ASDA Foundation: Under 18 Better Start Grants

Overview

The Under 18s Better Starts (U18 BS) grant is one of their ‘Grassroots Grants’ programme, funding up to £2000 to enable local community groups to support a broad range of activities that benefit the lives of young people.

There are three rounds under this grant and this guidance is applied to round 3 only.

They know that no two communities are the same. The Under 18s Better Starts Grant empowers local community groups aiming to tackle poverty, address inclusion and boost wellbeing for children and young people.

This grant is for groups who are supporting people under the age of 18 in your community. If the activity being delivered by your group solely benefits people over 18 or a mixture of adults and children, then please review the Empowering Local Communities Grant criteria.

How do Asda Foundation grants work?

Applications need to have the endorsement of an Asda Community Champion, who work out of Asda’s largest stores* across the UK. They have a set budget made available to them to support a range of groups in their local community during each grant round. Asda Community Champions work for Asda and their time is gifted to Asda Foundation to support their grants process.

How much can I apply for and when?

Groups may apply for one Grassroots Grant per year to a maximum value of £2000 and minimum value of £400.

Groups may apply for one Grassroots Grant per year.
There are three grant rounds taking place in 2024.
Applications should be submitted to Asda Foundation at least 6 weeks before your activity to give enough processing time. Please give the Community Champion sufficient time.
For this grant, groups can apply for a fixed amount, choosing from one of the following options: £400, £500, £800, £1,000, £1,200, £1,600, £2,000.

Groups must discuss this with their Community and Customer Champions prior to them nominating your group for a grant. It is essential that groups stick to this agreed amount when completing their application on our Grant Management System.

Group Criteria

There is no minimum timescale for how long a group has been in existence before they can apply for an Asda Foundation Grassroots Grant; however, they MUST be able to meet all of the following criteria:

Be not-for-profit, as demonstrated in their governing document
Have an income below £1 million
Have suitable governance
- The group must demonstrate that it has suitable governance to be able to manage funds from Asda Foundation. E.g., Financial reporting, committee meetings, and safeguarding procedures that are relevant to the group.
Have a bank account that accepts cheques, and a bank statement which verifies their payee name
Have a visible local presence
Benefit people
Charge a reasonable amount for their activity/event.
Groups which charge more than a nominal fee to participate (i.e., membership charges) are ineligible from applying.
Have not received another Grassroots Grant this calendar year

For further details on eligible groups, see their full criteria here.

What will they fund

This grant is for groups who support solely under 18s in your community (for example, school holiday clubs and youth groups). If the activity being delivered benefits a mix of children and adults, then it would be an Empowering Local Communities Grant.

Below you can see a list of options including examples of the kind of things they would fund.

Please note this is not an exhaustive list. If you have any concerns or want to discuss something specific, please speak to your Community and Customer Champion who will be happy to help. The full list of What We Would Fund can be found on page 3 of their criteria here.

Food and Basic Essentials

Funding for the essentials to address an immediate need and/or situation. This can include items such as: food and hygiene items, and blankets, bedding and essential clothing.

Items to Improve/Maintain a Service

Funding to transform and/or improve a space/activity. Funding also to be used to bring people together for ongoing services. This can include items such as: furniture and long-term fixtures, items and equipment for group activities or essential sports clothing (maximum £400).

Volunteering

Funding to support Volunteer costs enabling them to continue supporting their groups and communities (maximum £120 per volunteer). This can include items such as: DBS checks, essential training course costs or travel costs to the volunteering location for delivering services.

Community Events

Funding to host community events. Group applying for Community Event application can apply for this ONLY. Maximum £400 for any one-off event, 1 event per group. This can include items such as: food for communal meals (maximum £12.50 per person) and decorations, entertainment and single-use items (maximum £100 combined).

Track grant Notes