The Vegan Society Grant is open to individuals and grassroots organisations. It exists to support projects which will encourage non-vegans to go, and stay, vegan.
The projects are based across the globe, with a particular emphasis on those based in economically developing countries. The reason for this is that we want to ensure funds are going to vegans with less access to resources.
A typical award is £1000 which is granted to projects that meet our criteria and are selected by our cross-department panel. These projects are as unique and varied as the individual members of the vegan community who coordinate them. From radio shows, to school take-overs, cooking courses, festivals, competitions and vegan workshops. With the help of our funds, these ideas are brought to life and people all over the world get the opportunity to learn about veganism from their peers, neighbours and friends.
Supporting the international spread of veganism
For several decades The Vegan Society has awarded funding to exciting vegan projects in line with our charitable aims. In recent years we have made an effort to support the work of international vegans, and this has produced some impressive results! The interest in the programme has continued to grow. In 2016, there were 21 applications to the programme, but fast forward to June 2022 and 186 applications had already been made in that calendar year.
Global vs local work
Applicants can apply from anywhere in the world, but it's important that they live and work in the countries that their projects are based in. This is because we believe that individuals know their own communities better than we do. In order for them to effectively and respectfully engage non-vegans with their work, they need to understand the barriers that local people face and how embracing veganism will impact them. The Vegan Society may be a global organisation, but when it comes to veganism, local people are the experts on how veganism can benefit their neighbours and align with their own culture and belief systems.
Where in the world?
In 2022, we received applications from
projects around the globe and we funded projects based in the UK, Kenya, Cameroon, Tanzania, Burundi, Ghana, Malawi, Uganda, Serbia, and Turkey.
Healthy vegan diets for all
We work with our own registered vegan dietitian to ensure the projects we fund consider the nutrition of the participants. We also make sure that the projects we fund engage local health experts so that the benefits of adopting a vegan diet are felt by all of those who are involved in the project.
What kind of projects have we funded?
In 2022, we awarded £25,000 to projects based across the world. In the UK, we funded a cooking course for adults with learning disabilities, which ran on a weekly basis for a period of five months for local centre users.
Also in the UK, we funded a vegan canteen takeover at a college in Ireland. College students, staff and faculty members embraced the opportunity to give a plant-based diet a go as they celebrated World Vegan Month.
In total, 630 samples of vegan food/goodie bags were given to students. The college fed 250 plant-based breakfasts to vulnerable students over the course of the week. Fourteen hampers of vegan food/gifts were given out as part of a competition and brand-new signage was added to five campuses encouraging staff and students to eat vegan food. The success of the event has led to talk of another event on World Vegan Day in November 2023, a concept that would have been unheard of prior to the event.
In Uganda, we funded a project to host a series of educational radio programmes on veganism. The hosts aired regular shows for a whole month, discussing all the benefits of going vegan, and bringing in listeners from across the city.
In Cameroon, we awarded a grant to fund a sequence of women-only workshops on vegan living. The workshops were hosted by an agricultural association, and they met with other local livestock and fishery representatives to discuss how they could change the way they farm and eat. A quote from the project organisers shows what they achieved:
“A model plant-based farm has been established in the Village of Mogny with financial support from Future In Our Hands, while the grant from The Vegan Society helped to carry out vegan advocacy workshops in Foumban. The project has been extended to Bamenda to carry out vegan advocacy workshops with 75 households and 25 restaurants, with financial support from Proveg International.”
Other projects included a vegan cookbook for Serbian young people. They veganised local dishes from the region and hosted a community meal to share some of the recipes from the book.
A project in Malawi involved hosting a sports day combined with vegan outreach. The people involved in this project live around a hunting game reserve and so they wanted to talk about alternatives to hunting animals for food with their neighbours and challenge their existing perceptions of hunting animals.
A project in Turkey involved hosting in-person and online workshops on veganism. A quote from the project organiser demonstrates their success:
“While the rate of disagreement with the opinion that ‘Animals have the right to live as freely as humans’ was 0.3% in our first survey, this rate was zeroed in the last self-assessment, and all participants stated that they recognize the rights and freedoms of animals. We want to extend a final appreciation to The Vegan Society for their belief in and support of our project. Thanks to this initial push, we decided to make this program an annual event and try to reach new and different people to introduce them to ethical veganism.”
How can I apply?
You can find more information and apply on our grants webpage.
Due to high demand, the programme sometimes has to close while our panel assess applications. During these periods, we ask that potential applicants are patient and wait for the form to re-open.
Make sure you read the application guide and FAQs. These are there to help applicants write strong applications, so it's a good idea to make use of them.
How can I help this work continue?
This work is only possible because of generous donations and the support of our valued members. If you would like to see this work continue you can give a donation or sign up as a member.
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