FAQs

We primarily support primary schools which meet our eligibility criteria and they should be local to a Greggs store to allow for collection of free bread donated to schools for toast in the morning. Typically, we prioritise schools in an area of high need where the school population is 40% FSM or more. 

You can apply to join the waiting list by filling out our online application.

We will not provide funding for a Breakfast Club alongside another provider.

Schools can apply to be considered for a cash grant for a breakfast club. We will also be extending the programme to cover after school or holiday club support (expected to begin in the 2025/2026 academic year). We leave it up to schools to decide on the right mix of food to suit their pupils. All schools also receive free bread from their local Greggs store if supporting a morning breakfast club. One of the benefits of being in the Greggs Foundation school network is access to our hardship programme to support families with small hardship grants. All schools can also access our free education programme, Agents of Change.

Providing appropriate staff cover is the responsibility of the School and Greggs Foundation funding cannot cover this. We do encourage volunteering.

We support primary schools and to make sure we can direct funding to areas of need, we typically support schools with a higher percentage of FSM, usually in the 40% range. 

Schools are required to complete and return a monitoring report every term to allocate and release funds.

It’s important that we have an up-to-date contact at every school. If you have a change in personnel, please just email breakfastclubs@greggsfoundation.org.uk and we can update your contact details.  

We are very transparent in our grant support to organisations through 360 giving and all details of currently funded organisations can be found on our Who do we fund page.

Grants are awarded across four funding rounds per year and typically we have considerably more requests for funding than we can support.  We prioritise organisations located near to a Greggs Outlet, delivering activities outlined in our Theory of Change and located in the areas listed in the current round of funding.

When a funding round is open for applications, please only apply if you meet the eligibility criteria and are based in the locations as outlined in the funding round. Please note, Greggs Outlets look different from Greggs shops and feature red branding on the signage.

We know through consultation with the charity sector that core running costs are the most difficult area of a budget to secure. We are motivated by helping organisations to be more sustainable and offer better quality services to all their beneficiaries. A grant to meet core funding means charities can maintain services and retain staff.

We can consider the following costs:

• Contributions towards bills, i.e. electricity, gas, rent, rates

• Contributions towards core salaries (managers or administrators rather than project workers or sessional staff)

• HMRC costs relating to the core salaries only

You can read more about the organisations we support via our News page, but organisations successful in receiving funding are focused in one or more of the following key areas:

• Addressing direct needs in the local community

• Providing food and support for individuals

• Reducing social isolation and widening networks

• Building knowledge, confidence and opportunities

We will only fund organisations based in our geographical focus areas for that round.  In determining the focus areas for each round we prioritise organisations located near to a Greggs Outlet (Greggs shops are distinguishable by their red signage), delivering activities outlined in our Theory of Change and located in the areas listed in the current round of funding. 

The Community Grants programme opens for four funding rounds per year and the locations in which we are looking for community organisations to support are outlined within each funding round. When a funding round is open, please check both the eligibility criteria for the programme and the locations identified in the funding round before proceeding with the application form.

North East Core Funding was a grant programme previously offered by The Greggs Foundation and open to charitable organisations based in North East England only. This programme has now been incorporated into the Greggs Foundation Community Grants programme and we ensure that a portion of the funding available is allocated to supporting organisations in the North East of England (Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, Durham and Teesside). This aims to rectify the historical lack of funding opportunities for organisations in the region where Greggs was founded and continues to proudly retain its headquarters.

Greggs Foundation Community Grants offer funding of up to £20,000 per year, for up to two years.   

Key Criteria 

• A not-for-profit organisation. 

• An annual income of between £25,000 and £1,000,000 in your last set of accounts. 

• At least one set of annual accounts, having been delivering services for over a year. 

• Free reserves of less than six months' running costs in your last set of accounts which includes reserves you have decided to allocate but are free to reallocate and does not include fixed assets such as land and buildings.  

• A board of at least three unrelated trustees or directors.  

• A safeguarding policy in place.  

• An independent organisation. 

Exclusions: 

We are unable to consider applications from any of the following: 

• Animal charities 

• Friends of associations 

• Branches or federations of national charities 

• Larger organisations with a greater capacity to fundraise 

• Uniformed groups such as scouts, guides and sea cadets 

• Sports clubs and associations 

We are also unable to provide funding for any of the following: 

• Overseas travel 

• Curricular activities that take place during the school day 

• Religious promotion 

• Research grants 

• Repayment of loans 

• Purchase of vehicles 

• Equipment for hospitals 

• Major capital projects 

We can only accept applications from referral partners pre-approved by the Greggs Foundation.This includes social organisations such as charities registered with the Charity Commission, housing associations and social services acting on behalf of a family or individual in need. We are not currently accepting applications to be approved as a a referral partner for hardship grants.

Our Hardship Fund is also available to all schools in our Breakfast Club network. We do not accept applications directly from individuals.  

Applications are usually assessed weekly and you can expect a response within three weeks of your application. If you have not heard from the Greggs Foundation within three weeks of making your application, you can assume that it was unsuccessful. 

If an application is unsuccessful, organisations can apply again for the family/individual after 12 weeks.

No. We only support one application for an individual of family for the hardship fund per calendar year. An additional application can be made in the following calendar year. 

We try and be flexible with what we can support with depending on the needs of the individual or family. However, the Hardship Fund will support applications to receive the following items:

• Cooker/Oven                          

• Washing Machine

• Fridge/Freezer

• Vented Tumble Dryer

• Bed frame and mattresses (supplied direct by Dreams)

• Clothing Voucher (£30 maximum for an individual and up to a maximum of £90 for a family)

• Supermarket Food Voucher (between £50 and maximum £100 available depending on family size)

• Utility Voucher (up to a maximum of £40 for gas and electric - excludes British Gas customers)

• Small Kitchen Appliance Voucher

All appliances are delivered new and direct to the individual/family but please note we do not include installation or set up fees in the grant. 

The following is examples of costs which cannot be supported by the Hardship Fund:

• Unspecified costs

• Repayment of loans

• Bankruptcy petition fees

• Holidays

• Funeral expenses

• Medical equipment

• Computer equipment