The Institute of Leadership is delighted to announce the 2026 Leadership Project: Grant Fund recipients
Five charities and not-for-profit organisations across the UK have been selected to receive funding through The Institute of Leadership’s Leadership Project: Grant Fund, supporting innovative projects that will develop leadership and create positive impact in communities.
We are delighted to announce the five successful recipients of its 2026 Leadership Project: Grant Fund, following a record response to this year’s funding opportunity.
A total of £10,000 in funding will support five ambitious projects spanning nature conservation, education, community development, youth advocacy and the social sector.
We are thrilled to be supporting RSPB, National Leadership Framework CIC, Community First Yorkshire, Fearless Youth Association Limited and Clore Social Leadership as they turn their leadership ambitions into action.
The Grant Fund was established to support charities and not-for-profit organisations across the UK to develop leadership capability, encourage collaboration and create meaningful and lasting impact for the people and communities they serve.
This year, the fund attracted a record number of applications, showcasing the incredible range of leadership activity taking place across the UK.
The quality, ambition and variety of the applications made the selection process particularly challenging but also demonstrated the strength of ideas and commitment within the charity and not-for-profit sector.
We are therefore particularly pleased to announce this year’s five recipients.
Meet our 2026 Leadership Grant Fund recipients
RSPB
We are excited to be supporting the UK’s largest nature conservation charity, RSPB, as it develops a shared approach to leadership across the organisation.
Funding will support a pilot of RSPB’s Rewilding Leadership for One RSPB programme, bringing together up to 12 leaders for nature-based experiential learning, systems thinking, coaching and action learning.
The programme will help leaders collaborate, adapt and influence across organisational boundaries, while creating reusable resources that can help shape future leadership development across RSPB.
National Leadership Framework CIC
Our second recipient, National Leadership Framework CIC, is a not-for-profit organisation working to improve how leadership is understood and practised for public and social benefit.
Building on its work with Exceed Learning Partnership, the organisation will use the funding to create and test a new pupil-facing leadership framework for young people aged 3 to 18.
Around 5,300 learners across ten Doncaster academies will have the opportunity to contribute to the development of the framework, exploring qualities including integrity, empathy, courage and resilience.
Community First Yorkshire
Supporting voluntary and community organisations across North Yorkshire, Community First Yorkshire has already made a significant contribution to developing local leaders. Since 2021, its Leadership Mentoring Programme has supported more than 129 leaders, helping to tackle the isolation and limited development opportunities often experienced by leaders of smaller organisations.
Our funding will help turn this community into an enduring leadership network, bringing participants together through workshops, peer-learning sessions and an alumni event.
The project will provide opportunities for continued development, connection and collaboration, while creating a sustainable model of accessible leadership support.
Fearless Youth Association Limited
Fearless Youth Association Limited, based in Nottingham, supports disadvantaged and underrepresented young people aged 11 to 25, with particular expertise in working with young women who have experienced violence, exploitation and exclusion.
Through its Women Leading Change programme, 25 young women with lived experience of adversity will receive trauma-informed leadership, advocacy, storytelling, public speaking and campaign training.
The programme will culminate in a leadership conference, with participants also supported to become advocacy champions and future peer mentors.
Clore Social Leadership
Clore Social Leadership are an organisation dedicated to developing inclusive, representative and resilient leaders across the UK social sector.
Having already supported more than 5,000 leaders from nearly 4,000 organisations, Clore Social Leadership will use the funding to introduce a new two-day Innovation Lab to its national Women and Girls Sector Leadership Programme.
The Innovation Lab will give leaders space to work collaboratively on challenges facing the sector, test ideas and develop practical solutions.
The approach will then be developed into a reusable model for future Clore Social programmes, helping to extend the impact of the project beyond the initial cohort.
Congratulations to our five recipients
We would like to extend our warmest congratulations to all five of our 2026 Leadership Grant Fund recipients.
Each organisation has demonstrated a clear commitment to developing leadership and creating positive change, and we are excited to see these projects move from ideas into action.
We would also like to thank everyone who applied to this year’s fund.
Receiving a record number of applications was a fantastic reflection of the ambition and commitment of charities and not-for-profit organisations across the UK. The standard of applications was exceptionally high, and we are grateful to every organisation that took the time to share its ideas and ambitions with us.
While we were unable to support every application, we hope to see many of those organisations apply again in the future.
For our five successful recipients, this announcement marks the beginning of an exciting journey.
We look forward to working alongside you, following the progress of your projects and, most importantly, hearing about the difference your work makes to the people and communities you support.
Congratulations once again to RSPB, National Leadership Framework CIC, Community First Yorkshire, Fearless Youth Association Limited and Clore Social Leadership.