Proud Homes Fund: Funding to Support Safer, Inclusive Homelessness Services for LGBT+ Young People

The Henry Smith Foundation has opened its Proud Homes Fund, offering long-term grants to help generalist homelessness organisations become safer, more inclusive and more affirming for LGBT+ young people aged 16 to 25.

The fund is aimed at organisations that already support young people experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness, but are not specialist LGBT+ providers. This could include organisations delivering housing advice, hostel provision, supported accommodation, outreach or homelessness prevention services.

The Foundation is looking to support organisations that want to make sustained, meaningful change across their services. This may include strengthening safeguarding, improving placement decisions, developing staff confidence and capability, improving supervision, changing organisational culture, and embedding lived experience and youth voice into decision-making.

Funding available

The Proud Homes Fund will provide grants of:

• £50,000 per year for four years
• £200,000 in total per organisation

The Foundation expects to award around eight grants, including up to six development grants and one to two grants for organisations already demonstrating strong or exemplary inclusive practice.

Who can apply?

Applications are open to UK-based, formally registered, not-for-profit organisations with a charitable purpose. This includes registered charities, charitable incorporated organisations, Community Interest Companies with an asset lock, community benefit societies and other eligible charitable bodies.

Organisations must:

• Deliver generalist homelessness support for young people
• Have a track record of working with young people
• Be working in the UK
• Have annual income between £250,000 and £3 million
• Have at least one year of audited or independently examined accounts
• Show a commitment to inclusive practice, lived experience and youth voice

What can the funding support?

The funding can support work that improves the experience of LGBT+ young people accessing homelessness services. This could include staff development, organisational change, partnership work, research and scoping, improvements to internal systems, safeguarding, supervision, and core running costs linked to the work.

The Foundation is clear that this fund is not intended for one-off training or short-term projects. It is designed for organisations ready to commit to long-term change

Key dates

• Expressions of Interest opened on Wednesday 6 May 2026.
• The deadline to submit an Expression of Interest is Wednesday 3 June 2026.

Organisations invited to submit a full application will be contacted during the week beginning 22 June 2026, with the full application deadline set for Friday 24 July 2026 at 5pm. Decisions are expected in mid-September 2026.

Find out more and apply

VCSE organisations working with young people affected by homelessness are encouraged to review the guidance and complete the eligibility checker.

Direct funder link: Proud Homes Fund – Henry Smith Foundation