

Applications are then evaluated against the following general criteria:

• Does the proposal contribute to our strategic objectives?
• Does it follow best practice in the relevant field?
• Is it efficient, offering good value for money?
• Is it able to demonstrate that it will make a tangible difference to its beneficiaries (evaluation component built in)?
• Does the project engage intensively with beneficiaries?
• Is it innovative in its approach, offering learning potential?
• Does it utilise other organisations to leverage support for wider delivery and replication?
• Is it unable to take place or would its impact be significantly reduced without our support?

We often need to ask you questions about your project and we will normally do this by email or by phone. We may ask for certified accounts and a copy of your constitution, and we may ask to visit you to discuss the proposal.

If you have provided artwork or messages as part of a public education campaign, we like to have the opportunity to discuss this with you.

We will normally reply to you with our final decision between five and ten weeks after receiving your initial application, depending on how complex the application is.

If we agree to fund your project

We will send you a letter to confirm this. You will then need to invoice The Drinkaware Trust for the sum agreed. You should allow 30 days for us to process the invoice and send your cheque.

We will normally publish a short description of your project on our website under Project Profiles. 

We ask that all projects that we fund:

• acknowledge the Trust’s contribution in associated literature and publicity;
• use the Drinkaware.co.uk logo where appropriate;
• adhere to Department of Health guidelines;
• complete our Evaluation Form;
• send us hard copies of any materials (e.g. videos, posters, etc) that are produced as part of your project.

Funds are given for the specific purposes agreed in your application. Where for any reason a project undergoes significant change after receiving funding agreement from Drinkaware, you must contact us and tell us about it.

If we don’t agree to fund your project

We will write to you explaining why. This will not normally preclude you from applying again, unless you are ineligible to apply in the first instance.
We are always happy to give advice informally over the phone on 020 7307 7450 or by email at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it before you make an application, or during the application process.

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