Provided by CABWI, the awarding body for the water and utilities industries, and is managed by the CABWI charity.

The fund supports small to medium-sized charities with projects that promote lifelong learning and development, address barriers to entering the labour market and allow people to gain additional skills to advance their careers.

It supports projects that:
• Work directly with young people aged 16+ and adults who are not in employment, training or education, (NEET), to improve their access to employment.
• Work with individuals with complex barriers to employment to gain life skills, qualifications and work experience leading to employment.
• Have clear and well-established connections to employers who can offer meaningful work experience and/or employment.
Organisations with an income of:
• Between £266,666 and £1 million can apply for grants of up to £40,000.
• Up to £266,666 may apply for a maximum of 15% of their previous year’s turnover.
Grants are available for a maximum of 12 months. The funding can be used to cover core costs and/or specific project costs.

The new grant programme will open on Monday 5 January 2026, with stage 1 closing on 26 January 2026.

For more information, visit: www.cabwi.org.uk/application-guidelines