More Than A Roof Grant Programme

Thank you for taking the time to read this guidance for the More Than a Roof: Personalisation Grant Programme. We hope you will find this information useful and that your questions are answered. 

If you do still have questions, please get in touch with us on grants@centrepoint.org and we will be more than happy to assist.

Vulnerable young people arrive at supported accommodation following a period of rough sleeping, a breakdown of their family relationships, and a myriad of other traumatic experiences. The room they are given may be the first safe bed they have ever had. But all too often those rooms feel institutional and unwelcoming.

It is vital that supported accommodation feels safe and secure. Somewhere where young people escaping homelessness can finally relax and start to overcome the trauma of the past.

To help with this, Centrepoint is enabling our 100 plus partner charities to access funding to implement the More Than a Roof philosophy, through the Personalisation Grants Programme. 

The More Than a Roof: Personalisation Grants Programme aims to help young people facing homelessness to feel that their room or living space is more than just a place to stay. 

By empowering young people to personalise their space in a way that reflects their identity and preferences, we hope to foster a sense of ownership, comfort, and belonging. These elements are essential in helping young people feel settled, supported, and ready to focus on their future.

Please ensure your proposal meets the following outcomes:

• Young people feel positive about living in their room 
• Young people feel that living in the room benefits their wellbeing, in terms of feeling happy in an organisation’s accommodation
• There is an increase in the organisations resources to transform the rooms of young people

All applicants need to be a member of the Centrepoint Partnering Scheme, registered with Charities Trust, and meet one of the following criteria:

• Constituted group - e.g. the organisation has a constitution document that governs it but may not have charitable or company status
• Not-for-profit company or Community Interest Company
• A registered charity

In addition:

• Applicants must also have a bank account in the name of their organisation and at least 2 years of annual accounts that have been audited or signed by the financial officer or treasurer

We cannot accept applications from the following:

• Organisations that do not directly provide accommodation to homeless young people (16-25-year-olds)
• Organisations who provide accommodation for under 3 months to homeless young people
• Individuals
• Sole traders
• An organisation applying on behalf of another organisation.
• If you have any questions around your organisation or group's eligibility based on the above, please get in contact with us at grants@centrepoint.org

We can fund

This grant is for the provision of items (see below) for a young person aged between 16 and 25 years old who has a room in a partner organisation’s accommodation. 

Items purchased with the funding must meet the following criteria:

• Items are chosen by the young person and personalise their space (in a way that reflects their own identity and preferences)
• Needs to be utilised by the young person in their current accommodation
• Must be small enough and light enough that the young person can take the items with them when they move on
• No single item purchased can take up more than 75% of the young person’s budget

These criteria will guide your approval of requested items from the young people but any items that you are unsure about can be checked with Centrepoint at grants@centrepoint.org.

We cannot fund

• Large or heavy items that are difficult for the young person to take with them when they move e.g. beds, mattresses, large furniture such as wardrobes, chest of drawers or large white goods such as fridges or TV’s.
• Sharp or dangerous items
• Paint or any permanent changes to the room
• Salaries of staff or organisational running costs
• VAT you can reclaim
• Cash that will be given directly to individuals
• Procurement of infrastructure, premises or rent
• Payments reimbursed or to be reimbursed by other public or private sector grants

The period for which you must spend the grant funding is from signature of grant agreement between the organisation and Centrepoint until 28 February 2026.

• Applications should be submitted via the online form by 5pm, 13 June 2025
• Organisations will hear the outcome of their applications by 17 July 2025
• Organisations will be expected to spend their funding by 28 February 2026
• Organisations will need to submit an end of grant report by 27 March 2026

All applicants will undergo due diligence checks by Centrepoint to assess if they have the basic financial and organisational policies and processes in place. These include areas such as; safeguarding, information security and fraud prevention and adequate financial management processes.

We have a simple application form that applicants will be asked to complete. This includes organisational details and asking applicants to identify the number of young people they will support.

When making funding decisions, Centrepoint wants to ensure that the following criteria is met:

• Enable as many organisations within the Partnership (who have accommodation) to benefit from funding
• Ensure a balance between small and larger organisations receiving funding
• Ensure that the distribution of funding is balanced geographically
• Agreement from the organisation to report against the fund’s outcomes at the end of the grant period

This criteria could mean some applicants do not receive funding or only a proportion of the funding they applied for in this round but could apply for subsequent rounds. 

Successful applicants will be expected to provide a project and financial report at the end of the project.

The end of grant report will ask organisations to provide a summary of how they felt the funding contributed to the outcomes of the More Than a Roof: Personalisation Grant Programme and report on the expenditure of the grant funding.

Organisations will also be asked to:

• Gather feedback from the young people regarding whether they felt the grant met the stated aim and outcomes of the programme
• Submit anonymised demographics data on the young people benefiting from the funding
• Submit copies of all receipts relating to grant expenditure
• Submit supporting evidence for the expenditure of the grant such as before and after photos of rooms

At the end of the report, organisations will be able to share lessons learned or insights which will help Centrepoint to shape future funding rounds.

Q - We are not registered with Charities Trust. Where do we go to register?

A - It is a requirement of the funder that organisations that receive funding under the More Than a Roof Programme are registered with Charities Trust. If you are not currently registered with Charities Trust, you can register via this online form for free. Once Charities Trust has reviewed your submission, they will email you to confirm if your organisation has been added. 

Q - We received funding in a previous round of the More Than a Roof: Personalisation Grants. Are we able to apply again?

A - Yes, organisations that received funding in a previous round of the More Than a Roof: Personalisation Grants Programme can apply for funding this round but should only apply for young people who have not previously received a More Than a Roof: Personalisation Grant.

Q - We would like to apply for multiple sites, should we submit separate applications for each site?

A - No, if applying for multiple sites, your organisation should still only submit one application form and request the funding required to cover all of the sites they are applying for.

Q - We are a large organisation and if we apply for all the funding we need, will our application be rejected because of cost?

A - All applicants should ask for what funding they need. Centrepoint may come back to an organisation to ask them to reduce the total amount they requested but they will not be rejected just because they requested the full amount.

Q - We have young people in supported lodgings would we be eligible to apply?

A - We are prioritising organisations who provide supported accommodation (i.e accommodation that is owned or managed by the Partnering member) as this is where we feel the greatest impact can be achieved. However, other accommodation projects (e.g. supported lodgings) that accommodate young people for periods of 3 months or longer, are welcome to apply. We will make decisions on all other accommodation projects once the supported accommodation applications have been assessed. 

Q - Can we pool the funding and use it to purchase items for the organisation’s communal spaces?

A - No. The objective of the Personalisation Grants Programme is to allow young people to purchase and own items that they believe will improve how they feel in their living space. Depending on the type of accommodation they are in, this could be a bedroom or multiple living spaces such as a bedroom, bathroom and kitchen.

Q - What happens to the items when the young person moves on?

A - The items purchased through the grant should be taken by the young people when they move on.

Q - We are not VAT registered; can we use the grant funds to cover the VAT component of the items purchased under the More Than a Roof: Personalisation Programme?

A - If your organisation is not VAT registered, VAT costs incurred in the purchase of eligible items will also be considered eligible expenditure. If you are VAT registered and will reclaim the VAT from HMRC, you may only claim the net amount (excluding VAT) as eligible expenditure.