We are launching our fourth round of our ‘Your Station, Your Community’ Improvement Fund (YSYC) 2026/27 to support local groups, charities, our customers, and the communities across our network.
The YSYC fund will support causes that are of key importance to ourselves and local communities on our network. The Fund aims to build lasting social value; under the following key themes: mental health, employability skills amongst marginalised groups, diversity and inclusion, environmental sustainability and improving station environments.
The grant fund accepts bids in the categories of:
- Bids up to £10,000 – open applications
- Bids of £10,001 - £50,000 – please contact us to discuss your proposal before applying
There are also two Station Partner Support Grants open for application
Please note these grants MUST cover the whole of the GTR network
- Arts/Creative projects - £25,000
- Horticulture/Environment projects - £25,000
There is a separate application form and more detailed guidance for the Station Partner Support Grants scheme.
The Station Partner Support Grants will support Community Rail and Station Partners volunteering at stations on our network and also develop at least three new projects in partnership with new groups or as an individual practitioner.
Who can apply?
We welcome applications from registered charities, Community of Interest Companies (CICs), Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIOs); community groups and other not-for-profit organisations such as community rail partnerships, schools & colleges, Business improvement districts, town councils and parish councils.
All the grants are not an offer of employment or a payment for services, but are charitable grants and should be managed as such.
What we’re looking for
We’re looking for applications for initiatives taking place in and around stations served by Great Northern, Southern or Thameslink on our network; that make a positive impact in one or more of the focus areas listed below. (Please see our route map). The communities supported by your project should be served by one of those stations.
We can, however, only accept bids for work on station property that are managed by Great Northern, Southern or Thameslink (for our managed stations see the list below).
Projects in communities based around managed stations will be prioritised, along with projects that clearly demonstrate the impact for the railway, passengers and staff in their application
Our priority subject areas
The subject areas YSYC supports, are those challenges and issues that are important to, and impact our local communities and the railway. You must clearly demonstrate your engagement and impact in only one primary area; you may also wish to indicate other areas where your project would have a secondary or complimentary impact.
The areas are:
Enhancing our stations to be a welcoming environment
The key themes in this area are:
- Regenerating redundant station spaces for community use; providing space for activities that enrich the local community and bring the station estate back into use.
- Creating a welcoming environment for our stations and enhancing our customers’ experience – engaging with socially excluded groups and/or addressing issues such as anti social behaviour; hate crime; violence and intimidation against women and girls and engaging with young people on their experience of the use of the railway. We want to see projects that have wider social impact; creating activities, observances or other visual cues that let minority or underrepresented groups know that they are welcome and their particular needs/experiences have been considered.
Positive mental health
Mental health activities that encourage:
- Working with local partners to signpost and/or refer people to support services or initiatives that have a positive impact on people’s wellbeing.
- Connecting people together to take positive action to prevent suicide, an issue that has devastating and far-reaching impact on people, customers and communities.
- Using the wider station environment to communicate positive mental health messaging, to both customers and colleagues: that positive mental health is something we can all support and work towards, that ‘it’s okay not to be okay’, and that help is always available.
Diversity and inclusion
Our ambition is to create an inclusive culture where customers and colleagues feel able to be themselves and feel they belong to, and can add value to, their local communities.
Support for community projects that:
- Create opportunities for groups that are often socially and/or economically excluded – in particular looking at digital exclusion and addressing anti social behaviour; hate crime and violence and intimidation against women and girls within those groups
- Build on the strengths and knowledge already existing in the communities we serve;
- Facilitate spaces or events where parts of communities that are often separated can come together, building relationships, and learn from/support each other for everyone’s benefit.
Employability and confidence building
Schemes that promote employability and education, in economically and/or socially excluded groups, by:
- Investing in skills development for now and the future
- Working with socially and economically excluded groups to develop social enterprise within those communities, particularly work that emphasises the sustainable economy.
- Working with young people to create positive opportunities and addressing such issues as Anti-Social Behaviour.
Environmental sustainability
Supporting environmental projects that address the climate crisis through:
- Programmes that help in reducing emissions and/or increase recycling, helping us get us to a carbon-zero future
- Conserving and restoring natural spaces – with a particular focus on the use of water and on the development of pollinator friendly planting
- Encouraging sustainable mobility shift to encourage customers to make greener choices to travel by rail and getting to our stations sustainably - by bike, bus, foot or electric car.
Funding will need to be spent in full, and projects completed within the financial year (April 26 to March 27).
For further information on what we are looking for in an application, and the criteria please see our application guide.
If you have any questions about a YSYC application or would like to submit a bid for more than £10,000 then please contact ysycfund@gtrailway.com. Please note we will not accept bids over £10,000 that have not been discussed with the community team prior to submission.
What does a good application look like?
- An application that clearly links in with one of the following areas - mental health, employability skills amongst marginalised groups, diversity and inclusion, environmental sustainability and improving station environments.
- Details on who the primary beneficiaries are and numbers of beneficiaries
- What impact will your project have and what mechanism will you use to measuring the outcomes and outputs of the project, taking into account the monitoring tool that we use to evaluate your projects the Rail Social Value Tool
- You must be able to demonstrate and evidence your engagement and/or consultation with your primary beneficiaries
- Ensure that you have addressed any statutory consents that you are aware of that will be needed. And how you will achieve them - especially if it is at a GTR station
- Demonstrate how you can achieve the stated goals of the project, through previous examples of your work or by engagement with partners including having understood the capacity of GTR to be able to assist you in your project
- An accurate and succinct project scope outlining why financial support is needed
- Budget breakdown of funding request, overall project budget and key project milestones
How to apply
Applications close at midnight on Tuesday 9th December 2025
Station Partners Support Grant application form
Station Partners Support Grant guidance notes
Budget sheet (if needed)
Rail Social Value Tool – Main Metrics
Timeline for your application
- Applications open: 21st October 2025
- Applications close: 9th December 2025
- Bids reviewed: December/January 2025/26
- Recommended schemes submitted to DfT for approval: February 2026
- Successful bids informed: March 2026
- Grant projects active – 1st April 2026
- Contracts and initial funding awarded: April-May 2026
- 6 monthly monitoring
- Projects completed: 31st March 2027
How we monitor our funding
We use the Rail Social Value Tool to help evaluate funded programmes
There are 5 primary social impact categories:
- Employment and economic
- Health, training, and skills
- Supply chain
- Community
- Environmental
Contact details
If you would like to contact us to discuss your scheme, or for support completing your application, please email us at ysycfund@gtrailway.com and we will be happy to help.