Maudsley Charity

Quick Stats

• Annual Giving: £44 million committed over 5 years
• Success Rate: Highly competitive (specific % not disclosed)
• Decision Time: Approximately 12 weeks from complete application
• Grant Range: £200 - £1,000,000
• Geographic Focus: South London (Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark)

Contact Details

Website: www.maudsleycharity.org

Email: Rebecca.gray@maudsleycharity.org

Phone: 020 3696 9760

Grant enquiries: grants@maudsleycharity.org

Application platform: SmartSimple (registration required)

For programme-specific queries, the Charity's programme team is available to answer questions, give advice and help make connections with other organisations.

Overview

Maudsley Charity is the largest NHS mental health charity in the UK and serves as the hospital charity for South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM). Founded to support patients and families, clinical care teams and scientists working towards improving mental health, the charity operates with a focus on the four south London boroughs of Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham, and Southwark. The charity has committed approximately £44 million over the next five years, with £24 million specifically allocated to helping people live well with psychosis and improving the lives of vulnerable children and young people. Their grants range from multi-million pound clinical and research initiatives intended to drive change across the UK, to smaller scale projects directly supporting people experiencing mental illness. Since 2020, the charity has significantly increased its focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion, recognizing that experiences of racism, exclusion and poverty contribute to high levels of mental illness and negatively impact access to treatment and support.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

Change Makers (Staff-only programme)

• £200 - £2,000 per project
• For South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust staff only
• Small projects to improve access, outcomes or experience for people with mental illness
• Opens 3 times per year (rolling basis)
• Since 2022: £213,860 awarded to 154 projects

Living Well with Psychosis

• Programme total: £10 million over 5 years
• Recent round: up to £3 million available
• Community Support stream: grants for community and voluntary organizations
• Research and Services stream: for SLaM and King's College London (up to £1 million available)
• Supports work with people affected by psychosis, including bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and schizoaffective disorder
• Expression of Interest deadline varies by round

Building Brighter Futures

• Programme total: £10 million
• Development Grants: £5,000 - £15,000 (to support co-production of full applications)
• Main Grants: £300,000 - £500,000 (up to £1 million considered)
• For children and young people aged 10-19 living in challenging circumstances with complex difficulties
• Optional development grant phase before full application

Community and Connection (Now discontinued)

• Historical programme: average grants £20,000 - £30,000
• Replaced by larger, targeted funding allocations
• Existing commitments continue to be honoured

Priority Areas

• Psychosis and severe mental illness: Supporting people living with psychosis, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and schizoaffective disorder
• Children and young people's mental health: Focus on ages 10-19 experiencing challenging circumstances and complex difficulties
• Equity and inclusion: Prioritizing work with racially minoritised communities and people experiencing social or economic disadvantage
• Quality improvement and innovation: Piloting new approaches at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
• Research: Supporting research at King's College London's Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience
• Community services: Voluntary and community sector services that complement mental health care
• Anti-racism work: Including the Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework (£991,566 committed in 2023/24)

What They Don't Fund

• Individuals - sole traders or consultants
• Organisations not based in the UK
• Third-party applications - applications must be submitted by the organisation itself
• For-profit companies - where profits are distributed to private individuals
• Organisations working exclusively with under-18s
• Projects outside the four south London boroughs (for community-focused programmes)
• Community Interest Companies without asset locks - CICs must have mechanisms ensuring assets are used for charitable purposes

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Governance and Leadership

Executive Leadership

Sarah Holloway, Chief Executive (joined April 2025)

• Previously Programme Director at King's Maudsley Partnership for Children and Young People
• Quote: “As the largest specialist funder in mental health, we have a huge opportunity to generate innovation in practice and also to scale what we know works. Both will improve support and address longstanding inequalities.”

Alice Casey, Director of Programmes

• Responsible for developing impact and innovation through grant making
• Quote on project selection: “At the heart of our decision making was the need to ensure the projects reflect our diverse local communities, so equality and inclusion were essential factors in our deliberations.”
• Quote on youth mental health: “With analysis by NHS England predicting a 60% increase in demand for child and adolescent mental health services there has never been a more crucial time to support the mental health of children and young people.”

Board of Trustees

Frances Corner, Chair of Trustees

• Leads a board of eleven Trustees
• Three Trustees nominated by South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
• Eight independent Trustees

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

1. Register on SmartSimple: All applications require registration on the charity's grant management platform
2. Expression of Interest: Most programmes begin with an EOI stage
3. Assessment stages: Include review by charity team, video calls, informal visits from grant assessors and Lived Experience assessors
4. Development grants available: For Building Brighter Futures, applicants can request £5,000-£15,000 to support co-production before full application
5. Pre-application contact encouraged: The programme team is available to discuss ideas before formal application

Decision Timeline

• Typical decision time: Approximately 12 weeks from submission of complete application
• Multi-stage process: Applications reviewed by charity team, then may be presented to Board of Trustees for final approval
• Notification: Applicants notified of decisions directly

Success Rates

• Described as a “highly competitive process” by the charity's Director of Programmes
• Specific success rate percentages not publicly disclosed
• Recent round examples:
• £250,000 awarded across multiple community projects
• £847,000 awarded to six projects in Living Well with Psychosis programme
• 154 Change Makers projects funded from 5 rounds (2022-present)

Reapplication Policy

Information about reapplication for unsuccessful applicants is not publicly available on the website. Applicants should contact grants@maudsleycharity.org for specific guidance on reapplication policies for individual programmes.

