£600,000 to help address urgent need for more Black and Asian donors

28 October 2026

New funding is now available for charities and community groups, marking an ongoing commitment to reduce health inequalities for individuals requiring life-saving transplants or regular blood transfusions.

About the Community Grants Programme

The Community Grants Programme, led by NHS Blood and Transplant, is dedicated to funding projects led by community, faith, or belief organisations to inspire greater awareness and support for donation, particularly among Black and Asian communities.

The scheme aims to address the shortage of organs for individuals awaiting transplants from all Black and Asian communities, by supporting projects that raise awareness of either deceased or living donation.

Applications are also encouraged from groups or projects which aim to increase the number of blood donors of Black heritage. Donors of Black heritage are 10 times more likely than white donors to have a vital subtype needed to treat people with sickle cell. With a growing number of patients reliant on regular transfusions or full blood exchanges, currently the NHS can currently only supply 50% of the blood required and demand is continuing to rise year on year.

NHS Blood and Transplant is seeking applications to engage diverse communities at the grassroots level that can help tackle barriers, normalise blood and organ donation and drive behaviour change.

A total of £600,000 is available for community-based projects across both England and Wales.

Organisations can apply for funding for a 2 year project. Funds available for each area are allocated as follows:

  • Blood donation projects: £300,000
  • Living Kidney donation projects: £150,000
  • Deceased organ donation projects: £150,000


Davinia Richards, NHS Blood and Transplant's Regional Community Engagement Manager, says:

"Our Community Grants Programme has now been running for several years, and it has helped to support and generate so many fantastic community initiatives. With a rapidly growing need for more Black and Asian donors across both blood and organ donation, we need the help of community groups more than ever. We are keen to encourage more groups and organisations to come forward so we can work together and save more lives."

How to apply

Applications are now open (from Wednesday 28 October) and will close on 24 November at 11:59pm.

For more information, visit our Community Grants page.