VALOUR Recognised Centres Development Fund

CLOSING DATE: 14 JANUARY 2026

The VALOUR Recognised Centres (VRCs) Development Fund – funded by the Office for Veterans’ Affairs within MOD – will award grants of up to £1m to provide veterans, and then the wider armed forces community, with in-person guidance and support.

Under this programme, the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust will administer grants to existing organisations or consortiums (by which we mean a group of organisations coming together to work cohesively to deliver the required programme outcomes) to provide a set of fixed services.

As a base service level, veterans should be able to access guidance and support in health, housing and employment. Applicants should also explain how they will offer guidance and support in other areas, ideally including, but not limited to, finance, wellbeing, welfare, integration into society, and other cross-cutting needs. It is recognised that a number of organisations will already be operating programmes which have several of the components VRCs require.

VRCs will need to operate collaboratively with other statutory and non-statutory support services within their area and follow ‘no wrong door’ approach (i.e. they must help individuals connect with the best support available).

Eligibility

You may be able to apply to this fund if you have experience delivering complex projects and collaborating with other organisations; and are either:

• A registered charity which can demonstrate relevant experience and engagement in the provision of services to veterans.
• A CIC that has been established more than three years so that evidence of governance, financial and operational management can be provided, and that you can demonstrate relevant experience and engagement in the provision of services to veterans.
• A local government body.

There is more detailed information about eligibility in the programme guidance below. Read the programme guidance carefully before you apply.

What’s available?

There will be two funding rounds. In this first funding round, applications are invited from experienced organisations or consortiums who can move at pace and potentially already have a veteran centre in operation.

Applications can be made between £500,000 and £1m for your VRC towards a project being delivered over a period of three years.

For the second funding round, which will launch in spring 2026 subject to confirmation, applications can be made for up to £500k (with a possibility for some areas to potentially be able to apply for grants of £1m too) for your VRC towards a project being delivered over a period of up to three years.

Themes and priorities

VALOUR is a new initiative funded by the Office for Veterans’ Affairs within MOD, which will look to provide veterans and the wider armed forces community with easier access to in-person guidance and support.

Your project will need to deliver all of the following outcomes:

• Help reduce the postcode lottery by delivering more equity of access and a level of consistency in service quality.
• Enhance collaboration and coordination within your area between statutory and non-statutory organisations.
• Help improve understanding of need through sharing data and information on veterans and the wider armed forces community.

Deadlines

Applications for round one must be submitted no later than midday on 14 January 2026. You’ll receive a decision by the end of March 2026.

Guidance and resources

Please read the programme guidance in full before submitting your application.

Find out more here.