Festival Medical Services
At a glance
Key takeaways
- Festival Medical Services fits best with a health or education project that names who will benefit, runs for one or two years and leaves something lasting through capacity building, and its stated focus is around the world.
- Most of its grants fall between £4,500 and £15,000, with a median of about £9,800 and a largest of about £18,500, so a request in that band is typical rather than a ceiling.
- It accepts applications on a rolling basis, so you can make contact at any time by emailing a brief project description, the beneficiaries and outline costings, and it says it will work with you to develop the project.
- Smaller charities are given priority, and successful applications usually have an FMS champion who oversees the project and may visit it, so the relationship with that champion appears important, and successful charities must provide a five-minute video showing how the money was used.
- Do not apply if your project is not health or education based, or if it asks for airfares or consultant travel to remote hospitals, which it does not fund.
Overview
Festival Medical Services is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (charity number 1124695).
Festival Medical Services is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales, set up for the relief of sickness through medical services and emergency relief, particularly at public gatherings. It also aims to advance education and training in medical care for its members, volunteers and the public. It says it has donated over £2 million to medical charities that improve lives worldwide, and it has made grants to medical charities around the world throughout its existence.
What they fund
Priority Areas
FMS makes grants to medical charities around the world, while its policy also allows education-based project work. It gives smaller charities priority. A proposal must focus on a specific project, identify who benefits and have a defined one- or two-year timeframe. Projects must be health or education based and include capacity building that leaves an enduring benefit. The website asks applicants to email a brief project description, beneficiaries and outline costings; FMS says it will work with applicants to develop projects and may source equipment at advantageous prices. The charity committee also checks published information about applicants' financial stability and probity.
Themes
- Health
- Education
Geographic Focus
Around the world.
What they don't fund
- International or domestic airfares
- Travel for consultants from the UK to visit remote hospitals
How to apply
Email a brief description of the project, who it will benefit and outline costings. FMS says it will work with applicants to develop the project and may be able to source equipment at advantageous prices.
Who can apply:
- Applications from charities registered with the Charity Commission of England and Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland, or have 501(c)(3) Not For Profit status granted by US Internal revenue. Where this is not possible the Grants Committee will ensure that the project meets the same standard of reporting detail as the UK/US bodies require.
- The application must be focused on a specific project with a defined time frame. The timeframe should be one or two years and who is to benefit must be clearly stated.
- The project must be health or education based.
- The project must have an element of capacity building, in other words it must leave a legacy of enduring benefit.
Application success factors
What the charity says:
- Smaller charities are given priority.
- Projects should be specific, identify beneficiaries and have a defined one- or two-year timeframe.
- Projects must be health or education based and include capacity building that leaves an enduring benefit.
- The charity committee reviews published data about a recipient charity's financial stability and probity and checks compliance with FMS policy.
- Successful charities are expected to provide a five-minute video showing how the donation was used and its benefits.
- Successful applications usually have an FMS champion who oversees the project and may visit it.
Where they fund
Where it says it funds
- International
Similar funders
Funders supporting work similar to Festival Medical Services.
Grants
How much do they typically give?
Share of 18 grants in year to 31 October 2025 by size
Median £9,832 (year to 31 October 2025)
The largest grants to organisations in this funder’s latest annual report:
- Project Harar · Providing urgent, life-changing treatment to 100 infants and children affected by cleft lip and palate conditions in remote and insecure living situations in the Amhara region of Ethiopia£18,417year to 31 October 2025
- Ethiopian Medical Project · Fund items to treat Podoconiosis£15,000year to 31 October 2025
- Tulsi Trust · Contribution to running the healthcare of Bengali resettled refugees and the indigenous Adivasi tribes of Chhattisgarh, India.£15,000year to 31 October 2025
- Equal Aqua Uganda · Two latrines benefiting 621 children in two schools, one rainwater harvesting tank to improve water access for one school with a population of 129 children. Clean water filters. Hygiene education. All works taking place in Uganda.£13,062year to 31 October 2025
- Pahar Trust Nepal · Contribution towards building a Maternity Unit in Pokhara, Nepal.£12,218year to 31 October 2025
- MAMA Project · Seven three wheeled motorcycle ambulances and driver training in South Sudan£12,081year to 31 October 2025
- Bridge2Aid · Dental Treatment for 2,000 approx. by training eight dental therapists in Tanzania£10,130year to 31 October 2025
- S.A.L.V.E · Addiction Support Services for street connected children in Uganda. Costs of running an Addiction Support Services scheme for 6 months. Providing young people with the support they need to overcome their addictions.£10,000year to 31 October 2025
Grant examples taken from the funder’s filed accounts.
Five years of accounts
| Financial year | Income | Expenditure | Grants paid | Accounts document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| year to 31 October 2021 | £457,383 | £327,781 | — | Accounts for year to 31 October 2021 |
| year to 31 October 2022 | £679,744 | £468,651 | £170,148 | Accounts for year to 31 October 2022 |
| year to 31 October 2023 | £799,845 | £708,892 | — | Accounts for year to 31 October 2023 |
| year to 31 October 2024 | £661,353 | £601,545 | — | Accounts for year to 31 October 2024 |
| year to 31 October 2025 | — | — | £167,780 | Accounts for year to 31 October 2025 |
- Grants paid, year to 31 October 2022: grants to institutions, as reported on the charity register (Part B).
- Grants paid, year to 31 October 2025: grants awarded in the year, as reported in the accounts.
— No grants figure for that year.
Figures from the charity’s filed accounts and its register entry. The document icon links to the charity’s entry on the Charity Commission register, where its filed accounts can be found.
Sources
Registers and filings
Other sources
- festival-medical.org/charities · read on 31 October 2026
- festival-medical.org/apply-for-a-grant · read on 31 October 2026
- festival-medical.org · read on 31 October 2026
- festival-medical.org/how-can-i-support-festival-medical-services · read on 31 October 2026
- Annual report (year to 31 October 2025)
This profile draws on the funder’s own website as well as its filed accounts.
Sources last checked on 31 October 2026.
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At a glance
Applying to Festival Medical Services?
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Applying to Festival Medical Services?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required