True Colours Trust Africa Small Grants Programme 2026 (Up To £5,000 Grant Funding)

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Applications are open for True Colours Trust Africa Small Grants Programme 2026. The latest round of the Africa Small Grants programme for Palliative Care Development in Africa is now open. This Programme supports projects which deliver palliative care in Africa.

All work supported by this programme must adhere to the WHO definition of palliative care:

“Palliative care is an approach that improves the quality of life of patients (adults and children) and their families who are facing problems associated with life-threatening illness. It prevents and relieves suffering through the early identification, correct assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, whether physical, psychosocial or spiritual.

Addressing suffering involves taking care of issues beyond physical symptoms. Palliative care uses a team approach to support patients and their caregivers. This includes addressing practical needs and providing bereavement counselling. It offers a support system to help patients live as actively as possible until death.

Palliative care is explicitly recognized under the human right to health. It should be provided through person-centred and integrated health services that pay special attention to the specific needs and preferences of individuals. “

Grant Details and focus Areas

What the Programme will Fund

Grants are a maximum of GBP £5,000 each. Applications should focus on the immediate delivery of palliative care.

A minimum of 70% of the budget for all applications must be towards one or more of the following priority areas:

Palliative care medicines. Medicines from the approved IAHPC and WHO lists of palliative care medicines will be considered. When completing the budget template for this objective, please complete Sheet A. Do not include the budget for this objective anywhere else on the Budget Template sheet. Please note that funds shall not be provided for purchase of medicines to treat or manage a single condition and all medicines to be included in the budget should be from the approved IAHPC and WHO lists of palliative care medicines.
Equipment for palliative care. Equipment from the WHO approved list of palliative care equipment will be considered. When completing the budget template for this objective, please complete Sheet B. If other equipment is requested, please add it to the bottom of the sheet (Sheet B). Do not include the budget for this objective anywhere else on the budget template.
Transport for the delivery of palliative care services (fuel, bicycles etc.)
Data or mobile technology for the remote delivery of palliative care services.
Bereavement support.
Training in palliative care delivery for providers, volunteers or home-based care workers.

In addition, applications may address any of the following secondary priority areas, if these are delivered in conjunction with one or more of the areas above. These priority areas should make up no more than 30% of the total budget:

The provision of food for palliative care patients.
Additional costs associated with the delivery of home-based palliative care.
The delivery of psychosocial or spiritual support for palliative care patients and their families.
The delivery of rehabilitation for palliative care patients.
Core costs (up to a maximum of £750 per application).

We recommend that you do not seek to address more than four of the priority areas listed above in your application. Applications which only include the secondary priority areas will not be successful.

Priority will be given to the following:

Projects which are providing palliative care to children.
Projects which are providing palliative care to vulnerable populations e.g. people with disabilities, refugees, older persons, prisoners.
Projects which provide palliative care irrespective of the condition or disease of the patient.

Grants are intended for use over a maximum 12-month period and the programme will not consider multi-year funding.

Eligibility Criteria for Africa Small Grants Programme

The programme is open to registered hospices and palliative care providers based and managed in Africa
Any organisation which is currently in receipt of funding from The True Colours Trust, is not eligible for funding, even if that funding is not from the Africa Small Grants Programme.
Any organisation which has received funding from the programme previously should wait at least one year from the submission of its final narrative and financial report before reapplying.
Organisations whose income over the last three years averages $500,000 or above are not eligible to apply. However, small palliative care units which operate within hospitals or larger institutions, but which do not have separate financial accounts, are welcome to apply, provided the application is exclusively for the provision of palliative care services. For guidance, please contact the Programme Officer.

How To Apply for Africa Small Grants Programme

Please complete the application form.
- The application form is a Microsoft Word document.
- It is intended to capture information about the impact you hope to achieve.
Please complete the budget template.
The project budget template is a Microsoft Excel document.
It is intended to capture the items which you will need to pay for to enable you execute the activities of your project.
If you are applying to purchase medicines or equipment, the project budget template also captures information about this under sheets A and B which should be completed.
Please send the following documents by email to TrueColoursSmallGrants@africanpalliativecare.org:
- Completed application form.
- Completed budget template.
- A copy of the registration of your organisation which shows it is a legal entity in the country of operation.
- At least two reference letters. These can be from the following:
  - A hospice
  - A palliative care organisation
  - Your national palliative care association
  - The Ministry of Health, District or Municipal Health Authorities operating in your area.
  - Professional bodies such as nursing council or medical council
  - Other organisations working on the delivery of palliative care in your area.
- Current audited accounts or an income and expenditure statement.
- CVs of the person responsible for project coordination and for financial management of the project.