Adoption England Awards £50,000 Through Community Development Fund
We’re pleased to announce the successful allocation of our Community Development Fund, created to empower community-led adoption support initiatives across the country.
With a total budget of £50,000, the fund will help those with lived experience in adoption to grow community groups that provide vital support to adopted adults, adoptive families, and young people. Applications were required to align with the Adoption England Strategy, and each successful organisation could be awarded up to £5,000.
The response to the fund was overwhelming with 23 applications received, requesting over £100,000 in total. Following evaluation by representatives from Adoption England and the Department for Education (DfE), 11 organisations were awarded funding.
Due to the high level of demand, all successful applicants were asked to make a 6% budget reduction, ensuring that as many community groups as possible could benefit.
The 11 successful bidders are:
| Delivering in-person meetups for adult adoptees across England, providing peer support and practical information. (South East, Midlands, North, West) |
| Establishing a peer-led support group, Walking with Families, to help adoptive parents manage challenging behaviour. (West Midlands area) |
| Promoting social inclusion through recreational activities, trips, and residential breaks for adopted children, young people, and their families. (East Midlands area) |
| Creating a peer-to-peer adoption support group offering monthly sessions and family fun days. (Adoption Central England RAA area) |
| Supporting adopters from the Global Majority and trans-racial families, ensuring their specific needs are met. (Adoption West area) |
| Piloting a trauma-informed youth group for teenagers (14–17) with neurodiversity and trauma backgrounds. (Adoption Counts area) |
| Running Let’s Get Creative Teens, a youth group for 13–16-year-olds alongside a support group for adoptive parents. (Adopt Thames Valley area) |
| Supporting LGBT+ adopters to reduce isolation, build peer networks, and ensure they feel supported and valued. (Covering geographical areas of Adoption Counts, Together for Adoption, Adoption Now) |
| Making the arts more accessible for adopted children, young people, and their families through creative projects, training, and research. (Covering West Yorkshire) |
| Providing specialist support to adoptive parents and adopted people in completing disability benefit applications, including DLA and PIP. (National delivery) |
| Offering online peer support, in-person events, and the Adoption Shared podcast for adoptive families with children aged 9–19. (National delivery) |
Sarah Johal MBE, National Adoption Strategic Lead, Adoption England said:
“This fund demonstrates the incredible variety of community-led adoption support up and down the country. All applications showed real value and potential, and the judging process was very challenging with such an impressive range of submissions. The 11 successful projects reflect the creativity, commitment, and diversity of lived experience within grassroots organisations across England, and their drive to help and support people going through their own adoption journeys.
She continued: “We are excited to see the positive difference these initiatives will make for adoptees, adopters, and young people. Equally important is the learnings we will take from this years’ fund, including supporting the development of more community groups for birth families. We will look to be clearer about the need for birth parents to be involved in the organisation as well as the development and delivery of submissions next year.”
The funded projects will be delivered by the end of the financial year, helping to build stronger, more resilient adoption communities nationwide.