Thomas Pocklington Trust: Expression of Interest 2025
Overview
The strategic priorities of the Trust are:
- Acting as an advocate and positive change agent for blind and partially sighted people.
- Creating opportunities for blind and partially sighted people seeking employment.
- Enabling opportunities and supporting blind and partially sighted people in and entering education.
- Facilitating the voice and encouraging self-determination of blind and partially sighted people.
- Being an effective partner and grant funder based on knowledge of the sector.
For 2025
For the 2025 funding round, they invite applications for work and research that focus on educational transitions, ensuring that blind and partially sighted people gain the skills, confidence, and experiences they need to move forward in education, training, and employment.
Blind and partially sighted people continue to face significant barriers in education, which impact their wellbeing, confidence, and future opportunities.
They want to fund work that challenges these barriers, builds independence, and supports long-term inclusion.
Fund Priorities
Their funding aims to support initiatives that enable blind and partially sighted people to successfully navigate key educational transitions. These transitions should be person-centred, recognising the unique journeys, aspirations, and circumstances of each individual.
They are particularly interested in work that contributes to the development of the skills, confidence, and experiences needed to progress through education and into further study, training, employment, or meaningful engagement in society.
They welcome applications for both practical work and research activities that demonstrate a clear and measurable impact and complement our current work on transitions.
For more information on their current work on educational transitions visit their Student Transitions page.
Who can apply
They welcome applications from UK registered organisations with a minimum of 12 months of audited annual accounts, including:
- Charities, non-profits, and social enterprises, including those working specifically with blind and partially sighted people, or more broadly across disability.
- Universities and research institutions.
- Training providers and employment-focused organisations.
- Organisations outside the sight loss sector that can demonstrate relevant expertise and impact.
Funding Level
There is no minimum amount for applications. Applications may be for up to a maximum of £75,000, which can be spent over a period of up to three years. The total allocation for this funding round is approximately £200,000.
Thomas Pocklington Trust (TPT) provides grants for a broad range of projects that support the delivery of positive outcomes for blind and partially sighted people around our key funding themes across the UK.
What can be funded
Funding may be used for:
- Salaries or staff posts, where any employees’ roles are dedicated to the work within the application and is calculated through Full Cost Recovery.
- Training and upskilling for staff or beneficiaries.
- Professional fees (e.g., consultants, trainers, external specialists).
- Resource development (e.g., accessible materials, websites, toolkits).
- Capital items essential to the proposed work (e.g., assistive tech or equipment).