Mental Health Scale-Up Fund
Fund purpose
This Fund will produce step change improvement to support available in Surrey for young people’s mental health so that help is available wherever they live. We particularly want to fund projects which demonstrate clear, measurable impact and ability to scale up to reach more beneficiaries, an additional cohort and/or a wider geographic area.
This Fund will
Provide funding of up to £75,000 per year for up to 5 years.
Support community groups, charities, and other members of the VCSE sector, but not the public sector or private companies.
CFSurrey funding supports community groups, charities, and other members of the VCSE sector but not the public sector or private companies. See eligibility criteria.
Surrey County Council and NHS Surrey Heartlands have pledged £1M from the Mental Health Investment Fund for two funding rounds of the Mental Health Scale-Up Fund in 2025. CFSurrey are seeking to match this donation 100%.
Round 5 - Multiple disadvantage or experiencing transitions
Timing
Expressions of Interest (EOI) are open for funding awards in Sept 2025.
The EOI deadline for Round 5 is 9am on Monday 28th April 2025.
Round 5 priority themes for funding
Either to support the scale-up of mental health interventions focussed on children and young people under the age of 30 who are affected by multiple disadvantage (see below).
OR to support the scale-up of mental health interventions supporting children and young people through transitions – in life stages, environments or services (see below).
Multiple disadvantage - For the purposes of this Fund, bids should be focused on supporting children and young people affected by one or more of the above disadvantages, where possible
substance use/addiction issues (drug, alcohol, gambling, sex, etc.)
mental health needs and/or neurodivergence
domestic abuse
contact with the criminal justice system
homelessness or risk of homelessness
Transitions are a key risk factor for disruption of mental health and we seek to support individuals experiencing transition between phases of life, services or environments, e.g. from CAMHS to adult mental health support, or transition from primary school to secondary school, for example.
Round 6
Scale-up of mental health interventions supporting whole family support for children and young people up to 30 years of age with anxiety.
Timing
TBC dependent on securing matched funding, likely to open up Summer 2025.
When this funding round is open for applications, we will publish further information here about our funding. We will also be holding some online Q&A sessions for potential applicants, and we strongly advise you attend one before submitting an application.
We’re looking for
We particularly want to fund projects which demonstrate clear, measurable impact in young people and have the ability to scale up to reach:
More beneficiaries, or,
Beneficiaries in cohorts that are experiencing particular challenges in mental health, or,
Beneficiaries that struggle to access support, or,
Beneficiaries across a wider geographic area.
We’re here to listen
Before awarding our first grants from this fund, Community Foundation for Surrey commissioned a listening exercise to hear from stakeholders, to learn how to better support young people’s mental health. The report highlights some key strengths of current provision, as well as some barriers we will need to overcome if we are to achieve our aim of making a step-change in provision.
Fund decision-making
Like all the funds that CFSurrey manages, initial applications are reviewed against the fund criteria to make a shortlist. Shortlisted applicants are invited to submit a full application, and for this fund they are invited to come and present to the Panel.
The Fund Panel consists of representatives of those donating the funds, in this case, three of the family foundations supporting the Fund, Surrey County Council, and Surrey Heartlands, each of which has 1 seat.
However, for this Fund it is also chaired by a CFSurrey Vice-President, Jim Glover OBE, and contains three CFSurrey Trustees; Neelam Devesher DL, Roshan Bailey, and Elaine Tisdall OBE. This Panel membership was chosen to get a broad overview and knowledge of the many challenges of working in the voluntary sector.
Previous grants
We have awarded grants from the Fund across 4 rounds. Each five-year grant will support the development and expansion of vital support for young people. Details of the grants awarded to date are below:
Surrey Care Trust - Nurture Through Nature
£249,921
Funding to expand a Mental Health intervention - Nurture through Nature - over five years. This funding will support provision of nature-based activities, but crucially will allow SCT to properly structure their work into a programme of activities available in a wider geography to many more young people.
The Eikon Charity
- Primary School Mental Health
£249,999
Funding towards the scale-up costs of a project delivering early intervention support in primary schools to help children 10 years of age and under build resilience & learn strategies to manage key areas & relationships in their lives.
Home Start Surrey - Dad Matters
£250,000
Funding to grow and deliver the Dad Matters programme across the whole of Surrey over the next 5 years. The programme focuses on supporting fathers’ mental health at a perinatal stage, building resilience to ensure they can optimally support both mother and infant and minimise the impact of traumatic circumstances surrounding the perinatal period, including maternal mental illness.
Be Me - Be Me Schools Project
£263,746
Funding to expand delivery of courses to young people aged 11-15 years in schools addressing mental health challenges. The work involves activity and discussion-based courses designed to raise self-esteem & confidence, build resilience and lower anxiety.
Surrey Minority Ethnic Forum
- Baby Steps Perinatal Equity Project
£250,000
SMEF in collaboration with Best Start have been funded to expand and continue the Baby Steps Perinatal Equity Project to provide mental health, emotional wellbeing, social connection and psycho-social support to women, families and children from ethnic minorities during the perinatal period.
Surrey Domestic Abuse Partnership
- Suicide Prevention Services
£375,000
Funding to sustainably scale-up their Suicide Prevention Services for young people up to age 30. This funding will provide additional specialist one to one safety planning case work, and a therapeutic support package for young people aged 16 – 30 who are experiencing any form of domestic abuse across Surrey.
Still have questions?
Register for one of our upcoming 30 minute Q&A sessions, hosted on Zoom.
Who to talk to
For any enquiries relating to the Mental Health Scale-Up Fund, please contact Amy, our Fund Development Manager.
Amy Lee
(She/Her)
Fund Development Manager
01483 906383
amy@cfsurrey.org.uk
Mon - 9:30am-2pm, 4pm-6pm
Tues - 8:30am-2:45pm, 4pm-6pm
Weds - 8:30am-2:45pm, 4pm-6pm