The RCN Foundations’ commitment to investing in nursing and midwifery continued to grow in 2025, with over £835,000 awarded in grants across hardship, education and research.
In 2025 we invested in new research areas - the Quality Improvement (QI) Grants Programme was established as a strategic priority within our strategy following consultation with nurses, midwives, healthcare support workers and maternity assistants. The programme recognises the central role of quality improvement methodologies in supporting evidence-based practice and enhancing patient care across health and social care settings.
In 2025 we awarded 8 grants to support QI projects across the UK.
The demand for hardship support increased by 56%, highlighting the ongoing financial pressures affecting the workforce.
We couldn’t have done all of this without the generosity of our supporters and staff. Read on to learn more about our impact or download our impact report here.
The difference we made in 2025
In 2024 we announced our new 5-year strategy: Ignite, Inspire, Aspire: Our Vision to Transform Lives, where we intend to increase our support in the three core areas of our work – hardship, education and learning and research and innovation – ensuring that the voices of nursing and midwifery, and of those with lived experience, are reflected throughout all our work.
We are proud of the progress we made in year two in ensuring we achieve these goals.
Strategic aim 1 – Hardship: Supporting nursing and midwifery in times of need
Strategic aim 2 – Education and learning: Investing in the future of nursing and midwifery through our programme of education and learning grants
Strategic aim 3 – Research and innovation: Developing and delivering a research and innovation strategy, that will have at its core the funding of nursing- and midwifery-led projects that improve patient care, health and wellbeing
Learn more about our strategic aims and what we intend to achieve by 2028. You can also read our Annual Report to discover more about the impact we made in 2025.