National Deaf Children's Society
At a glance
Key takeaways
- Groups in the UK that support deaf children and their families fit the community grants, which bring families of deaf children together and build communities around them, so they should ask for an amount within the stated range of £1,000 to £10,000.
- The wider named grants have a typical band of £9,000 to £42,000 and a median of £17,000, but that band is not a ceiling, and the largest was about £150,000.
- Applications are rolling and the charity says decisions take 2 to 3 months, so plan for about 10 weeks.
- Before applying, take the eligibility quiz and make sure you have two contacts aged 18 or over with different email addresses and phone numbers, a safeguarding policy, a bank statement from the last 3 months and a completed budget sheet.
- Do not apply for work that has already taken place, is based outside the UK, or asks for salaries, core costs such as rent and utilities, or building improvements, as these are excluded, and note that only one project per organisation will be funded in a 12-month period, and the same project is unlikely to be funded a second time.
Overview
National Deaf Children's Society is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (charity number 1016532).
The National Deaf Children's Society is a charity registered in England and Wales, whose objects are to further the education of and relieve the needs of deaf children and young people. It awards community grants to UK groups and organisations supporting deaf children and their families, and grants to partner organisations for its international work on newborn hearing screening and early intervention in low- and middle-income countries. Its giving totalled £375,000 awarded, made up of two reported totals of £230,000 and £145,000.
What they fund
Priority Areas
The National Deaf Children's Society awards community grants to UK groups and organisations supporting deaf children and their families. Its community-grant programme aims to build communities that unite families of deaf children, with support shaped around family peer support, confidence and skills, deaf role models, friendship and communication development. Applications are assessed for how well a proposal meets deaf children's needs and the impact it will have, as well as the strength and leadership of the applicant organisation. NDCS also awards grants to partner organisations for its international charitable activities in line with its strategic objectives. Its international focus is working with low- and middle-income countries to establish sustainable newborn hearing screening and early intervention programmes.
Themes
- Community support for deaf families
- Universal newborn hearing screening
Geographic Focus
UK.
What they don't fund
- Community grants only:
- work that has already taken place
- projects based outside of the UK
- projects that will be used for financial gain or profit
- salaries for organisation members
- core costs such as rent and utilities
- alcohol
- VAT that can be reclaimed
- Teacher of the Deaf (ToD) visits
- teaching, learning, and assessment under the national curriculum
- provision of hearing technology or audiological assessments
- assessments of language and literacy skills
- meeting requirements outlined in statutory plans
- speech and language therapy for individuals
- any government-funded training you should receive as part of your job (for example, deaf awareness training for teachers)
- improvements to buildings such as installing sound clouds or lighting
- individuals, unless they have a business or organisation bank account
How to apply
Complete the eligibility quiz; if eligible, access the application form.
Who can apply:
- Community Grants Programme: All projects must have 2 contacts who are aged 18 or over.
What to send:
- Community Grants Programme
- Your safeguarding policy
- A bank statement from the last 3 months
- A completed budget sheet
- You will need two contacts for your application. The contacts need to have different email addresses and phone numbers.
Applying again: Community Grants Programme: We will only fund one project per organisation in a 12-month period and, due to demand, we are unlikely to fund the same project a second time.
Application success factors
What the charity says:
- The panel considers how well the proposal meets deaf children’s needs and the impact it will have.
- The panel considers the strength of the applicant organisation, including effective leadership and a valid bank account.
- Applications should show an understanding of the needs of the community.
- Applications should show collaboration in developing and designing the project.
- Applications should involve and engage new people and other organisations in the community.
- Applications should increase the number of deaf children and families able to access opportunities.
- Projects should be accessible for deaf children and their families.
- Applications should identify short- and long-term benefits for deaf children and their families.
- Applicants must pass due diligence checks showing that their organisation is in a strong position to deliver the project.
- Grantees take part in the overall programme evaluation, which may involve a survey or project interview.
- Successful applicants may be asked to host a visit so NDCS can see the project's impact first-hand.
Where they fund
Where it says it funds
- United Kingdom
Similar funders
Funders supporting work similar to National Deaf Children's Society.
Grants
How much do they typically give?
Share of 13 grants in year to 31 March 2025 by size
Median £17,000 (year to 31 March 2025)
The largest grants to organisations in this funder’s latest annual report:
- Grant to Affiliated local registered Deaf Children’s Societies*£152,000year to 31 March 2025
- Sense International Kenya£42,000year to 31 March 2025
- Prarambha£26,000year to 31 March 2025
- Grants to University College London (2 grants)£24,000year to 31 March 2025
- Grant to University of Manchester£20,000year to 31 March 2025
- Grants to University of Birmingham£20,000year to 31 March 2025
- Centre for Disability in Development£17,000year to 31 March 2025
- Cini Asha Deaf Way£16,000year to 31 March 2025
Grant examples taken from the funder’s filed accounts. Not included above: 1 line covering other, unnamed recipients (£8,000).
Five years of accounts
| Financial year | Income | Expenditure | Grants paid | Accounts document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| year to 31 March 2021 | £25,375,000 | £17,430,000 | £520,000 | Accounts for year to 31 March 2021 |
| year to 31 March 2022 | £25,856,000 | £27,882,000 | £388,000 | Accounts for year to 31 March 2022 |
| year to 31 March 2023 | £30,921,000 | £33,544,000 | £576,000 | Accounts for year to 31 March 2023 |
| year to 31 March 2024 | £33,000,000 | £31,200,000 | £660,000 | Accounts for year to 31 March 2024 |
| year to 31 March 2025 | £33,568,000 | £29,511,000 | £375,000 | Accounts for year to 31 March 2025 |
Income vs grants paid
IncomeGrants paid
Total value each financial year
Grants paid stayed within income across the 5 years shown.
- Grants paid, year to 31 March 2021; year to 31 March 2022; year to 31 March 2023; year to 31 March 2024: grants to institutions, as reported on the charity register (Part B).
- Grants paid, year to 31 March 2025: grants awarded in the year, as reported in the accounts.
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
- ndcs.org.uk
- ndcs.org.uk/community-grants · read on 30 October 2026
- ndcs.org.uk/community-grants/thinking-about-applying-community-grant · read on 30 October 2026
- ndcs.org.uk/about-us/about-charity · read on 30 October 2026
- ndcs.org.uk/community-grants/application · read on 30 October 2026
- ndcs.org.uk/contact-us · read on 30 October 2026
- Annual report (year to 31 March 2025)
This profile draws on the funder’s own website as well as its filed accounts.
Sources last checked on 30 October 2026.
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At a glance
Applying to National Deaf Children's Society?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- 020 7490 8656source
- communitygrants@ndcs.org.uksource
- National Deaf Children's Society, 5th Floor, 167-169 Great Portland Street, London, W1W 5PFsource
- ndcs.org.uk
- Contact form
- Apply online
Applying to National Deaf Children's Society?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- 020 7490 8656source
- communitygrants@ndcs.org.uksource
- National Deaf Children's Society, 5th Floor, 167-169 Great Portland Street, London, W1W 5PFsource
- ndcs.org.uk
- Contact form
- Apply online