Grant News
Funding for Community Radio Stations (UK)
Ofcom has opened the Community Radio Fund 2026-27, with £904,644 available to support eligible community radio stations. The Fund is allocated by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and managed by Ofcom, the UK communications regulator.
Funding is available through two streams.
The Equipment Stream offers grants of up to £2,000 for studio, transmission and accessibility equipment. This can include:
- Mixing desks
- Video/audio recording equipment
- Antenna equipment
- Feeder cables
- Playout software
The Sustainability Stream offers up to £100,000 for job roles or projects that improve a station’s long-term sustainability, with a limited number of multi-year awards available. This can include:
- Management of station
- Fundraising to support the station (e.g. grants, commercial funding)
- Administration
- Financial management & reporting
Key points:
- Equipment grants are for analogue community radio services on air for at least 10 years.
- Sustainability funding is open to analogue community radio and C-DSP stations currently broadcasting.
- Only one funding round will operate in 2026-27.
Applications close at 5pm on 14 October 2026.
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11th September 2026