Application Success Factors

What They Look For

Lived Experience Involvement: Strong evidence of how people with lived experience of serious mental illness and/or their carers are actively involved in design and delivery. The charity involves people with lived experience in their grant assessment process.

Equity and Inclusion Focus: Projects must reflect diverse local communities. As Alice Casey states, “equality and inclusion were essential factors in our deliberations.” Priority is given to organizations that effectively cater for racially minoritised communities.

Future Plans and Ambition: While they may provide core funding for existing work, they want to see organizations have thought about their future potential and what funding would enable them to achieve.

Partnership and Co-production: Time and resources to engage children, young people, families and carers in developing proposals. The charity offers development grants specifically to support this co-production work.

Evidence of Impact: Demonstrating tangible differences to mental health service users' lives, with clear approaches tailored to specific needs.

Geographic Connection: Clear demonstration of benefit to one or more of the four south London boroughs (Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark).

Recent Funded Projects

• Raw Sounds: Community music project for people accessing SLaM mental health services, including in-patients
• Loophole Music: Supporting patients at Bethlem Royal Hospital through music technology, songwriting, improvisation, and production
• Hear Us: Expert advice and guidance for people with severe mental health conditions applying for benefits and entitlements, using peer support
• Croydon Women's Hub: Services for women with serious mental illness who have been hospitalised and have had contact with criminal justice services
• Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework: £991,566 committed to nine Change Ideas advancing anti-racism activities
• Clinical research projects including treatment for 'treatment resistant' psychosis and evaluation of body worn cameras in NHS healthcare settings

Application Tips

• Engage early: Contact the programme team before applying to ensure alignment with funding priorities
• Consider development funding: Use the development grant option (where available) to properly co-produce your application
• Demonstrate diversity: Show how your approach reflects and serves diverse communities
• Be specific about impact: Clearly articulate tangible outcomes for people with mental illness
• Show lived experience leadership: Evidence meaningful involvement of people with mental health experience, not tokenistic consultation
• Be realistic about capacity: Especially for smaller organizations - the charity values trusted community organizations already working in the space

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

• Geographic specificity matters: Unless applying for research/clinical programmes, you must demonstrate clear benefit to Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham, or Southwark residents
• Equity is non-negotiable: The charity explicitly prioritizes work addressing racial inequality and supporting people who have been “failed most by services, systems and society”
• Lived experience involvement is assessed: Your application will be reviewed by people with lived experience of mental illness - ensure genuine co-production, not consultation
• Two major themes dominate: Psychosis and children/young people's mental health are the strategic priorities with the most significant funding available
• Development support is available: Don't rush a full application - use development grants to properly engage communities and build partnerships
• Competition is significant: Applications are “highly competitive” - only apply if you have strong alignment with priorities and evidence of impact
• Pre-application discussion is welcomed: The team actively encourages queries and advice-seeking before formal submission - use this opportunity to strengthen your application

Similar Funders

These funders frequently fund the same charities:

• The Football Foundation
• BBC Children in Need
• Joseph Rowntree Foundation
• The London Community Foundation
• The Access to Justice Foundation
• THE A B CHARITABLE TRUST
• The Indigo Trust
• London Legal Support Trust
• Civic Power Fund
• Lewisham Local
• THE BRIDGE TRUST
• Islington Giving
• Unbound Philanthropy
• London Borough of Islington
• Greater London Authority
• National Lottery
• THE UNITED CHARITIES
• Herbert Smith Freehills
• Human Rights Consortium
• SUSTRANS

References

1. Maudsley Charity website - Grants overview: https://maudsleycharity.org/grants/
2. Maudsley Charity - Our work by grants programme: https://maudsleycharity.org/our-work/work-in-grants-programmes/
3. Maudsley Charity - Change Makers programme: https://maudsleycharity.org/our-grants/change-makers/
4. Maudsley Charity - Living Well with Psychosis: https://maudsleycharity.org/our-grants/living-well-with-psychosis-research-and-services/
5. Maudsley Charity - Building Brighter Futures: https://maudsleycharity.org/our-grants/building-brighter-futures/
6. Maudsley Charity - Diversity, Equality and Inclusion: https://maudsleycharity.org/about/diversity-equality-and-inclusion/
7. Maudsley Charity - About Us: https://maudsleycharity.org/about/about-us/
8. Maudsley Charity - Trustees and leadership: https://maudsleycharity.org/about/board-and-executives/
9. South London and Maudsley NHS Trust - Press release “Maudsley Charity announces £250k funding for mental health projects”: https://slam.nhs.uk/pressreleases/maudsley-charity-announces-250k-funding-for-mental-health-projects-599
10. Maudsley Charity - Case Studies: https://maudsleycharity.org/case-studies/
11. Charity Commission Register - MAUDSLEY CHARITY 1175877: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regId=1175877&subId=0
12. Maudsley Charity - Sarah Holloway appointment: https://maudsleycharity.org/news/sarah-holloway-new-maudsley-charity-ceo/