Volunteering Wales Main Grants
Funding to help increase volunteer engagement, support the creation and development of high-quality, positive volunteering opportunities across Wales and help embed volunteering in organisations
Provided by:
Wales Council for Voluntary Action
Funder website:
Maximum value:
£30,000.00
Objective of fund:
GRANT AIMS
The aims of the scheme are:
Increase volunteer engagement and satisfaction by removing barriers to volunteering for people of all ages and from all parts of society.
Support the creation and development of high quality and positive volunteering opportunities in Wales.
Promote changes in beneficiary organisations to embed volunteering into their culture eg obtaining the Investing in Volunteers Award.
Please note: The earliest that activities can begin is 1 April 2027, with projects ending no later than 1 April 2028
GRANT PRIORITIES
Demonstrate the contribution that volunteers and volunteering make to the seven Well-being of Future Generations Act (2015) goals and to enable organisations to make progress towards the Welsh Government ‘Ways of Working’.
1. A Prosperous Wales
2. A Resilient Wales
3. A More Equal Wales
4. A Healthier Wales
5. A Wales of Cohesive Communities
6. A Wales of Vibrant Culture and Thriving Welsh Language
7. A Globally Responsible Wales
Who can apply
Your organisation can apply if:
it is a not-for-profit organisation and is independent of government and private sectors
its proposed project / activity will be taking place in Wales (employment outside Wales is not supported under this grant scheme)
it is an organisation that currently involves volunteers to benefit the community, supported by a volunteering policy OR is an organisation that has developed a volunteering policy and believes involving volunteers will benefit the community
the proposed project recruits new volunteers and can use a system to monitor and track volunteer involvement and progress (the Volunteering Wales platform can help)
it is willing and able to take part in an independent evaluation of the impact of the grants
has a fit for purpose Safeguarding policy – an application submitted with major improvements required to their safeguarding policy will not be referred to panel.
Restrictions
Your organisation cannot apply if you are:
A political organisation
A statutory organisation
A County Voluntary Council (CVC) or Volunteer Centre
A private organisation
Please note only one application can be made by an organisation in a grant round.
Eligible Expenditure
Organisations can apply for awards of up to 1 year with a maximum request of £30,000.
The fund is primarily focused on revenue funding; however, your funding request can contain costs for purchases of smaller ‘capital’ equipment including consumables (for example PPE, IT equipment etc).
How to apply
REGISTERING WITH MAP
In order to apply to the Volunteering Wales Main Grant, you will need to register with WCVA’s Multipurpose Application Portal (MAP). If you have previously registered with MAP, you can log in by entering your username and password on the home screen.
Organisations can register by visiting the website: https://map.wcva.cymru
Once you have registered with MAP you will be able to apply for any funding opportunities administered by WCVA.
Useful Links
https://wcva.cymru/funding/vwg/
Grant application guidance: https://wcva.cymru/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/01-VWG-Main-guidance-2025-28.pdf