The new grants strategy aims to build on Comic Relief’s experience as a grant maker, as well as the changing needs and priorities of the most disadvantaged communities in the UK and internationally.

Key highlights are:

- New commitments to small grants in partnership with local organisations. As a result of the global recession more communities and individuals are affected by poverty. Comic Relief will be funding £6.1 million through the Community Foundation Network in support of disadvantaged local communities across the UK. Also, building on international partnerships, the African Women’s Development Fund and the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, will be making Comic Relief funded grants to smaller organisations focusing on women, children and young people in Africa.

- New Special initiatives. As part of Comic Relief’s ongoing commitment to create sustainable change in the lives of poor and disadvantaged people, the charity has new areas of focus internationally and has now formed strategic partnerships in the areas of health and education. Since Red Nose Day, Comic Relief has already invested £6.3 million to tackle malaria in Africa (in Uganda and Zambia).

Education is an issue Comic Relief has funded for many years; it is now strengthening its commitment and investing more money in long term special initiatives, with £10 million to help get children into and achieving in school in Africa. In addition to the new areas of focus, in the UK Comic Relief can announce an additional £2 million over two years for Time to Change - the anti-stigma campaign which is working to change public attitudes towards mental health, which it first funded in 2008.

- New focus on impact and learning. Comic Relief is setting out the difference it aims to make through its grant giving and explicitly states what outcomes it wants to achieve through each of its grants programmes, in partnership with the organisations it supports. It aims to understand the difference its money is making through the changes in people’s lives (in ways that are in keeping with the size and ambitions of the grant).

- New open programmes. Comic Relief now has a ‘Sport for Change’ programme which is open in the UK and in development internationally. For the first time organisations will be able to apply for funding to bring about social change through sport. The Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund have also recently been awarded £500k to make grants to smaller organisations in Southern Africa who are using sport as a tool for change in the lives of disadvantaged children and young people.

Comic Relief grants director, Judith McNeill, said: “This new grants strategy is informed by more than 20 years of grant making, across the UK and internationally, mostly in Africa, working with thousands of fantastic organisations.

"We want to continue to work in partnership, to share our stories and successes, including with the public, and crucially share our challenges and failures with each other. In the midst of a recession we have a responsibility to use our resources well and make every penny count.”

To apply for a grant go to www.comicrelief.com and follow the links to. ‘Apply for a Grant’. Information on the website will include: eligibility criteria for applicants, detailed programme strategies and a timetable for grant making.

The first deadline for applications is 24 July 2009