Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust: Free From Fear

Overview

Programme Overview

• Grants available: Between £75k-£150k 
• Funding on behalf of: The Armed Forces Covenant Fund 
• Project length: Between one and two years Programme aim(s): To address the impact of, and to support initiatives that will have a long-term effect in preventing, domestic abuse in serving personnel in the armed forces community, including pilot projects, continuations or adaptations/expansions of existing services. 
• Application closing date(s): Midday on Wednesday 2 July 2025 
• Awarded projects to start between: 1 October 2025 – 1 January 2026 
• Application form link: Apply to the Free from Fear programme 
• Terms and conditions to grant: Standard terms and conditions to grant 
• Will grant holders be required to use the Impact Hub? No

Eligibility

Applications are welcome from:

• Registered charities
• Community Interest Companies (CICs)
• Armed Forces bases/units
• Local Authorities
• NHS Bodies

See Guidance for further details.

What’s available

You can apply for grants between £75,000 and £150,000 towards a project being delivered over a period of one-to-two years.

Eligible costs

They can pay for most of the things you’ll need for your project or activity.

This includes people’s time, costs of delivering work online or buying/hiring equipment.

They understand that, currently, the real value of your income may have dropped due to inflationary pressures of running your organisation. You may have also found the rising cost of living has increased demand on your services.

The Trust will consider applications that include a reasonable contribution to overhead/core costs.

They would expect to see this reflected within your budget breakdown. It is highly unlikely that they will fund projects with budgets that are dominated by capital costs.

They would not expect to fund the costs of purchasing a vehicle, but they would pay for mileage costs on vehicles used by your staff and volunteers.

Your project might include the following costs.

• Staff time
  • Staff time for this fixed-term project.
  • Direct project work or for admin or to manage volunteers that may be involved in your project.
  • Sessional staff or freelancers that you may need to run your project.
  • Appropriate clinical supervision for workers who are supporting vulnerable individuals.
• Travel costs
  • Reasonable travel costs
  • Fares or mileage for project staff, volunteers or beneficiaries to enable participation in the project.
• Items to support your project
  • Purchasing items that enable activities to take place.
  • Art materials; sports/games/outdoor equipment; supplies for breakfast or social hubs.
  • Purchasing items that will help you to deliver your project, such as additional telephones or laptops or IT equipment.
• Reasonable overheads
  • Reasonable costs for storing and transporting items, including wear and tear on private vehicles.
  • Reasonable overheads, which reflect the cost to your organisation of delivering this project, taking account of recent cost increases.

Themes and priorities

They want to support projects that aim to focus on addressing domestic abuse through preventative measures or by providing effective support routes for victim-survivors.

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

• Deliver effective, preventative and educational measures regarding domestic abuse within Armed Forces communities, by addressing emerging and current challenges.
• Provide clear routes, or remove barriers, to enable victim-survivors to access effective support, including the ability to recognise and report domestic abuse.
• Establish long-term, sustainable improvements and adaptation of support to meet the evolving needs of victim-survivors.