Meningitis Research Foundation

Registered charity 1091105 · since 2002meningitis.org·International, United Kingdom·Updated 30 October 2026

At a glance

Open to applications

Fixed application deadlines · unsolicited applications welcome

Key takeaways

Meningitis Research Foundation is a research funder, so it suits work that is research into the causes, prevention or treatment of meningitis.
Its programme on the lifetime impacts of meningitis states requests of up to £50,000, and it especially encourages early-career researchers, participatory work with people who have lived experience, and projects that generate data in low- and middle-income countries.
Applications for that programme open in January and close in March, and late submissions are not considered, so the application form, budget template, due diligence form and any other documents should be ready well before the deadline and emailed to the research team.
Do not apply to that programme if the work solely looks at improving diagnosis, focuses on the host-pathogen response during infection, will be carried out outside the UK, Republic of Ireland and low- and middle-income countries, is based in mainland China or in countries under UK sanctions, or comes from a commercial or for-profit organisation.
The annual report gave no readable grants figure and no grant range, so the foundation's usual size of award and how competitive it is cannot be judged from the material, and the current call is the place to check before planning.

Overview

Meningitis Research Foundation is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (charity number 1091105).

Meningitis Research Foundation exists to defeat meningitis wherever it exists, and it awards grants for research into the causes, prevention and treatment of all forms of meningitis and associated infections. It says it is investing up to £1 million in pioneering research across the globe, and that its £19.5 million investment since it was founded has helped train a generation of researchers. Its research priorities include improving equitable use and uptake of meningitis vaccines and understanding and reducing the lifelong impacts of meningitis.

What they fund

Priority Areas

The foundation funds research into the causes, prevention and treatment of all forms of meningitis and associated infections. Its research priorities include improving equitable use and uptake of meningitis vaccines and understanding and reducing the lifelong impacts of meningitis. It funds innovative projects in these fields, with a focus on catalytic grants for early-career researchers and early-stage projects or feasibility studies. It also partners on research to improve global access to pathogen genomics and on data standards for equitable sharing of genomic and related metadata. Eligible administering organisations can include higher education and research institutions, charities and non-profit organisations, government bodies, and NGOs including civil society organisations. Proposals are independently reviewed, with the Scientific Advisory Panel making recommendations to trustees, who make the final funding decisions.

Themes

Meningitis vaccine access
Lifelong impacts of meningitis

Geographic Focus

Across the globe; UK; Republic of Ireland.

What they don't fund

Understanding the lifetime impacts of meningitis only:
- Applications that solely look at how to improve diagnosis, even though a faster and more accurate diagnosis should lead to more effective treatment and reduced after-effects
- Applications that focus on the host-pathogen response during infection that contributes to after-effects
- Applications that will conduct research outside the UK, Republic of Ireland and low- and middle-income countries
- Individuals or activities based in mainland China, because of the Chinese Overseas Non-Governmental Organisation Law, or in countries subject to UK sanctions
- Applicants or institutions unable to meet the conditions of the grant
- Commercial and for-profit organisations
- Overheads (indirect costs) if you’re based at a UK university

How to apply

Applicants complete the application form and prepare supporting attachments, then email the completed application and attachments to the research team.

Deadlines: Applications must be submitted by the deadline stated in the grant call; late submissions are not considered.

Application windows:

Understanding the lifetime impacts of meningitis: Opens in January, closes in March

Who can apply:

Understanding the lifetime impacts of meningitis
- The lead applicant must be employed at an eligible administering organisation.
- The administering organisation must be based within the UK, Republic of Ireland or a low- or middle-income country (LMIC). It can be a higher education institution, research institution, charity or non-profit organisation, government body, or non-government organisation (NGO), including civil society organisations.

What to send:

Understanding the lifetime impacts of meningitis
- The application form, completed in full.
- Budget template (Excel).
- Due diligence form, completed by the administering organisation before submitting the application.
- Any other required documents as specified in the application form.

Application success factors

What the charity says:

The foundation especially encourages proposals led by early-career researchers.
It especially encourages proposals that include participatory research involving people with lived experience in design, implementation or analysis.
It especially encourages projects that generate data in low- and middle-income countries.
The foundation assesses the suitability, quality and feasibility of the study design, timeline and methods.
It considers whether people with lived experience were involved in or consulted during application development, and how they will be engaged during and after the study.

Where they fund

Where it says it funds

United Kingdom
International

Similar funders

Funders supporting work similar to Meningitis Research Foundation.

Tres Cantos Open Lab FoundationRollingGave £1.3M Medical Research UKMixed deadlinesGave £5.2M British Society for Antimicrobial ChemotherapyInvitation onlyGave £19,977 The C P Charitable TrustNo public processGave £401k The Laerdal FoundationFixed deadlinesGave £3.4M Ana Leaf FoundationRollingGave £1.6M The Randal FoundationInvitation onlyGave £2.4M The London Women's Clinic FoundationNo public processGave £177k The John Caudwell FoundationNo public processGave £166k Myotubular TrustFixed deadlinesGave £249k

Five years of accounts

Financial year	Income	Expenditure	Grants paid	Accounts document
year to 31 March 2021	£3,378,145	£1,668,193	—	Accounts for year to 31 March 2021
year to 31 March 2022	£1,776,907	£1,954,430	—	Accounts for year to 31 March 2022
year to 31 March 2023	£3,647,237	£2,326,205	—	Accounts for year to 31 March 2023
year to 31 March 2024	£3,008,072	£2,480,792	—	Accounts for year to 31 March 2024
year to 31 March 2025	£2,637,478	£3,018,845	—	Accounts for year to 31 March 2025

— No grants figure for those years.

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.